I had an epiphany earlier.When typically left-minded people refer to a person's tendency toward the right, they say, "Jack is conservative."

But if Conservative Jack were referring to the left-minded person, he might say, "Mikkie is a Liberal."

What's up with that? I hate to generalize, but this is something I've been noticing. It bugs me. By saying someone is "a" something, they haven't got any leeway to be anything else. There's a certain finality to it (not to mention a large dose of disdain).

I think it boils down to perception. People who lean to the right seem to see the world in terms of structured codes and values. Oftentimes they are moral, but I don't think it has to be. I'm not necessarily talking about just politics here, but a mind-set. You can be conservative about what to eat for dinner. To break from the code of conduct or to reconsider a perceived value is unthinkable. Liberal-minded people tend to be the analyzers and the boundary-pushers. Re-evaluating the accepted structure and constantly pushing for ways to improve it, deconstruct it, rebuild it, or whatever. Therefore, they don't necessarily take a thing at face value, but rather try to look at it from all angles and consider every possibility. For example, a friend once commented that whenever I say awful things about someone, I always follow up with at least one nice thing to say about them. "I hate her, she's such a whore, she was mean to me... but she's nice to her cat." That sort of thing. My dislike of a person is based on my limited experience. I may not want to like them, but I know that someone must, and there must be a reason. I recognize that there is a bigger picture.

Hence, you are conservative. Because you may also be other things. Like scary, evangelical and fascist... no, just kidding (unless, of course, you are).

I'm curious as to whether this grammatical nuance is simply a southern thing, or if its prevalent elsewhere. Hmmm...  ¶ 12/05/2002 06:57:00 PM

  I should know better than to drink Merlot. I met Amy pre-game for happy hour wine at one of the bars on the Square. They were out of Cabernet, which is my usual red-of-choice when it comes to cheap wine (they don't serve happy-hour Bordeaux), but since I'd already gotten in a red mood, I opted to go ahead and have the Merlot.

Like I said, I know better. For some reason, Merlot gives me a headache. It's like no other headache on the face of the earth. And it's awful. I had two glasses of wine. When I went to bed last night, it hit. I had a damned time trying to fall asleep. And this morning? Still there. Not quite in turbo force anymore, but nevertheless still grinding in it's obnoxious little way.

I hate that, too. Merlot is so GOOD. Tasty wine. Bad Headache.   ¶ 12/04/2002 11:31:00 AM

  We got a trophy! (I say "we" because I am the loyal fan who sits in the rain, in the cold... yeah, it's so my trophy, too.)

It's about damned time. 2 years of soccer, with some softball thrown in for good measure, and no victory. Then they put together a flag football team and ... whoo! Trophy! It was utterly freezing tonight. The playoff games were tonight, but because the weather was supposed to get worse tomorrow, they decided to play the final championship game tonight, too. So Ryan's team ended up playing two games back-to-back. They lost game #2, but they still got 2nd place.

GO THE LONGEST YARD! (Side note- that is the most un-cheerable team name ever.)

I'm very cold, and very tired now. And my bum is all stiff from the cold bleachers.   ¶ 12/04/2002 12:08:00 AM

  Check it! Apparently, I have a fashion company I didn't know about, including sweatshops in China. So where's my bank?  ¶ 12/02/2002 05:43:00 PM