re: #27 iceweasel

That in particular is kind of brilliant.

It’s been said that the difference between the way conservatives love their country and the way liberals love their country is this: conservatives love America like a young child loves Mommy; everything Mommy does must always be right, and anyone criticising Mommy is evil.
Liberals meanwhile love their country like an adult: they love it passionately but can still see its flaws, and believe that making it better (and becoming better) is part of what love is.

This is a pretty partisan way of putting it, and I don’t think it captures reality, but the bit about conservatives does capture a bit of how the deranged wingnut type on the right thinks— the kind of people who think antiwar protesters must hate their country. (It’s not an accurate characterisation of all conservatives IMO, let me say, just the deranged wingnut type, before people freak out and think I’m arguing that)

I can’t agree with that. You did qualify it well enough to not get a downding, but I think you’re wrong. Dogmatic thinking occurs on both sides of the aisle. There are thoughtful liberals like Barney Frank (listen to him talk, he does make a strong effort to understand the issues even if his solutions are wrong), and dogmatic ones like Barbara Lee. By the same token, there are thoughtful conservatives like Haley Barbour, and dogmatic ones like Rick Perry. It’s not as much about one’s place on the political spectrum as about a person’s ability to look honestly at things without needing the crutch of dogma.