Babyboomers and Liberals

I have told mother this. (Note: I never say "mother" in the real world, but it sounds good to me here... normally I just say "mom" this or that... "mother" is more formal though, and appropriate when trying to lecture your own mother).

I think mother's conservativism is biased because of Babyboomer Liberalism. I suspect that to mother, a "liberal" brings to mind the idea of Babyboomer liberals... or at least of liberals familiar to the babyboomer experience, such as Ted Kennedy. JFK adds womanizing to this and the allure has long since faded. FDR made a better archetype. A rich guy fighting for the common man in sensible ways, not letting being in a wheelchair stopping him from kicking butt.

Mother, if you get wind ever of this libertarian progressivism I mention to you. If you start to realize that the children of the babyboomers are 1000 miles from approaching liberalism in a way not similar in the least to the Doa of Babyboom, you may be suprised to find there is a vast undercurrent of libertarians with good reasons to build a strong society, high quality infrastructure public AND private, regulate our consumption of natural resources and especially our fouling of them.

And if that day comes, I promise the philosophical feeling are pure, deep, and refreshing, even in the face of another thousand years of educating the regressive.