Yesterday an article from the Chicago Tribune was reprinted in our home paper written by a business woman named Rosemary Warschawski.
It was entitled, “A Letter To My Liberal Friends,” a letter she said was intended to explain to liberals what really is going on with conservatives that we apparently don’t understand.
“Conservatives,” she said, “feel their values and their way of life are under fire from a government that has stopped listening to them, that shuts them out of negotiations, that belittles their concerns, that is manipulating information to fortify a progressive agenda and that is constricting free speech to stifle opposition. I’m not writing exaggerations here. This is how about half of America feels.
“Half of America is frightened that all that they have worked for, that the people they cherish, that the very structure and the rules by which they have organized their lives and for which they have paid a personal price are in danger.”
My response as I read her words was that if you changed the word “conservative” to “liberal” and you wouldn’t have to change anything else in these two paragraphs.
I feel like my way of life is under fire from a government that stopped listening to me the minute George W. Bush took office. Worse, it was a government via the Supreme Court that put him in the White House against the will of the majority of the voters in the first place.
If that is not belittling liberal concerns I don’t know what is.
How about “manipulating information to fortify a conservative agenda that included starting a war of choice in Iraq, and then calling anyone who raised questions about it unpatriotic and soft on terrorism.
Do I feel frightened that everything I have worked for is in danger? You bet your life I do.
So, “my conservative friends,” I decided to write you a letter of response in an attempt to explain what is really going on with liberals that I don’t think you understand.
Let me begin by saying straight out that your idea of a way of life that makes America “America” is not even close to the way of life I and liberals like me believe makes this country great.
I believe a fire needs to be put under a business culture that has made it difficult for the best qualified woman to get a fair wage or the top job because for too many years any old man would do, a business culture where minorities still have trouble getting an interview because of the color of their skin, a business culture that believes it is morally acceptable for people at the top to make 300 times as much money as they pay their employees.
While you and others like you believe too many Americans want you to pay for what they want instead of working for it, the way of life I cherish believes there are too many Americans who work one, two, and three jobs every week and still don’t make enough to live on.
You, my conservative friends, may feel discarded and forgotten, unrewarded for working hard all your life, unappreciated for all you have done to make this country great, but the way of life liberals believe in recognizes that what you are really experiencing is the uncertainty of your position of privilege being challenged precisely because it is privileged in ways our nation can no longer afford or tolerate.
You obviously believe you are having to pay for bad choices others have made, but I want to remind you, liberal that I am, that you didn’t get to where you are and have what you have without help from people you never knew, people whose homes you never even see as you drive your Lexus across the interstate bridge that goes over their neighborhood.
And since you brought it up, I want to remind you that you are not the only person who has worked hard all your life. I’m thinking of the teachers who took low salaries in order to teach you to read and write, to do math, and to learn about the world.
I’m thinking about the custodians who names you probably didn’t know who cleaned the bathrooms you used without you giving their work a thought, or the waitress who has taken your order time and again without you thinking about her sick kindergartener she may have had to leave at home alone in order to come to work because her mother was cleaning your house or someone else’s and couldn’t help her.
What I am sure of, my conservative friends, is that what you think is true is mostly not because what you think is happening to our country is shaped by the fact that you are now one of the “haves” in the world who sees a few “have-nots” who don’t want to work or work hard and that has made you believe they are all like that.
I realize you are worried about the playing field being leveled to the point of absurdity, a point you are sure liberals are pushing the nation toward, but some of us think what is truly absurd is you thinking the playing field will ever be level in a country that has become a plutocracy.
You seem to think that liberals don’t believe in what you say is the “Judeo-Christian principle of individual liberty coupled with individual responsibility.”
Pardon me if I correct you here, but there is no such thing as a “Judeo-Christian principle of individual liberty.” Just the opposite is the case. In Hebrew and Christian scripture “commitment to the community” is the guiding principle of life together where all care for all all the time.
What you named is more accurately an Americanized version of a mythical “Judeo-Christian” principle.
