I've always been a believer that when something goes wrong it is important to figure out exactly what went wrong and why it went wrong to avoid having it happen again. This seems like common sense, but is actually contrary to human nature. The tendency of human nature is to get set in your ways and to do the same destructive things over and over, with the only change in behavior being to do the destructive behavior more forcefully or loudly (anyone who is married or used to be married knows what I am talking about).
As an educator (a former 8th grade Language Arts teacher) I used to make adjustments literally from class to class. Prior to teaching a lesson, I would put pen to paper and develop the best possible plan I could imagine. But when that plan would meet real life students it often didn't work (at least not nearly as well as I wanted it to).
As each class period rolled by throughout the day, my lesson would continue to change. 2nd period had a better lesson than 1st period. 3rd period had a better lesson than 2nd period. And so forth. I always felt bad for my 1st period classes. They were the recipients of my best ideas, but my 8th period classes were the recipients of my best lessons which had been honed in the fire of immediate feedback.
Throughout every level of the Republican party right now some people are expressing opinions about why the Republican party has been so brutalized recently at the polls. I say "some people" because many are choosing more destructive paths of behavior. Some powerful conservatives have taken to mudslinging (Sarah Palin seems to be the favorite target), others have taken to proposing solutions without having taken even two seconds to reflect on what is going on around them (we should return to the basics of conservatism), and even others who are engaged in analysis are doing so only at the most superficial level (Bush was not a fiscal conservative and spent money like a liberal).
Despite my earlier post expressing optimism about the future of the party, I am equally concerned about its future. When one gets beneath the surface and looks at some trends, I believe the winds right now are blowing people away from conservatism. Some of these trends are alarming. How long conservatism spends in the wilderness will depend on how quickly we deal rightly and realistically with these challenges.
I've got some ideas about what led to the current lurch left in America. Some of these thoughts are obvious and others not so obvious. It is the not so obvious ones which concern me the most.
But don't leave me on my own. If you have ideas or articles which you think are appropriate to this discussion, please leave a comment or drop me an email and join the discussion. It's time to do a little soul searching. It's time to take stock.
As an educator (a former 8th grade Language Arts teacher) I used to make adjustments literally from class to class. Prior to teaching a lesson, I would put pen to paper and develop the best possible plan I could imagine. But when that plan would meet real life students it often didn't work (at least not nearly as well as I wanted it to).
As each class period rolled by throughout the day, my lesson would continue to change. 2nd period had a better lesson than 1st period. 3rd period had a better lesson than 2nd period. And so forth. I always felt bad for my 1st period classes. They were the recipients of my best ideas, but my 8th period classes were the recipients of my best lessons which had been honed in the fire of immediate feedback.
Throughout every level of the Republican party right now some people are expressing opinions about why the Republican party has been so brutalized recently at the polls. I say "some people" because many are choosing more destructive paths of behavior. Some powerful conservatives have taken to mudslinging (Sarah Palin seems to be the favorite target), others have taken to proposing solutions without having taken even two seconds to reflect on what is going on around them (we should return to the basics of conservatism), and even others who are engaged in analysis are doing so only at the most superficial level (Bush was not a fiscal conservative and spent money like a liberal).
Despite my earlier post expressing optimism about the future of the party, I am equally concerned about its future. When one gets beneath the surface and looks at some trends, I believe the winds right now are blowing people away from conservatism. Some of these trends are alarming. How long conservatism spends in the wilderness will depend on how quickly we deal rightly and realistically with these challenges.
I've got some ideas about what led to the current lurch left in America. Some of these thoughts are obvious and others not so obvious. It is the not so obvious ones which concern me the most.
But don't leave me on my own. If you have ideas or articles which you think are appropriate to this discussion, please leave a comment or drop me an email and join the discussion. It's time to do a little soul searching. It's time to take stock.
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