John Calipari on First Take

[Ky grandpa]

The way I understand it, the terms “Right” and “Left” as we know them originated during the French Revolution. It is based on what side of the chamber they sat on in the Legislative Assembly.

Those on the Right were Conservatives and wanted to restore the monarchy in France. Those on the Left were Radicals who wanted to kill the king and eliminate nobility so everyone would be equal.

In most cases, a political spectrum has the left side wanting more freedom or liberty (thus the term Liberal) and the right side wanting more control or order (the way things use to be or Conservatives).

If you lean too far left and have ultimate freedom and no rules, you have anarchy.

If you lean too far right and give government total control, you have slavery.

There needs to be a balance, a little liberty and a little order.

In the United States, the spectrum should be based on the Constitution. The Left wants a loose interpretation of the Constitution and let it change with the times. The Right wants a strict interpretation of the Constitution.

So liberals tend to want a loose interpretation of the Constitution as a living flexible document that changes with the times.

Conservatives tend to want a strict interpretation of the Constitution (it means what it says and nothing else) and want to preserve the government the founding fathers set up and keep it virtually the same.

I know someone who thinks they are smarter than me will come along and correct me on all this, but that’s fine, this is just what I have learned as a history student/teacher for the better part of my 47 years. Believe what you want, this is how the history books teach it, at least the ones I have read. I am sure you can pull some article from the Internet that says the opposite or whatever. Every answer to every question seems to have three or four different answers out there, so TIFWIW.

If you think that Conservatives want a larger government you are way off base.. That is the exact opposite of what it means to be Conservative.. I am one and I want a very small gov with less control on many issues.. The Republic was set up to be run by the People not elected official that think their crap don't stink..

You must have gone to a very liberal school system.. History book's have changed over the years and none of the thing's I read about is taught in today's schools..

I was married to a teacher and I did go to college some and it had changed by the time I went to college in the mid 70's after my 4 years in the USAF.. You are maybe confused into what it means to be a liberal left winger or a conservative..


GBB

 

[bucsrule8872]

Since it is political theory, I guess there are no right or wrong answers.

Like I said in my original post on political spectrum, there will be some on here who will see things differently.

 

[travisbickle]

I am claiming what I already said quite clearly, which is very well supported by documentary history. I’m not interested in subjective debates.

Please point out what is subjective in anything I stated.

A perfunctory study of the history of fascism shows that it was a complete hodgepodge of ideologies that were convenient and served the purpose of fulfilling the bloodlust and quest for power of Hitler and Mussolini (and others). That is well documented fact.

Trying to extract ideologies of these fascists and apply them to any mainstream political force in America today isn’t subjectively wrong; it’s objectively obtuse to the reality of what “the will to power” (to borrow a phrase as the fascists were fond of doing) means, historically and philosophically. It’s anachronistic hyperbole that, intentionally or not, serves no constructive way forward in the modern world.

Edit: and just to be clear I am solely talking about anyone that tries to attribute the claim that either the left or right as commonly accepted in modern or mainstream politics is a “fascist”. It does history a disservice and intellectually minimalizes the true horror of what these regimes did.

I agree with others in this thread that say the extremes on both sides are a threat; I’d go farther and say they are a cancer on democracy.

I’ve said my peace and say thank you for having intelligent discussion.

 

[bucsrule8872]

If you think that Conservatives want a larger government you are way off base.. That is the exact opposite of what it means to be Conservative.. I am one and I want a very small gov with less control on many issues.. The Republic was set up to be run by the People not elected official that think their crap don't stink..

You must have gone to a very liberal school system.. History book's have changed over the years and none of the thing's I read about is taught in today's schools..

I was married to a teacher and I did go to college some and it had changed by the time I went to college in the mid 70's after my 4 years in the USAF.. You are maybe confused into what it means to be a liberal left winger or a conservative..


GBB

Please re-read my post.

In the U.S. Conservatives want a strict interpretation of the Constitution. That definitely does not mean big government. Conservatives should be minimalists. Conservatives tend to want the government to do just what the Constitution says, no more and no less.

The original European view of left and right was that the right represented support of the traditional monarchy and the left support for democracy.

That is how the terms “right” and “left” originated.

In our country the meanings have changed.

In no way did I mean that the political right in America wants more government control and power. That is definitely not the case. Political ideology in America centers around the interpretation of the Constitution.

 

[HagginHall1999]

John Calipari is a great humanitarian and ambassador to our program.

 

[warrior-cat]

Only he nose!!

 

[Sawnee Cat]

John Calipari is a great humanitarian and ambassador to our program.

He needs to win another National Championship. Then he can retire and go into politics.

 

[the stat man]

Good post.

It’s the extremes killing the middle.

The normal people in the middle (about 80-90% of the population) suffer because of these extreme left or right idiots.

I think this is a excellent post and agree totally , and how does the media love to spin and report things ? They want to sensationalize every thing that is negative. Very few times do you see a feel good story get the coverage of a negative story.

 

[rick64]

 

[rick64]