Authoritarianism

Many conservatives like to pretend that liberals are authoritarians, which is kind of funny because I, a strong liberal am quite anti authoritarian. In grade school, my report cards regularly had comments about my lack of respect for authority.

Looking through the literature, it seems that authoritarian parents tend to produce conservative children while egalitarian parents tend to produce liberal children. In fact certain traits pop up as early as four years of age.

I grew up in a conservative family, where, rules tended to be strictly enforced. I grew up thinking that most of the time that I was punished, it was because my parents were in the wrong. I even came to see religion, or as it appears to children, forced religion as a type of child abuse.

My siblings didn't react as I did and grew up to be Bible thumping, science denying, Trump lovers. I, on the other hand, reject all religion, went through college to study science, and see Trump as a dufus.


Being as scientific studies have shown the brains of strong conservatives to be quite different from the brains of strong liberals, I sometimes think that I may have had a mutation. A mutation of the type Nietzsche would be proud of. I suppose the reason why I never accepted the conservatism of my family was because I questioned everything.

When they were telling me about god and Jesus, I was wondering why people cared about such things. When they told me Santa had brought me toys, I thought about the toy trucks they sold at Texaco, and how my dad was always looking at them. Then Santa brought me one.

I also had an out. Not far from where I grew up was a community center with a library, swimming pool, and a gymnastics gym. I spent a lot of time there. I really liked it because there was never anyone spouting religion or telling me what to do or think. In fact books set me free. I didn't have to live in the world my parents lived in, I could explore other ways of thinking. It may have something to do with why I always got A's in school, while my conservative siblings struggled along with C's and D's. Same with athletics. I avoided my conservative family by participating in sports, where I excelled at swimming and other sports.


My brother, a more over the top kind of conservative, tells people, "I was spanked as a child, and look at me, I turned out fine". A nice conservative thing to say, something one never hears liberals saying. Not long ago, my daughter was expressing horror over the fact that all of her cousins claim to spank their children.

It is the conservatives, and their authoritarian parenting style that breeds more conservatives. Liberals are those who avoid the authoritarian mindset.

 

Obama was the Conservative who spied on millions of Americans, dispatched Lois Lerner to stifle funding for free speech, and attempted to reinvoke the Fairness Doctrine to shut down talk radio.

Get a grip.

 

Cool story bro'.

As a self reported man of science, you do realize in the big picture that your anecdotal experience means absolutely nothing, do you not? What makes you think that anyone cares about your description of your life story?

I have noticed over the years that your frequent stories always make everyone that doesn't think like you sound like a bumbling idiot. Do you suppose their description might differ from yours? Perhaps you should stop speaking for other people?

 

Well, we know several people liked it.
Maybe you could tell us yours to see if it's a polar opposite.

 

Actually there is a great deal of science that supports what I am saying here. Conservative parents tend to be authoritarians and liberal parents more likely to be egalitarian. I see this in family dynamics all the time.

Likewise, it can also be seen in the workplace. A conservative boss is more likely to be an authoritarian, and a liberal boss more likely to be more lenient.

 

In grade school the only thing I feared was the paddle and the man who wielded it. If I wanted to beat somebody up I was smart enough to do it away from school grounds, and hope somehow that it wouldn't get back to my parents. But it did, thence came the belt.

 

Thanks.

When I was a lot younger I read something from Richard Bach. I don't remember from where, just that Bach had written it. He said that a teacher had told him it is better writing to show rather than to just tell, a concept he used when writing.

Personally, I would rather swap stories than insults.

 

Actually the seagull crashed and died on the first power dive.

 

Conservatives follow currently established rules. They respect authority figures such as policemen and God's gift, Donald Trump.

Liberal's want to overturn current established rules and will follow a false messiah to hell and back if it means overturning the current established rules.

 

Libs want to do things like dictate our medical coverage. There are a thousand other examples just like that.

Conservatives are far more libertarian.

 

How horrible liberals must be wanting people to have health care.

If one looks it up, conservative states put people in prison at a rate that is twice that of liberal states. In other words, the authoritarianism of the police is twice as likely to come crashing down on one in a conservative controlled area than a liberal one.

In liberal Oregon, and Colorado, I can grow and smoke in my backyard, what would get me a ten year sentence in a red state.

In fact whole movies and television shows have been built around corrupt authoritarian cops in the Bible Belt.

 

You do know, that is practically the definition of authoritarianism.

 

I was all good with hippie liberals mentality of live and let live of yesteryear.

Those hippies are much different than present day progressives. Authoritarianism of the progressive left is just a means to the ideological ends. The idea of tolerating other people's faith is gone. The concept of allowing people to freedom of speech, religion, and individual liberty is gone. Progressivism is aligned with collectivism to justify their desire to impose authoritarianism.

In short, I don't see anybody forcing others to go to church, but I see a whole lot of people trying to force me to drive a fuel efficient vehicle.

 

Well, your experience is completely different from mine, because there is only one group of people who are trying to tell me who I should listen to, what I'm allowed to say and what I should be watching and it isn't the Conservatives. So perhaps the Conservatives are right about the Liberals being authoritarians.

An odd time we are living in.

