Say Anything Blog

As I read through my daily round of blogs I am struck yet again by the stark differences in liberal vs. conservative views of the world.  Not just differences of opinion about what SHOULD be, but differences of opinion about what IS, each side being convinced that the other is delusional.

I learned long ago (so long ago that I no longer remember where I learned it) that where there is disagreement about what is, the best test is the ability of each side to accurately predict the results of any action.  Applying that test was what made me switch, years ago, from registered Democrat to registered Republican - my personal review of the policies of each party showed that, overall, Democrat policies all too often produced long-term undesirable consequences.  As a for-instance, the liberal love of welfare of all kinds, instead of producing successful individuals by giving a hand-up to the needy, has produced entire generations of welfare dependants, many unwilling to work for what they can get for free, but many more unable to escape the trap of dependency.

Another for-instance is one of the main reasons I switched from liberal agnosticism to Christianity: the ability to predict human behavior.  From personal experience with non-religious liberals, from review of public policy that is contrary to Christian belief, and from study of modern psychology I found a pattern among those sources of the inability to accurately predict human behavior in specific situations, while I found great accuracy where such behavior was based upon a thorough understanding of the Bible and Christian principles.  I would say the best example of that is the typical reaction to the taking away of incentive.  Welfare recipients lose the incentive to work, union members who get the same pay as everyone else regardless of their actual job performance lose incentive to work any harder than necessary or than anyone else does, and the most stark example - socialism, which has failed for this reason (among others) everywhere it has ever been tried.

Currently the most stark example of accurate vs. inaccurate predictions is the troop surge in Iraq.  Liberals across the country saw no hope in it and therefore no point in sending more troops.  Liberal lawmakers were declaring it a failure before it even started - and now are left dumbfounded and speechless over the positive results it has achieved (dramatically lower civilian casualties, dramatically lower troop casualties, and the significant change of positions among Iraqi insurgents from anti-American and pro-Al Queda to the exact opposite).  The end of the troop surge story isn’t written yet, so look at the predictions then watch and see who was closer to predicting reality.

I’m no scientist and this is all based on my personal observations and conclusions, but here is my challenge to you: Compare liberal vs. conservative policies, beliefs and worldviews and see which has a better track record of accurately predicting the future.  For sure it’s not all one or the other, but look at the overall pattern.  If you agree, LEARN FROM IT.  If you disagree, then by all means, CALL BS!

Cross-posted at I Call BS!