Not that individual responsibility is unimportant to liberals. It is. We just don’t isolate it from the need for compassion that arises from the bond of community our Judeo-Christian tradition reminds us to honor and nurture.
I am glad, of course, that you want your taxes to be used for the common good, but I confess that after reading your letter I was not sure what you meant by that, given the fact that more than once you reminded me that conservatives like you don’t like paying for somebody else’s bad choices in life.
Didn’t conservatives go all in when they supported the war in Iraq that all of us are still paying for that? Is there a difference between your bad choices and others?
I want to say so much more to you, my conservative friends, but I will resist.
Let me just say in closing that I appreciate the invitation to move to the middle of something (I confess I wasn’t sure what that “something” is) and for all of us to start taking responsibility for what you think is real progress.
But in all honesty I have to say that I would be more inclined to accept your invitation had you talked a lot more about what you wanted to do to make that possible instead of spending your time telling me all the reasons why I and those like me are standing in your way.
Your disappointed liberal friend…
linnposts.com 
This dang near brought me to tears. I’m right there beside you, cheering. Blessings.
Since I posted the link to this blog post on my FB page several people have reposted it on their FB timelines. Several people have also encouraged you to submit a copy to the StarTribune as a retort to Rosemary Warschawski. Let me join the chorus and encourage you to submit it to the Strib, Jan.
I saw it on Facebook, Rollie, so thanks posting it. After reading the comments on your page I decided to send it to the Star Tribune. I have no confidence they will give it much consideration so I am not expecting much there. My blog will no doubt have to do.
Dr. Linn; You always hit the nail on the head, but in this post the nail head disappeared into the wood, and it was hardwood at that. I felt exactly the same way you felt when I read Rosemary’s letter, but there is no way I could have put my dismay and surprise into words the way you did. Everyone, conservatives, liberals, libertarians, socialists, etc should read your rejoinder; we are in your debt. It will be hard to top your latest post, perhaps it can’t be done, but I know you can and will equal it. Dick Aulich
I think your most poignant comment here has to do with “commitment to community”. It is community, shared aspirations and values, which I see to be most at risk in America today. I have written of this on several occasions in emails or FB responses to family, friends and some I don’t know. This development reminds me of Margaret Thatcher declaring that “there is no society only family” as she disassembled or weakened much of Britain’s labor and social supports; a mentality mirrored here of course. I also find it sadly curious that it seems to be the massively wealthy families and individuals here (Walton, Rockefeller, Kock, Bush, Gates and lesser or unknown names) that are taking control of the government and all the nation’s major institutions. We are going backwards to “blue-blood rulers”; a global ambition by some! When well-to-do conservatives “feel” the changes you know they too are becoming discarded. No wonder they feel threatened; they are! They are simply pointing at the wrong causes. I truly believe many at the very top of the elites are hell-bent on depopulating the planet both at home and abroad toward what they think is a “manageable” number. (Remember the maximum 500 million people designation on the Georgia Guidestones?) All manner of chaos is being employed/unleashed toward greater control over greater amounts of resources and peoples by a psychopathic minority. (Brussels is the latest contribution to the fracturing of Europe by the west’s creation, ISIS.) There is a very big picture/plan at play here and it is malevolent! Thank you for your pointed message.
What amazes me, Bob, is that not only do conservatives think radical individualism is a religious value, they think it is the answer to today’s problems. It is actually quite alarming that community means to little to them, at least until they need some help, such as wanting FEMA to help residents of Oklahoma after tornadoes hit, but having previously trying to tie FEMA help when hurricane Sandy hit the Northeast to making budget cuts to social programs. I have reached the point of believing they simply have no shame. Thanks for writing.
(Dick, my reply to your gracious comment did not post for some reason so I will try to repeat it.)
This blog touched a nerve in a lot of people. I think it did because liberals feel our voice has also been ignored or simply rejected out of hand. The problem is that conservatives don’t consider the possibility that they are the reason we feel as we do. I had to say that to Rosemary, whoever she is. Your response and all the others makes me glad I did. I will keep on writing. Thank you, again, for commenting.
