Yet you clearly use the past to imply the troubles of today. You can’t have it both ways. Either it was terrible 100 years ago, or it was a time of growth both economically and socially. Trying to use the past to justify a progressive now is redonkulous.

My blogging brother, I think I misjudged you. I had imagined you as a white knight sitting a top a stumbling, clumsy elephant, with sharp lance in one hand and dented shield in the other, sallying forward to fight the fight for right-wingers in every crawl space in our land. Now, I see — and you gave us many hints “J” — that you are a Jeremiah, a wild man of the wilderness, following behind a horde of unruly elephants,, shouting to high Heaven the gospel of the right-wing. Should I address you as your Hole-ly-ness, a prophet for the right, whose ideas are full of holes? Peace, brother.

By “enemy”, I meant those who wear the label of “feminist extremist” and just how they think. Feminist does not equal “men-hating, womyn-first.” Not black does not equal white.

I DO NOT consider you my enemy! Far from it, I really like you. I think you are a good person, and on a personal note, I care about you and your son. You are on my family list we pray over.

However, you are child-like (Liberal) in your thinking. I enjoy sparring with you, and mean sounding barbs are for humor if you look closely.

But we are here to share and hopefully influence each other and all who are drawn to this “Church of Ideas”.

Many of your points are sound, but the way in which you process them, I beleive, are just nutty (more for Dfunzy, although I owe him one, so will leave him out of this).

I have commented too much on this entry, so I will try again to convert readers in another post. I just didn’t like the enemy comment.

Nowhere did I say that previous generations achieved nothing. Ingratitude would be to not take up the mantle of hard work and striving to make this world the best we can. Ingratitude would be to say “You did it all, now let’s just rest on your laurels and follow your example, no matter how flawed.” They did not sit back and let respect for the past excuse them from moving forward as shown by the many examples mentioned by Dfunzy. Taking risks, making bold and courageous steps into the unknown in the direction of a shining future- what about that part of the American tradition? Didn’t the groups and causes D mentiooned do just that? America needs liberals and progressives to move us forward as well as conservatives to make us liberals slow down when we are moving too fast. But fast or slow, this nation needs to march forward.

If I am a feninist extremist in your eyes, then you really don’t know what one is. Educate yourself on your supposed “enemy” and you may be surprised by what you find.

Do some digging in the past and look for yourself-the facts are what they are. The conditions and attitudes of the time were what they were-it doesn’t matter what color of glasses you view them from. Start with the conditions for blacks in the South and rural areas, immigrants and factory workers in the inner cities and work your way from there. How “great “of a generation could they have been in 1909 if these conditions were right in their face and the majority did nothing? No better than ours, yet we still have the chance to change things and move forward. It is our job to learn from their mistakes and to do and be better. We have not fallen from the pinnacle of perfection found in 1909 or in any other yesteryear. That generation (and we) are just a step in the continuing evolution of mankind.

You can’t move forward very well if you are too busy looking backward. Try it while walking and you’ll see that.

L,
Your further response only solidifies my point. Ingratitude is not a very attractive quality.

Like many in the feminist extremist camp, you focus on your obvious prejudice against men in general and white men specifically. How sad you feel our greatest generations had a disregard for women and children.

You stand on what was built, and curse the builders.
Ingratitude and entitlement are the weak pillars of the new building you seek to erect.

Sorry about that last word, I don’t want to rub you wrong. (Just inserting humor)

Amen, brother. My blood is just as red as any other American’s in this country, as is yours.

Don’t look to the past; look to the future and to trying to bring out the best in it. The past is done, the past is dead-whether the past was good or bad. The present and the future is all we have to work with and all we can change. Our ancestors created their destinies. It is our job to create our own.

It’s good to see you back participating. Knowing, after reading a couple of the posts which you made earlier, that the sickly elephant you have been riding may have thrown you for a fall, I don’t want to tax you with too many questions. If these questions pose too much of a burden during your recovery, please don’t try to answer them. I shall understand.

My blogging brother, are you saying that there were no liberals among the Founders? Are you saying, the abolitionists were all conservatives? Are you saying that the union organizers, whose work improved the lives of working men and women in this country, were all conservatives? Are you saying that the suffagates were all conservatives? Are you saying that only American conservatives have served in the armed forces? Are you saying that only conservatives have laid down their lives for their country? Are you saying that every member of the civil rights movement, the women’s rights movement, the human rights movement, were all conservatives? I guess then, that by that reasoning, every one who loves this country and who proudly salutes its flag is a conservative, and that no liberals are allowed to pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States? Brother, are you saying that every American who gets up and catches the early bus, to go to work at a hard blue collar job, is a conservative? That no liberals are allowed on that bus?

Well, I hope the questions aren’t too difficult.