When boys were allowed to be boys...

Sippican Cottage (Blogger/Essayist/Furniture Manufacturer),

My son received The Dangerous Book For Boys as a gift. It's a right smart looking tome, with its old-fashioned cloth cover, Warren G. Harding typeface, and heavyweight off-white paper inside. I got to looking around in there.

Hmmm. How to play soccer. Make a paper airplane. Marbling paper.

Marbling paper? This is beginning to sound like the Dangerous Book For Emily Dickinson. It appears to my untrained eye that perhaps the only dangerous thing in this book is nine letters between "The" and "Book." Well, we are not our hearty and hardy forbears, are we? But perhaps we can punch this up a bit. Kick it up a notch. There are plenty of things a boy can do to get himself in real trouble these days. Here's my outline for new version: The Borerline Sociopathic Book for Boys...

Hat tip and photo credit: Gerard Vanderleun at American Digest

Conservative Debate Handbook (Introduction)

Brief excerpts from "Handbook"

Synopsis: The natural advantage of Conservatism in defense of what has been found valid in past experience versus wishful/windborne values of modern "Liberalism"; questions which must be answered to put any proposed change into context of reality; unproven assumptions that underlie all Collectivist movements.

Purpose: Learn how to confront and dismantle the intellectual pretensions of any Collectivist "Liberal," anywhere, any time.

Natural Advantages of the Conservative Position

• Logical Position (The general course of any human social development will reflect the nature of those developing it.)
  
• FORCES OF REALITY
  • Conservatives are those who by instinct appreciate what is valuable in the historic struggle and achievements of their society.
    
  • We are thus the heirs to a vast amount of mental effort, soul searching, [as witness to] trial and error over many generations, by those intent to find the best course, based upon all past experience, on which to navigate the future.
    
  • We are the heirs to the layers of foundations and the builders of civilizations.
    
  • Grounded on past experience

Modern “Liberal” Position – No Natural Advantages

• Wishful Thinking/airborne
  • Attacker
    
  • Despoiler
• Defines Issues/confuses issues
  
• Sets parameters of debate
  
• In the throes of an airborne philosophy, the "Liberal" shows concern, but never respect, for the objects of his attention. It is easy to patronize; respect requires understanding.

Example subject: Property rights/ Civil rights in America

Conservative: People own property, not property people. Property rights are the rights to the fruit of your and your forebears' labor. They are your most important rights, for they enable you to have the privacy and independence to exercise all other rights.

Modern Liberal: The "windborne" may try to confuse an issue by suggesting that "human rights" are more important than "property rights," or that "States Rights" in America must give way to new Federal pronouncements of "Civil Rights." But all they can establish is their own confusion.

FYI: The author(s) offer valuable information though, IMO, they tend to lean more toward libertarian thought than conservative . See the Conservative Debate Handbook (Introduction) here, which includes links to additional posts, studies, letters, etc.