Understanding Liberals – because they are friends and family part 2 -with update!

I have a lot of beloved friends and family that I follow on Facebook, but many, perhaps more than half, do not share my political perspective or my religious views. In other words, I have a lot of liberal friends on Facebook. Luckily, when the big “equal marriage” push came to Facebook and everyone changed their profile picture to the red equal signs, I was able to round them all up and put them into a group I call “politically incorrect.”  That way, I can protect them from the things I want to post that will probably offend them, and I can protect myself from their posts until I can “gird my loins”enough to read the political stuff on their pages.

See part 1 here.

One of the people I am friends with is part of a family that my family has been friends with forever!  Our grandparents go way, way back. This particular gentleman is dear to me because when my grandpa was dying in the hospital, he and his wife came to stay with us through the entire ordeal. Later after the funeral, he sent a copy of a print from his grandparents’ house to my sister because she remembered it fondly and just loved it.  That kind of compassion and kindness is unforgettable, and he’ll always have my high esteem.

I just don’t agree with much of what he posts, however.  Today is a prime example.

At first glance, it looks nice that all of the kids can watch the game and cheer for the team.  But a little more analysis shows us that maybe this isn’t okay.

Maybe the little one isn’t steady enough to be on two boxes. He looks mighty high up and if he falls he’s bound to get hurt.  Maybe he isn’t agile enough to get out of the way in case a foul ball comes his way. Perhaps his balance isn’t as good, and as a result, he has no real way to get down or up on his own, which kind of leaves him at the mercy of bigger kids!

But if he waits a few years, to get a little taller and stronger – maybe even mowed some lawns and saved his money, he might be able to buy a regular seat!  Then he wouldn’t have to worry so much about falling off and getting hurt, and he could get up or down on his own terms!  That’s really the difference between modern liberalism (progressives) and conservative thought.

Update:  My friend’s counter was,  “Yes but while he’s disadvantaged by his age and height it’s important that he’s included.”

My thought on that is, why? Why do we have to include someone that isn’t ready for a certain experience? We don’t include my 8-year-old in activities that she is not ready for. I think back to this housing market mess, where banks were mandated to give loans to people who weren’t able to handle them.  And now we are making people participate in the healthcare market who don’t want to.

And why is the little boy in the picture entitled to the bigger boy’s box?  If the older boy wants to hoist the kid on his shoulders or share the box that’s one thing.  But I don’t see anything just about mandating that the little kid gets two boxes just because he wants them.

My friend used an analogy of a prisoner who was sentenced unjustly getting some recompense after he is released – I’m not sure I see that analogy in this picture.

Still, it’s interesting to see how the other side sees things.