Posted by
Bobby Fernandez on Monday, October 27, 2008 10:00:00 PM
I found this quote surprisingly appropriate for the current election.
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."
-Albert Einstein
I am in the twilight of my college years. I have spent the last few years on multiple campuses throughout Southern California. I can say one thing with 100% certainty. It is far easier to be a liberal than to be a conservative. I honestly only know one peer in my personal life who shares my party affiliation. I have on many occasions asked myself why I continue to call myself conservative. At first the answer was honestly because that is all I have known from my childhood. As I began to encounter adversity in sports and in moving out of my parents house, my value system became sustained and reinforced by personal pride. I valued the fruits of my labor and held others to the same standard. The title of my blog is a reflection of my most sophisticated and current reason for being a conservative. It is simple, though not simplistic. I realize that this nation was based on a unique experiment the world had never seen. Our national emphasis on liberty rather than the European ideal of equality has made us in to the superpower and un paralleled force for good in the world we are today, and have been since our maturity in the mid-20th century.
My motivation for advocating conservative ideals is still tinged with pride. Knowledge is very important in a civilization however, if that knowledge can not be interpreted and applied in a wise manner, it is meaningless. This is what Einstein was saying in the quote. It is easy to be guided by facts, statistics and emotion. The "intelligent fool" can easily be the hero by offering up multiple solutions to pressing issues. The solutions will only be scrutinized by the "genius" who has the "courage" and foresight to realize that such immediately popular solutions can be exponentially more destructive than the original problem.
I see thousands of my peers who form their opinions at an early age and spend the rest of their time reading books and gaining the knowledge necessary to rationalize and justify their obviously counter intuitive and unwise positions. It's no wonder people become more conservative as they get older and experience real life.