Well, religious or not, I think it goes back to intellectual laziness. I think the public has largely absorbed the never ending slander by the right. The word "Liberal" has been so smeared that it can no longer be used non-pejoratively among the general public. Advertising works well against those unwilling to think for themselves.
And it's a social pressure thing - I mean, why do people still take up smoking with all that is now known about it? The perception that smoking is "cool" is deeply ingrained, just as the perception that liberalism is uncool has become in many parts of the country. Younger folk tend to be more concerned with the coolness factor, and few are willing to stand apart from the crowd.
My father, a 71 year old, life-long Republican, now hates Bush as much as I do. Not so, most of my siblings. What does that say about the demographics?
Unfortunately, it's become counter-productive to frame things in a "Conservative" or "Liberal" context. That's the first thing the right does when they want to discredit the left. They've become Orwellian cliches. There is nothing conservative about running a $500 Billion deficit, yet those who do it are still "Conservative". War is peace; freedom is slavery, comrad.
To (try to) answer your main question, the pro-Bush people (of all ages) I've talked to generally seem to want some combination of the following three things: 1. The submission of American culture/society to their quasi-religious moral views. 2. Nationalistic (Narcisistic) pride. 3. Tax cuts for themselves without consequences.
Desire #1 I will leave to other discussions, except to say it goes back to a religious fundamentalism which cuts across nearly all denominational lines.
Desire #2 also requires a larger discussion, but it explains why there was so little opposition prior to the Iraq invasion. Most of Bush's lies were transparent before the war to anyone who was objective. People believed them because they wanted to believe them.
Desire #3 is apparently some sort of selfish mass hysteria - a complete refusal to deal with reality. Bush tells them that 2+2=7 and they cheer. And Bush gives them 7 now (6.9 for the rich and .1 to everyone else, which is apparently enough to shut them up) but they refuse to deal with the fact that somebody is going to have to pay back 3 later, plus a lot of interest. They got theirs, and that's literally all that matters to them.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2004-04-16 10:13 am (UTC)And it's a social pressure thing - I mean, why do people still take up smoking with all that is now known about it? The perception that smoking is "cool" is deeply ingrained, just as the perception that liberalism is uncool has become in many parts of the country. Younger folk tend to be more concerned with the coolness factor, and few are willing to stand apart from the crowd.
My father, a 71 year old, life-long Republican, now hates Bush as much as I do. Not so, most of my siblings. What does that say about the demographics?
Unfortunately, it's become counter-productive to frame things in a "Conservative" or "Liberal" context. That's the first thing the right does when they want to discredit the left. They've become Orwellian cliches. There is nothing conservative about running a $500 Billion deficit, yet those who do it are still "Conservative". War is peace; freedom is slavery, comrad.
To (try to) answer your main question, the pro-Bush people (of all ages) I've talked to generally seem to want some combination of the following three things:
1. The submission of American culture/society to their quasi-religious moral views.
2. Nationalistic (Narcisistic) pride.
3. Tax cuts for themselves without consequences.
Desire #1 I will leave to other discussions, except to say it goes back to a religious fundamentalism which cuts across nearly all denominational lines.
Desire #2 also requires a larger discussion, but it explains why there was so little opposition prior to the Iraq invasion. Most of Bush's lies were transparent before the war to anyone who was objective. People believed them because they wanted to believe them.
Desire #3 is apparently some sort of selfish mass hysteria - a complete refusal to deal with reality. Bush tells them that 2+2=7 and they cheer. And Bush gives them 7 now (6.9 for the rich and .1 to everyone else, which is apparently enough to shut them up) but they refuse to deal with the fact that somebody is going to have to pay back 3 later, plus a lot of interest. They got theirs, and that's literally all that matters to them.
- Bob