Progressive vs Conservative

Just to prove that this blog isn't COMPLETELY about my athletic endeavors...here's a little late-night political thought.....almost let this one slip, but I had to get it down before I went to bed and ultimately lost it.

Conservative thinkers: We've been around the block. We've been working hard our whole lives. We've paid our dues and we've paid our taxes. WE KNOW HOW THINGS REALLY WORK. We were once young like you. We were full of hope and dreams of a fantastic world where the poor were fed, the uneducated were taught, the water was clean, the air was pure, and the world was peaceful. We've been down that road, saw that those ideas don't/won't/can't work. The sad reality is that things have always been this way and will continue to be this way, so we've gotten used to it. "We understand how the world works."

Progressive thinkers: We recognize that you have worked hard your whole life. We respect that you've paid your dues and worked your ass off to get what you have and get where you are. We get that you are comfortable with the status quo, the current system that you mastered in order to carve out your happy existence. We, however, are not satisfied with "how the world works". We are more concerned with "how the world COULD work". We still dream the impossible dreams. As convinced as you are that this is The Way, we refuse to accept that this is The Best Way. Feed the hungry. Insure the uninsured. Find an energy source that DOESN'T pollute everything it comes into contact with. Cure terminal illnesses in 3rd world nations. Negotiate peace when threatened with violence. "Solve the fucking problems of the goddamned world."

I can identify with thinkers from both sides. Both have their pros and cons. Maybe because I'm still somewhat young and optimistic, I tend to lean towards the progressive side of things. Things COULD be better. Why are conservative thinkers so set in their stubborn knowledge that none of these ideas could possibly work? Are they nervous that some of them could actually work and somehow disturb their peaceful existence?

And the big finish.....this is why I turned the light back on and got out my laptop.....

Conservatives are progressives who gave up the dream that the world could someday be a better place.

Peace and hair grease.