Issues of the Future
Jesua at “And No One Heard a Word” created a list of issues which in his opinion “will lead a good percentage of Americans into heated discussions with each other. How one answers the questions above generally serves as an indicator of whether one is liberal or conservative. I wonder what our ‘top 10′ list will look like ten or twenty years from now. Any guesses??” Well, how could I resist?
Our issues change a bit over time, and what counts as a liberal or conservative stance is relative to the context. Since we have been sliding right, here are a few guesses from me…
Iran: Who should we support in the post-war “election”?
Military Recruiting: Is it ok to start contacting the under-15 sector?
North Korea: Should we have used nuclear bombs?
Drugs and Mental Screening: How old should the children be before faith initative schools are permitted to change their personalities with the aid of pharmaceutical technology? (upon reflection, I edited this one a bit from my comment on his site)
Free Speech: Can all non-supportive speech be considered “hate speech” or is it just “treasonous”?
Supreme Court: Is it time to dissolve it, or is packing it enough to ensure executive power?
The poor, blue-collar and middle-class, the infirm, the weak, the insane, the damaged, the elderly: Now that social security, unemployment, welfare, the public school systems, medicare and medicaid are gone, is it better to offer members of these populations the option of an easy exit, or would it be better to create “work makes contribution” areas in camp-like settings?
What do you imagine as possible issues of the future – what will divide liberals and conservatives in 10-20 years? Can you think of issues that might unite them? I can think of one: How can we rescue this country?
What a fun post – I can’t decide whether to laygh or cry. I’m sincerly hoping this is good old-fashioned satire – I love it. But as I look around me and see the oppressive nature of our currrent culture with things like No Child Left Behind (just one of hundreds of examples) – I’m really scared your questions may be reality. It won’t take very long for state schools to stop accepting students who have non-book learning styles because of NCLBA. I’m not sure how this transition will happen, but it will have to because NCLBA insists that only 1% of children are unable to learn through books.
Any loving parent or teacher knows that all children learn – they just all learn at different rates and in different ways. Not all children learn from books – some learn through hands-on. We used to call it apprenticeship, or shop classes. Students used to work in the cafeteria, etc etc. Times have changed a lot.
I like your idea of thinking about how to unite “liberals” and “conservatives”. It’s very strange to me that these labels are so real, and sometimes generational. What’s even worse is some people wear them proudly.
My problem can’t be unique, but it’s interesting in today’s culture: I believe that the Bible is literal. Well, most “liberals” don’t believe that, for whatever reason. Mostly, when I talk with them it’s a matter of “enlightenment” and “education”. They simply believe what their professors told them, without questioning. I received my Masters degree at the same usiversiities they did, I simply chose to question authority. Politically, however, I find myself 85-90% agreeing with the liveral viewpoint.
What that means is that there are few churches in this country I can feel at home in – the bible believing churches all want to kill foreigners and not kill unborn children; the liberal churches don’t even talk about the bible except in vague generalities. I’m pretty sure I can’t be the only one stuck in this rut – but the point here is – because I’m always the outsider, I can see the points you are making, Heidi – and I fear there may be truth in them. I hope others will read your questions and seriously think about the current direction of this country.
Poorly put together concepts like NCLBA is going to end up with more and more young children either being given an “easy exit” (fascinating euphemism) or put back into the institutions that thrived throughout our country till the 1970’s. I love the fact that you included “blue-collar” workers in your equation, because it wasn’t that long ago that they were the back-bone of what made America what it was.
Thanks for the thought-provoking post!!!