 

No, no no, don't drag me into modernity! I would rather live with sticks, than computers .

 

Then present the "science". Keep your meaningless anecdotes to yourself.....

Are we supposed to infer that you are saying that Conservatives spank their children more? I am not saying that is or isn't true, but your prescription for why that would be so is likely not complete. Surely you will blame it on your theory of "authoritarianism", but what other aspects could be at play....

Might it be Christianity based?
Might it be socioeconomic in nature?
Might it be geographically based?

You do realize that correlation does not equate to causation do you not?

-If it is Christianity based, then yes there is a somewhat higher percentage of right versus left Christians, but that would indicate that rightism leads to spanking, it would mean that Christianity leads to spanking

-If it is socioeconomic in nature, you would have a hard time attributing that to the Right since the left wins the lowest socioeconomic groups by huge margins in every state in the nation

-If it is geographically based (lets say the South), then the reason would be geographically based culture, and not which side of the political divide that determines whether someone is more likely to spank their child.


At any rate, your theory that it would be due to a desire for someone that wants a smaller government ( with the exception of defense spending), and therefore they desire more authoritarianism; is a ridiculous stretch in logic. Sincerely, it is nonsensical.

 

It doesn't appear that you are aware of the proper meaning of liberalism. Respectfully speaking. Do you know how I know this? I'll tell you how. Because I'm a real liberal.

I, for one, am offended to have to accept an adjective in the form of terms like 'classical liberal' in order to placate modern day confused statists who have hijacked, twisted and taken possession of the phrase 'liberal'.

Here. Learn - Ludwig von Mises and the Real Meaning of Liberalism

"Liberalism has become one of the most widely misused and abused words in the American political lexicon
It represents, some say, politically “progressive thought,” based on the goal of “social justice” through greater “distributive justice” for all. Others declare that it represents moral relativism, political paternalism, governmental license, and just another word for “socialism.”

Lost in all of this is the fact that historically, “liberalism” originally meant, and continues to mean...individual freedom, private property, free enterprise and impartial rule of law under constitutionally limited government.''...

 

Then authoritarianism isn't as bad as you think.

 

First of all, many Leftists like to pretend that they are liberals. They're not - they're Leftists.

Secondly, from the birth of the modern Left during the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror to the enslavement of hundreds of millions of human beings under socialism/communism during the 20th Century to the recent destruction of the democracy in Venezuela, the Left has always been authoritarian. Furthermore, since the Left has always subscribed to an authoritarian, if not totalitarian, ideology the Left will always remain authoritarian, if not totalitarian.

Fortunately, here in America, the Founders and Framers wrote a Constitution that had authoritarians like Leftists in mind, and devised a system of government that impedes the Left's authoritarian nature, impulses and attacks on the fundamental human, civil and political rights expressed in our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Third, conservatives don't need to pretend what Leftists have proved for centuries.

Finally, the only thing that one's position on religion necessarily determines is their position on religion. Some of the worst monsters in human history were "progressive" atheists.

 

Relevant reading...

How To Stamp Out Cultural Marxism In A Single Generation

 

The embodiment of authoritarianism would be compulsory Medicare for All. If implemented, it would be the largest scale of government imposed authoritarianism to date.

 

https://www.popsci.com/science/arti...itarian-parents-raise-conservative-offspring/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.de...ence-between-liberal-and-conservative-parents

https://www.fastcompany.com/1664565...rals-and-conservatives-raise-kids-differently

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strict_father_model

 

Ummm......do you not understand the difference between science and psuedo science?

Based on your self reporting, I would have assumed you would know that and be embarassed to present sociology/psychology based psuedoscience as actual science. All you are doing is searching for whatever backs up your preconceived notion, rather than searching for verifiable proven science where variables are isolated. I am disappointed based on your description of yourself. There is no doubt, that in academia you will find OODLES of pseudoscience to back up your preconceived notions.

Strange how you chose not to answer any of my questions. Do you only like headlines?


PS Your 3rd link even admits that they do not know where that data came from. It sure is a pretty chart though! I must say, I overestimated you.

 

I'm a liberal.

 

You won't understand, but reading how you have come to your beliefs makes me glad I didn't follow the same path.
I know that children raised in environments that ignored discipline grow up unable to discipline and direct themselves, often unable to use their minds as a constructive tool or compass.
I'm not religious. I most certainly object to others telling people, dictating how they should live or think- including based on religious beliefs; although I believe it is rational to tell them that they Should think, and do so independently.

I have respect for things and people that work- and disrespect for things and people that don't. I am different from you in that I think that social structure and values, despite the imperfections, and that it helps shape people and tends to improve them, including giving them the ability to change, to pursue their own path and ideas. That is like learning to navigate, and to do that you have to know where you came from and what you are about. I also do not throw out a work in progress because it's not perfect right now. We are- all of us and our society and our nation- a work in progress. That doesn't mean it's broken in the overall sense, because so much of what we have done and believe is right. I try not avoid fixing what isn't broke, and approach what is with the best judgment and wisdom I can.

I also know that when others blame their situation on the world and expect it to change for them instead of looking to themselves- I'm not talking to a reasonable person.