NRR: Why are college students mostly liberal?

Left leaner wrote:

Having a doctor tell you it is in your best interest to eat healthy and EXERCISE is not a government takeover of anything; it's common sense.

It also won't change a damn thing or make this country any healthier. Don't doctors already tell people to eat right and exercise? My docs sure do.

the problem with liberal / conservative labels is that a lot of people are free market / social liberals that don't really fit in either bucket. IMO college students identify primarily with the social aspect of liberalism - gay / civil rights etc but don't identify yet with the free market / tax burden side. Even if they work, their salaries are so low they pay no taxes anyway.

Once they exit college and start making money, then they become more sensitive to high tax rates, especially if they end up taking a job somewhere with a high cost of living.

duck in the chicken wrote:

European healthcare systems seem to work well, and I'd like to see that happen here.

No, they don't. Unless you think having to wait several weeks to see a doctor when you get the brionchitis, like my sister who has chronic bronchitis does, is a good system.

erm wrote:

Even if they work, their salaries are so low they pay no taxes anyway.

So, you are saying that folks with low-paying jobs, aka poor people, don't pay much in taxes. Interesting point.

satansmouf wrote:

So now the government is going to be able to tell people what they can eat and require them to excersize? Sounds like a move from socialism to totalitarianism- Mao would be proud.

There is a HUGE difference between paying for someone to receive a service and actually providing the service. I'm suggesting the former, not the latter.

Frank at the HUB wrote:

No, they don't. Unless you think having to wait several weeks to see a doctor when you get the brionchitis, like my sister who has chronic bronchitis does, is a good system.

I've seen waiting periods for doctors in the USA already, so I don't see a huge difference there. Also, waits that long are usually a result of a shortage of doctors, which is not something the government can control.

Because they're American and most Americans are liberal.

Will people stop using that f***ing churchill quote? Its stupid. He used that when speaking about the British politics in the 1940's. The current day american political spectrum in no way resembles that. Why are college students more liberal? In general, I would say its because when you become educated you learn to look at issues with a certain amount of open-mindedness. You realize that issues are not always as black and white as some make them out to be. Its this ability to think critically about things that makes people more "liberal".

jamaicanmecrazy wrote:

Will people stop using that f***ing churchill quote? Its stupid. He used that when speaking about the British politics in the 1940's. The current day american political spectrum in no way resembles that. Why are college students more liberal? In general, I would say its because when you become educated you learn to look at issues with a certain amount of open-mindedness. You realize that issues are not always as black and white as some make them out to be. Its this ability to think critically about things that makes people more "liberal".

Education and critical thinking skills aren't the answer we're looking for here. Those tend to make people moderates, not liberal or conservative by current American standards.

duck in the chicken wrote:

Frank at the HUB wrote:

No, they don't. Unless you think having to wait several weeks to see a doctor when you get the brionchitis, like my sister who has chronic bronchitis does, is a good system.

I've seen waiting periods for doctors in the USA already, so I don't see a huge difference there. Also, waits that long are usually a result of a shortage of doctors, which is not something the government can control.

No, it's because of the ridiculous process she has to go through to be able to make an appointment. It's so bad, in fact, that she and her husband are considering moving to the US because when they are here, she's received much better health care.

You are right that there are waiting periods in the US, too. But, at least in my sister's experience, the waits are measured in hours, not weeks. That, I think, is quite a large difference.

What sounds cooler to a college freshman?

Conservative Liberal

Money as a Goal Causes as a goal

War Peace

Traditional Less Traditional

Bible Thumping "Tolerant"

Moral Crusades Legalize it

I'm more conservative than most on campus. Of course, I have a job and am paying my own way through school. On the other hand, I'm still not a conservative.

Frank at the HUB wrote:

No, it's because of the ridiculous process she has to go through to be able to make an appointment. It's so bad, in fact, that she and her husband are considering moving to the US because when they are here, she's received much better health care.

You are right that there are waiting periods in the US, too. But, at least in my sister's experience, the waits are measured in hours, not weeks. That, I think, is quite a large difference.

I've had to wait days sometimes. However, most of the medical treatments I've received have involved making appointments far in advance, such as orthodontia, so normally I don't deal with waiting for a doctor to see me. One solution to that problem would be to model our national healthcare program on the Oregon Health Plan, which basically acts as an insurance provider for low-income people who would otherwise be uninsured. It pays for basic healthcare services, but not expensive procedures.

Congratulations. You have successfully repeated what several other posters have said already.

Orthodontic appointments and the like, a yearly physical, are not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about a major flair-up of a chonic illness that requires immediate medical attention. People in those situations are much better served in America than in the UK.

Oregon Health Plan? You say it pays for basic things but nothing expensive. That's one of the core issues those in favor of reform say needs to be fixed, not used as a model! By the way, any human being who walks into a hospital's ER in this country will be seen by a doctor and treated. They will not be turned away if they are sick or injured and need attention, ever.

Are you in high school?

ron paul revolution wrote:

If you're younger and conservative you don't have a heart

If you're older and liberal you don't have a brain

I am 31 and liberal.

The terms are consistently poorly defined. Do they refer to willingness to change (the actual definitions) or to a specific set of ever-evolving political positions, or to a general mindset about whether government should be larger or smaller?

Once you get past the semantics, then you can tackle the issue somewhat more rationally, otherwise it's just name-calling and counter name-calling.

Because arrogance is edgy.

college students are liberal because they "do not have it made".

rich people are usually conservatives because the situation suits them. they have other (poorer)people as their slaves. they don't want any changes to this situation.

like stalin said:

"Mankind is divided into rich and poor, into property owners and exploited; and to abstract oneself from this fundamental division; and from the antagonism between poor and rich means abstracting oneself from fundamental facts."