Excellent post Jan. Well said. It does seem that for many angry conservatives, “not being heard” really means, not getting their way. They seem to have lost the understanding that in the US elections have consequences, that when you lose you defer somewhat to those who won, that rather than tear down the whole system you adjust your approach in order to find a candidate that represents the majority of the populace and can win an election. What you don’t do is become more extreme in the manner of a Donald Trump or Ted Cruz. I worry about the democrats winning the White House again, not because of how they will lead the country but because of the increasingly extreme reaction by those on the right who appear unable to accept change or losing.
I think you are exactly right, Wilbur. Conservatives love to win, but they do not know how to lose. So they want to destroy instead of working to make the country better. It is a sad state they are in, making all of us suffer for it.
Haven’t seen the Warschawski letter, so will not comment on it. I did observe some other comments to question: The words “. . . as you drive your Lexus over the bridge . . .” Did you mean my 2001 Chevy?? And “. . . help from people you never knew . . .” Are you not aware that most conservatives are not rich, and are donating their help to less-well-off others in their communities in one way or another? Conservatives ARE teachers, plumbers, city maintenance, beauticians, the whole gamut of occupations. Some work in high-tech or high end occupations, like attorneys or physicians and have higher incomes. Just like liberals. Conservatives are NOT “the haves” as you are implying. Paying for someone else’s bad choices under the umbrella of “compassion” usually ends up meaning LONG-term welfare, food stamps, housing benefits. Conservatives much prefer to train for occupation in demand and get people off the dole. Bill Clinton did it! Are you aware of that? Also, the “equalization” of income Does Not Work! Check out the Amana Colonies–everyone was to work, the community all ate together in the one dining room building three times daily. After a number of years, they learned that some of the people found that they could lay around and still eat while the others worked. The “sharing” failed, and they moved their Amana system to more private ownership and family life, each responsible for their own and not beholden to those who got away with not working.
I have a very liberal brother. He and his wife raised two children in a moderately large house. After children left, he maintained that house for maybe 15 more years, without ever moving any low-income family in to fill up the extra space, the “sharing compassion” idea. (He had espoused 1,000 sq. ft. for family of 4 as rational, I believe, forgot exactly.) Anyway, he finally moved to a neighboring state and reduced the size of house to maybe half for he and his wife. Moving to neighboring state was done for ONE reason: To Have LOWER TAXES! The smaller house was reasonable, but this liberal PHILOSOPHY supporting so many poor programs, and then liberal BEHAVIOR of watching out for himself is So Very Confusing!! Why does he NOT WANT to pay more taxes, to support the poor? Beats me!! No need to reply–I’m just thinking out loud.
I agree with Dick Aulich. I read the original letter, disagreed with most points, but didn’t know exactly how to respond. It seems that Conservatives feel it is okay to impose their beliefs on others but they resent it when someone else asks for respect for a different set of beliefs.
Also, LIBERALS feel it is okay to impose their beliefs on others, but they resent it when someone else asks for respect for a different set of beliefs.
Disagreement is not the same thing as imposing a belief on you. What is more, an unsubstantiated opinion or one that contradicts facts is not a position or a viewpoint. It is an opinion that has no credibility. That is why the Fix News “fair and balanced” mantra is another way of saying facts don’t matter. They do, but conservatives want the general public to believe they don’t. I used to tell my students that they had a right to their opinion, but they should remember that there are a lot of stupid opinions around so they don’t all carry the same weight. Conservatives would do well to remember this.
People need to start with the SAME set of facts before discussing and forming an opinion. That’s where the “problems” of opinions start. Provable, scientific facts, first-hand quotes rather than “interpretive” information. Also, where is YOUR respect for other points of view when you repeatedly insult your “opposition” with the term “Fix News” ?? That’s disrespectful and insulting. Is that the same standard you will allow me to use against liberal views?? Is that Christian?
