HEADS OR HEARTS?

Liberals are emotional. Conservatives are logical.

Now, that I have your attention, and before the Liberals hit "delete," let me explain what I mean.

This is not meant to be bad or good for either side, but every time I say that to Liberals, I am met with Herculean resistance. I'm not really sure why.

What I mean is this. Every person is made up of logic and emotion, and it's usually not a 50/50 division. If people are made up of logic and emotion then it would only stand to reason that the society they comprise would also have an emotional and logical makeup. When the society leans emotional we have Democrats elected. When rational, Republicans get the nod.

The emotional side of Liberals see the world the way they would like it to be, and they work to make it that way. Very laudable! When Liberals get frustrated, it's because the world will never be the way they want it to be. The rational side of Conservatives see the world the way it is, and always was, and they try to work within that unfortunate reality. When Conservatives get frustrated, it's because the world will always remain the way it is.

In my quest to understand why people don't believe what I believe, I come up against this difference between emotional and rational world view on a daily basis. Today it's the Ferguson, MO. shooting.

As soon as I heard that a white policeman shot a black teenager, I immediately knew the Liberals would come out against the police and the Conservatives against the looters/rioters/protesters without either side having the slightest idea of what actually happened.

The emotional members among us see this young boy, Michael, (like the Archangel), walking home with his good buddies, Richie and the Beaver, sharing a bag of Skittles talking about the latest cat YouTube video when a lily white policeman roared up next to him, tried to pull him into the police car for no obvious reason. Michael is very scared, he jumps back, throws his hands in the air and begs for mercy from "the man." The policeman empties his weapon into Michael’s young body.

The rational side sees a policeman getting a call about some untoward activity going on. He sees a group of young black males closely matching the description he was given, or maybe they were just "out of context" in the neighborhood. He attempted to detain Michael in the way he was taught in the police academy. Logic says that something happened in those few minutes that put the policeman in fear for his safety. Not knowing that this 6'4" 250 pound plus person was "only 18," and if Michael gave any indication he was going for the officer's gun, the officer fired. He fired not to "shoot the gun out of his hands" or to wound him in the leg but to do as he was taught, to kill someone who he believed wanted to kill him. The policeman reacted so he could go home to his family that evening.

Somewhere in there is the truth. There are only two people who really know the truth, and one of them is dead. So, without the truth we go to our basic fall back positions. Liberals line up behind the looters/rioters/protesters, and the Conservatives behind the police.

You may still not believe my characterizing left and right as emotional and rational, but for kicks, try it out on what is going on around in the US today. Immigration--poor children from poor countries, they deserve happiness and safety. Yes, but they cost money and we're on our way to $20T debt, and we have no infrastructure to care for them. Minimum wage --people deserve to make a living wage off of their work. Yes, but the money, over and above what they are worth to the business, has to come from somewhere. It is not logical to take money from people who have earned it and give it to those who have not because it "feels right."

We have to find a way to open our minds to both the emotional and rational sides of our nature, and it's the government's job to meld the two for society as a whole. During past administrations I’ve heard stories of the President getting a jug of Jack Daniels, a box of Cubans, and in a smokey backroom confabulating with leaders of Congress to get things done, but logic tell this Conservative that ain't going to happen for at least the next couple of years.