<p>I think the common theme in this thread is that being a government/fiscal conservative is nothing to worry about and no one would be offended. However, being a social conservative might raise a view eyebrows. </p>
<p>I don’t think anyone has ever called a fiscal conservative a hick or closeminded. Those insults tend to only be thrown at social conservatives who base their views on hating others (gays, non-christians, etc). Although, not all social conservatives are like this, obviously.</p>
<p>[Guns</a>, Germs, and Steel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“Guns, Germs, and Steel - Wikipedia”>Guns, Germs, and Steel - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>"Timothy Taylor goes further by questioning whether Hern</p>
<p>"I don’t think anyone has ever called a fiscal conservative a hick or closeminded. "</p>
<p>No, they’ve just been called selfish and elitist.</p>
<p>My point is that the idea that European culture is superior does not need to be based on the premise that Europeans are innately more intelligent or superior in some other innate way. Instead, it can be seen as a product of favorable environmental factors (or at least ones conducive to the creation of that specific culture.)</p>
<p>THIS IS (almost) DIAMOND’S THESIS. (He’s not proving that European culture is superior, simply their ability to conquer.)</p>
<p>Just because Timothy Taylor criticized Diamond for an apparently Eurocentric view, that doesn’t mean he actually had one. Once again, the point Diamond sets out to prove is that Europeans simply had luck of the draw and that they are inherently equal to everyone else in terms of intelligence, etc.</p>
<p>From Wikipedia: Blaut also criticizes Diamond’s loose use of the terms “Eurasia” and “innovative,” which he says mislead the reader into presuming that Western Europe is responsible for technological inventions that actually took place in the Middle East and Asia.</p>
<p>So apparently wikipedia (or Blaut) didn’t do its research because there are ENTIRE CHAPTERS of the book dedicated to how Europeans basically took inventions made in the East and called it their own. </p>
<p>Have you actually read the book, or are you just going by what wikipedia tells you?</p>
<p>No, they’ve just been called selfish and elitist</p>
<p>True, but those are two very different insults than closed minded and hick.</p>
<p>I read it when I was 8, so yeah, I’m going by what wikipedia tells me for the details.</p>
<p>At this point, you’re arguing semantics - the definition of ‘Eurocentric.’ Your original point was that Diamond’s book debunks the idea that Western civilization is superior. It does not even attempt to do so. It attempts to prove that European dominance is not due to any innate factors, but rather due to environmental ones.</p>
<p>Won’t hurt at all, one of my supplements was, to the outside person, rather conservative and elitist. Things still worked out fine.</p>
<p>My short answer is “Heck, no.” </p>
<p>They want diversity, don’t they? :)</p>
<p>This no doubt has been parsed before on CC, but I’ll ask again anyway. For those of you who spend considerable time here, give us your estimates:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Percentage of CC forum posters who are generally conservative: ______</p></li>
<li><p>Percentage of CC forum posters who are generally liberal: ______</p></li>
</ul>
<p>50% liberal, 20% conservative, 30% moderate</p>
<p>It attempts to prove that European dominance is not due to any innate factors, but rather due to environmental ones.</p>
<p>That’s exactly right. But in the process of doing so he invariably disproves that European civilization is superior.</p>
<p>To the OP - My son struggled with this as his most interesting ECs were very plainly politically conservative or Christian. He decided that was who he was and if they didn’t want him, well… that was fine.</p>
<p>I don’t think it hurt him at all. He received major scholarship offers from 8 of 9 colleges he was accepted at (including several top 20) and was rejected at 2.</p>
<p>To Dave Berry – I think it’s 60% liberal, 40% conservative, but the liberals are louder 
Whenever I’ve said something very conservative, I’ve gotten a lot of private support - I think a lot of folks just don’t want to deal with the flames.</p>
<p>I like how I keep seeing being open minded is a plus. Some of the most close-minded people I know are liberals. I trust you would have the same advice for liberals?</p>
<p>Yeah of course. It’s annoying to listen to people talk about stuff they don’t know anything about, irrespective of their views.</p>
<p>To insinuate (or believe) that a conservative is, by definition, closed minded is closed minded.</p>
<p>To associate conservatism with bigotry of any kind (e.g., homophobia, sexism, racism, elitism, religion-based, politics-based, favors the rich, etc.) is closed minded. </p>
<p>Conversely, to insinuate (or believe) that a liberal is, by definition, open minded is just as closed minded.</p>
<p>Also conversely, to associate liberalism with tolerance (e.g., of homosexuals, of gender roles, of race, of religion, of political views, etc.) is just as closed minded.</p>
<p>The point is, don’t label, listen. That’s true tolerance. Neither outlook is better, nor worse, only different from the other.</p>
<p>That the OP even feels the need to ask the question speaks volumes.</p>
<p>Wow…featured discussion. Who’d have thought?</p>
<p>Amen to that most recent post, winchester.</p>
<p>I have heard all the slanders–selfishness, immaturity, dishonesty–when I have told people my positions before explaining my rationales. The sad thing is, some people assume (at least in my experience) that certain political views are tied to certain pernicious personality traits.</p>
<p>It shouldnt hurt you but remember, conservative ideas were mainstream 20 yrs ago. Liberal ideas will be mainstream 20 yrs from now. Just look at the career of Jesse Helms. Everything til the Bono era was completely in the wrong. The thought of a black President is probably what killed him.</p>
<p>i think my guidance counselor’s recommendation might have something to do with i’m friends with a bunch of really really liberal people but my own views are very conservative. i honestly think it’s something that makes me kind of unique. i’m not a hating sort of conservative.. i’m more anti drugs, stuff like that. i have real strong morals. not all of them are conservative, but a lot are.
i feel like a lot of people are democrats just because everyone else is. not that they’d admit it. but seriously, how much bush-hating comes from just watching tv and seeing all the jokes all the time?
dunno.</p>
<p>Swish–</p>
<p>I personally think that’s a bit of an overreach. If you use the popular vote in presidential elections and republican and democrat for stand-ins for popularity of conservative and liberal viewpoints (debatable at best, but especially prior to 1960), then the democrat viewpoint (we’re using to represent liberalism) was most popular in the 30s and 40s, 60s, and 90s. The republican viewpoint (we’re using to represent conservatism) was most popular in the 50s, 70s, 80s, and 00’s. Yeah, there is some cycling. </p>
<p>2004 51R 48D
2000 48R 48D
1996 49D 40R
1992 43D 37R 19I
1988 53R 46D
1984 59R 41D
1980 51R 41D
1976 50D 48R
1972 61R 38D
1968 43R 43D 14I
1964 61D 39R
1960 50D 50R
1956 57R 42D
1952 55R 44D
1948 50D 45R 2I
1944 53D 46R
1940 55D 44R
1936 61D 37R</p>
<p>However, when the huge landslides are a mere 60% or so, I don’t think you can say one view is mainstream and the other not. No, I think the country is pretty evenly balanced - whether each of us likes it or not.</p>