“Fix News” is not an opinion, it is a fact. I heard Bill O’Reilly, for example, say of the rise of ISIS, “Here’s what we know. Obama’s decision to pull troops out of Iraq gave rise to ISIS.” That was an uniformed, ill-informed, fact-less, and dangerous claim, but he said it as if it were true beyond question. Fix News also promoted the “birther” movement that was racist at its core, not to mention a complete falsehood. They have interviewed people who claimed Obamacare had caused them to lose insurance or made insurance unaffordable who later proved to be frauds. The notion of “Fair and Balanced” is a fancy justification of having no concern for seeking the truth.
Start from the same facts? You once wrote that Obama’s refusal to negotiate with Republicans was the cause of stalemate in Washington. That is another falsehood promoted by Fix News and Republicans. E.J. Dionne tells the real story, as do many others, when he writes: “Obama certainly had his shortcomings. But to assume that Obama was ever in a position to build broad support among Republicans for his program ignores their determination, from the very first day of his presidency, to prevent progressive policies from taking hold. More effective schmoozing and more invitations to the White House might have been nice, but they would not have solved Obama’s problem. The fierceness of the opposition he faced had deep structural and historical roots in the long-term changes in conservatism and in the Republican Party.”
If you want to start from the same facts, you have to be willing to accept the facts instead of arguing with them.
Will try to be brief. (1) E.J. Dionne speaks from a liberal position; therefore HIS bias determines how he sees things. How are you sure HE is speaking from a position of “facts” rather than strict opinion. It’s all interpretive. (2) Rise of ISIS: Not being an apologist for B. O’Reilly, but the Time Line of Events is what I think he is saying caused ISIS. It is true that leaving a vacuum, no stable governance, leaves the door open for radicals to fill empty space and take over, along with a lot of other psychological expressions of upset. I believe that the Generals advised against full pull-out. There seems to be a “cause to effect” happening, along with other complications from neighboring countries, leaders, etc. What is YOUR “opinion” about rise of ISIS?? (3) Not all FOX people agree with each other–even on the same program–watch them disagree with each other! If you don’t like Bill O., maybe Greta makes more sense, with her attorney background. I can’t stand Hannity most of the time. (4) People DO say that their health premiums HAVE gone up decidedly. Businesses HAVE NOT hired because of cost of insurance, or have kept employment to part time rather than full time. (5) What “progressive policies” would you like to see enacted? And why? What would be the CONSEQUENCES of further “progressive policies?” Socialism?? Certainly hope not!!
If you don’t want to believe Dionne who is a real journalist before he is anything else, then read It’s Worse That It Looks by Thomas Mann, a liberal, and Norm Ornstein, a conservative. They say what Dionne says, and before he said it.
The time line you speak of his baloney. The troop withdrawal was what Bush negotiated with Iraqi Prime Minister al- Maliki. Obama tried to re-negotiate to leave troops there longer. Al-Maliki refused. This is what I means by staring with real fact, not opinions. O’Reilly was wrong and dishonest.
Health facts. Insurance premiums have risen for some, buy that is the insurance companies, not Obamacare, but at a slower rate. Before Obamacare premiums were rising 20 and 30 percent every year. It’s not perfect, but would be so much better if we had Medicare for everyone, but Republicans will never let that happen. Obamacare is virtually the same plan Republicans proposed in 1995 to fight the Clinton plan. Now they hate it because Obamacare adopted it. That was his mistake. We could have done better, but Republicans wanted to keep the broken system we had. At least what we have is better than what we had.
We already have socialism. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, tax relief for corporations, property tax relief for sports stadiums, market regulations, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and on and on. No liberal is advocating total socialism, but the best programs we have are socialism. Those who want to rid ourselves of all socialism would prefer the informal economic oligarchy we now have become formalized.
What do I think of ISIS? They are thugs, murderers, and phony Muslims, but the only way they will be eliminated is for Arab countries to do it. We can help, but we are fools to think we will defeat them. Iraq and Afghanistan are proof that our power is limited. We cannot police or save the world.