tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083855923964640893.post8350889450139815674..comments2023-11-05T10:53:07.638+00:00Comments on Patently Rubbish: Why Am I A Tory?patentlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00602962323262055007noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083855923964640893.post-24460806221430308652010-05-03T21:42:21.828+01:002010-05-03T21:42:21.828+01:00I have to say that my libertarianism, my pragmatis...<i>I have to say that my libertarianism, my pragmatism, and my compassion all say "yes".</i> <br /><br />Wow! I'd like to see that unpacked.<br /><br /><i>Civil partnerships exist; the cat is out of the bag and if it looks like a cat, walks like a cat, and miaows like a cat, then it should be called a cat.</i><br /><br />You think that a marriage can be created by an act of <i>reclassification</i> or have you not read the content of a Civil Partnership?<br /><br /><i>We have more pressing concerns facing us.</i><br /><br />What, more pressing than marriage and family life and the basic freedom to think what one believes is true regarding homosexual relationships? What do you think will happen to people who refuse to accept that Civil Partnerships are marriages? And, thereafter, when such "marriages" are allowed in Church, it will be a short step indeed to requiring clergy to officiate at them.<br /><br />Yes, there are more pressing concerns, which is why the Tories ought to stop alienating people with silly suggestions.Alberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12407051721186824991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083855923964640893.post-84357707209944013162010-05-03T20:15:03.978+01:002010-05-03T20:15:03.978+01:00Well, has she been a stricter Catholic then my (si...Well, has she been a stricter Catholic then my (single) mother might not have been presented with the decision in the first place. So it is not <em>quite</em> accurate to say that Catholicism saved my life...<br /><br />As for whether I am that kind of Tory, I have to say that my libertarianism, my pragmatism, and my compassion all say "yes". My gut feeling says "no". On balance? Civil partnerships exist; the cat is out of the bag and if it looks like a cat, walks like a cat, and miaows like a cat, then it should be called a cat. We have more pressing concerns facing us.patentlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00602962323262055007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083855923964640893.post-38541782879257071242010-05-03T19:59:46.543+01:002010-05-03T19:59:46.543+01:00I happen to know that I owe my life to the stubbor...<i>I happen to know that I owe my life to the stubborn resistance of one Catholic to the provisions of the then-recent 1967 Act.</i><br /><br />Delighted to hear Catholicism saved your life. I've always believed the only reason that abortion is allowed in this country is because children who are aborted, are, by definition, unable to vote. They are that silent minority, who can be discriminated against with impunity - thereby putting the lie to so much silly equalities rhetoric. <br /><br />Speaking of which, are you the kind of Tory who is happy with the Conservative <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7673249/General-Election-2010-Conservatives-may-reclassify-gay-civil-partnership-as-marriage.html" rel="nofollow">"contract for equalities", unveiled by shadow women's minister Theresa May today: </a>"We will also consider the case for changing the law to allow civil partnerships to be called and classified as marriage." I keep saying Mr Cameron is unable to think for himself - why do we still need witnesses?Alberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12407051721186824991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083855923964640893.post-19424190627251471852010-05-03T19:32:14.123+01:002010-05-03T19:32:14.123+01:00You misread, Albert. My examples are mainly econo...You misread, Albert. My examples are mainly economic, but that just reflects the hurt I was feeling when I wrote the piece; that the policies of the left cause so much economic hardship to the poor. <br /><br />What persuaded me is that the left's approach is almost always one based on a facile and wishful approach to the problem, and in the end simply does not work because it tries to take the easy route. The approach of the right is to accept the realities of life, take account of them, and get on with it. <br /><br />YMB - there are many parallels there. It is the last one that strikes home with me, though. I happen to know that I owe my life to the stubborn resistance of one Catholic to the provisions of the then-recent 1967 Act. <br /><br />M - "pure capitalism" is a difficult thing to define, and seen almost nowhere. The distinction between the left and the right is that the right work with capitalism, the left work against it. Working with something does not mean you have to release it, unfettered. But if you are trying to work against the very thing that is creating prosperity for all, the thing that is generating the funds you are so keen to spend, then your endeavour is doomed ab initio.patentlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00602962323262055007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083855923964640893.post-89663420522394391982010-05-03T17:35:04.135+01:002010-05-03T17:35:04.135+01:00Thanks for that, Mr. P. I enjoy histories.
There...Thanks for that, Mr. P. I enjoy histories.<br /><br />There are some interesting echoes of my own story. My family was broadly Liberal - but sympathetic to Labour and mildly anti-Tory. <br /><br />I started out that way, but then kept on learning things about the left (& Labour in particular) - that disturbed me. <br /><br />First it was nationalisation ("We're stronger than you because we make th laws so we can take your property.")<br /><br />Then it was the left's opposition to Grammar Schools, that I could not understand. (Yes, I went to one.)<br /><br />Then there was the matter of trade union militancy, the closed shop, and other things which just seemed wrong to me.<br /><br />Curiously enough, the thing that was probably most decisive was the fact that the liberal left tended to be solidly pro-abortion.Young Mr. Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16106889555211376281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083855923964640893.post-28940903748825015962010-05-03T15:55:36.571+01:002010-05-03T15:55:36.571+01:00Woah! I do not believe the working classes are exp...Woah! I do not believe the working classes are exploited. Albert, the Tories support greater self responsibility, a return to less political interference in education and a return to lower tolerance of antisocial behaviour. This is all good. :-)<br /><br />Back to Capitalism, people should be grateful for work (and most of them are), grateful for the advances that have been made in our standard of living and grateful for the tangible and intangible benefits the public sector affords us. <br /><br />Now I did start to write a diatribe about pure Capitalism is too harsh a model when:<br /> <br />1. People without ethics rise to positions of authority which they invariably do <br /><br />2. Competition rises which is necessary to eliminate weaker players. <br /><br />£. Factors like the environment, compassion and welfare are not adequately priced in or respect towards these issues are not sufficiently rewarded.<br /><br />However, I thought I have really annoyed Patently enough recently so I ditched it. Not point stating the obvious. ;-)measuredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11281134269555074558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083855923964640893.post-49054497008905160372010-05-03T14:48:18.568+01:002010-05-03T14:48:18.568+01:00Given that this your reasons for being a Tory are ...Given that this your reasons for being a Tory are almost entirely economic, I would have thought this should have been called "Why I am a (crypto) Marxist."Alberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12407051721186824991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083855923964640893.post-27917849513444938332010-05-03T12:56:58.665+01:002010-05-03T12:56:58.665+01:00It boils down to the public sector being an ineffi...It boils down to the public sector being an inefficient use of resources. <br /><br />My mother's stepfather always thought she had betrayed her background by voting Conservative and would never forgive her, while my father (who came from an impoverished background, but an apprenticeship with the RAF the making of him and he ended up building radar stations) would probably never have forgiven her if she didn't vote Conservative. I hope she has always voted for what she believed was right. <br /><br />I believe that is is patently obvious it is time for the Conservatives to have a large majority to set this country right, P.measuredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11281134269555074558noreply@blogger.com