{"id":5682,"date":"2005-06-22T02:01:31","date_gmt":"2005-06-22T06:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2005\/06\/22\/political-maturation-after-ag"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:57:37","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:57:37","slug":"political-maturation-after-age-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2005\/06\/22\/political-maturation-after-age-30\/","title":{"rendered":"political maturation after age 30"},"content":{"rendered":"

H<\/em><\/strong>ere’s my <\/span>21st Century version<\/span><\/a> of the old saw <\/span>incorrectly attributed<\/span><\/a> to Winston Churchill:<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\n<\/span> 20 – 30 – 50<\/span> Political Maturation Chart<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span><\/p>\n

20<\/span>-something<\/span><\/span><\/strong> + \"heartG\" = <\/span> liberal<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>over 30<\/span><\/span><\/strong> + \"brainG\" = <\/span>conservative <\/strong> [arguendo<\/em>]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>over 50<\/span><\/span> <\/strong>+ \"heartG\" + \"brainG\" + \"eyesGL\" \"approx <\/em> thoughtful*<\/span><\/em> liberal<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>adage about being a liberal at 20 and a conservative at 30 <\/span>was <\/span>never very convincing to me. <\/span><\/span>(Viz<\/em>., Jesus of Nazareth proved you can be an <\/span>excellent liberal<\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/span>at 33 — and for an eternity thereafter.) <\/span>Even if we assume for argument’s sake, that a person <\/span>using his or her brain might turn to conservatism <\/span><\/span>by age 30 (and still have a heart), I refuse <\/span>to believe that personal or political maturation ends at 30.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

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the past tugs at the heart–
\nthe Old Man’s
\nwooden bowl<\/span><\/p>\n

ISSA<\/strong><\/span><\/a> <\/span>
\ntranslated by <\/span>David G. Lanoue<\/strong><\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"brainG\"<\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/span>French historian and statesman <\/span>Francois Guizot<\/span><\/a> is said to have uttered the first <\/span><\/span><\/span>
\nversion of the <\/span><\/span>20\/30 maxim (see Unquote<\/span><\/em><\/a> #1). <\/span><\/span>Societal upheavals in Guizot’s 19th-Century <\/span><\/span>
\nEurope <\/span>might have <\/span>frozen the attitudes of <\/span>many men in early adulthood — especially those <\/span><\/span>
\nwith a deep, vested <\/span>interest in the established <\/span>order. <\/span>(Women weren’t allowed on the political <\/span><\/span>stage at <\/span>the time; but, <\/span>I <\/span>doubt that women outside <\/span>the upper classes would <\/span>have been <\/span><\/span>susceptible to the sway of <\/span>staunch conservatism). Whatever the conditions in other times <\/span><\/span>and societies<\/span>, our <\/span>stable, affluent <\/span>and open society permits — <\/span>and responsible citizenship <\/span><\/span>demands<\/em> <\/span>— that each individual continue <\/span>to learn and grow through <\/span>successive decades, <\/span>letting <\/span><\/span>experience <\/span>and wisdom remove the <\/span>blinders <\/span>of ideology and <\/span>radicalism. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"heartG\"<\/span><\/span> Somewhere between 50 and 60 years of age, I believe, the majority of people whose <\/span>hearts <\/span><\/span>and <\/span>brains <\/span>and eyes<\/em> are still in good working order will become noticeably more “liberal” <\/span>than <\/span><\/span>“conserative” <\/span>in political and personal philosophy. Freed from macho individualism, they will no <\/span><\/span>longer have to <\/span>insist they are “self-made.” With their financial fate largely sealed, they will be able <\/span><\/span>to acknowledge <\/span>the role of luck<\/a> in creating their economic and social status, as well as the role of <\/span><\/span>government in <\/span>creating the framework and infrastructure upon which individual efforts and security <\/span><\/span>can be sustained. <\/span>They will also see that “we’re all in this together” as a society and nation — so <\/span><\/span>that access to good <\/span>education, health care and opportunity will be understood as both a right for <\/span><\/span>all citizens and a key to <\/span>maintaining the strength of our economy and vitality of our society. Doing <\/span><\/span>good for each other is good <\/span>for all of us. [Pope Benedict XVI appears to concur<\/a>.]
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n