Neither can you define the entire Right by the actions of a few extremists.
Nor am I trying to do so.
Here's a review: in response to the statement that the "right" was about freedom and the "left" is about control, I offered the following:
Unless you're talking about abortion. Or religion (Wicca, anyone?). Or alcohol. Or recreational drug use. Or medicinal drug use. Or pornography. Or language and violence in film/music. Or the right of gays to marry. Or...
I'll stand by that. In my experience (and experiences relayed by friends) this represents the viewpoint of the stereotypical self-described "right-wing conservative."
You're welcome to disagree, but I'm not the only one who thinks that the "right" is also about control. The issues they promote are just different from those of the left. I wish I hadn't mentioned religion because the "r" word is almost guaranteed to cause thread drift...
If you believe you're representative of the "right," and that one of your core beliefs is that each man should be free to live as he chooses, then it's worth some serious thought as to whether you are willing to let others have that freedom. Can they create music with naughty words in them? How about watching movies where people show their naughty bits (and sometimes let them touch for reasons other than procreation)? How about if other men decide to marry each other? What if the old woman down the street can control her pain by smoking weeds she grows in her garage? What if it's some 25-year-old who wants to smoke the same weeds? What if they want to publish books that present a worldview different than yours? What if the local school is going to read a book about Holden Caulfield? What if that other guy wants to practice a religion you disagree with? What if some of your neighbors want to make the statement that they don't like what the US is becoming, and choose to burn a flag? What if they want to hang Bush/Clinton/Whoever in effigy? What if that guy makes a mistake, pays the price society has determined he needs to pay, and now wants the right to protect his family from criminals? What if he believes that it's prudent to put his 14-year-old daughter on birth control? What if he wants to teach his 14-year-old son about peyote, vision quests, and the religious background of his people? What if he and his wife agree that she should make extra money by sharing her naughty bits with other men? What if he wants to share his naughty bits with other men for money too? What if...
(Note I didn't mention abortion this time -- another topic destined to cause thread drift).
It goes on. There are a number of issues where the mouthpieces of the "right" represent anything
but "freedom." I'm often amused by the ideas those on the "left" (like my sister, hard-core leftist out on the left coast trying to make the world a better place) designed to make the world a better place. At the same time, of late I've become more and more conscious of what those on the "right" advocate as well. Leftists seem a little out of touch with reality, believing that they can ignore human nature and history in search of a better world. Those on the right seem to want a better world through increased economic freedom, increased military might, and increased control in private matters (arguably also ignoring history and human nature). They mean well too.
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I believe that it's sufficient to say that if you truly want to live your life unmolested by others, in a "free" society, neither the "left" or the "right" are going to be comfortable with that...
Edited to remove yet another comment likely to cause thread drift.