Three Types of People...

Ace (over at Ace of Spades) wrote an interesting analysis in the middle of this post:

"I think people break down like this. Obviously, these are not hard and firm rules.

• People who derive a sense of meaning from the vastness of God. These people, having found meaning in God, do not need to find it in a large corporate entity, such as Government, and tend to be more conservative, or at least are not drawn into progressivism by its strongest pitch (meaning).

• People who thirst for a greater meaning but do not believe in God. Disbelieving in God, and yet needing the sense of transcendence that a belief in God offers, these people turn to the next-biggest entity beneath god, which is a national government. These people are not liberals per se, but progressives, and what they're "progressing" towards is sanctification and transcendence via the United Church of State.

• People who do not particularly thirst for any kind of meaning. Such people, the All Dead Inside Contingent, I guess could go several different ways. Some will be Libertarians, some will be hedonists, some nihilists. Most apological (as most people are). But they seem to be only around 10% of the population.

The major thing, though, to me, is the Trouble With Progressives, because they are seeking something from government -- Meaning, Validation, Belonging, Transcendence -- that government simply isn't equipped to give.

So they're always hungry for more -- more government, that is.

The first group isn't a problem because it finds what it seeks outside of government.

The third group isn't a problem because it's not looking for meaning.

But progressives... Progressives are crusading for the One True Church, the Church of the State. And, being mad zealots, empty inside of everything but gnawing spiritual hunger that cannot be appeased, will never stop crusading."

Fascinating analysis.