Ok guys. I'll get down to business.

I'm a double-major (history and international relations) at a small, liberal arts college in the U.S., and I am also kind of a politically conservative guy. While I am not the biggest fan of President Bush, I am far from being overly critical of him.

I put this post out here as a chance for you to challenge me, question me, debate me, harass me, or whatever else you would like to do to me(within reason, please). I figure this would give both you and I a chance to express our views, maybe change some minds, and even have a little fun.

So please, let's discuss whatever you would like: War, environment, economy, UN, etc.

Conservatively yours,

Nathan

wat beteken "liberal arts college"?

is dit 'n veiligheids plek, waar mincing mannetjies mag a boodskap in die kunstefees kry?

hoekom praat hierdie man, van "double major" af? kan 'n mens a graad kry in America, met net een Major toe? Hoekom?

{apologies... my afrikaans sux} ;)

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Avishkar Govender

eThekwini-Durban
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
SADC - AU

Excuse me for having next-to-no knowledge of Afrikaans, but I believe you were asking about "liberal arts colleges" and "double majors."

A Liberal Arts College is a university in the U.S. that tries to push a well rounded education. While their students will still have their specific degrees (math, biology, history, etc.), they will have to have taken numerous classes in areas outside their "expertise." So, for example, a student graduating with a degree in Computer Programming will have a basic knowledge of science, English literature, history, art, and economics. Liberal Arts Colleges hope to produce multi-talented individuals who have a love for learning.

A "Double Major" is a student at any American University that takes the necessary courses for two separate degrees, and as such graduates with two separate degrees. I for example will be graduating with degrees in both History and International Politics.

If this isn't exactly what you were asking, just let me know. I'm working on getting a full translation of your last post.

First of all, Avishkar, nice to read some Afrikaans :-) Aangename kennis! Nederlands en Afrikaans zijn niet zo verschillend als taal. Zelf kom ik uit Vlaanderen.

Nathan, welcome to the forum. As you will know, this is a forum of international liberals, so you will find a wide variety of opinions, ranging from what you would call typically liberal in the US sense, more conservative opinions and perhaps even some libertarian ones. So, perhaps you could enlighten us first by illustrating what you consider to be (moderate-)conservative values. In Europe, we tend to align ourselves most of time on a social-economical scale from left to right. In the US, things like foreign policy and moral values seem to define the difference between liberals and conservatives. I am not sure if this is a correct interpretation.

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Thomas Leys
President, Jong Spirit (Flanders/Belgium)
Member of the IFLRY Shadow Human Rights Council

Thomas, thank you for welcoming me to the forum. I am glad to be here.

As for what I meant with "moderate-conservative," I was simply refering to the title of this organization (iflry... the "L" standing for liberal and "R" for radical). While I refer to myself as a relatively conservative person, it is difficult to express what exactly that means in an international forum.

I was hoping to offer liberals from around the world (regardless of what exactly liberal means) a chance to discuss and/or debate issues with someone who might very well be of the opposite view point (a self-described U.S. conservative). This would certainly fall under the goals of this forum, and could be beneficial to both myself and anyone who wishes to talk with me. As a student of international politics within the U.S., I personally have an academic interest in learning what exactly is going on in movements like IFLRY, and in keeping in touch with the thoughts of its members. And I am certain that any other member of this forum would benefit from the chance to articulate his/her opinions, counter arguments that I might present against hist/her opinions, and make sure that his/her thoughts are being heard and considered by people in the U.S. 

As a side note, while it is true that liberals and conservatives in the U.S. are primarily distinguished by their differences in foreign policy and moral values, there are many socio-economic disagreements under the surface that are often overlooked. Of course, these later disagreements are not as prominent (at least from what I have observed) as the socio-economic disagreements between liberals and conservatives in Europe.

Dear Thomas

;) My only regret in life is that we over-politicised (for obvious reasons) the learning of Afrikaans at school, and therefore tried really hard not to learn it.

However if you spend more than 1 minute in Cape Town you are likely to have to be able to understand it, without any notice or preparation.

Yes indeed Afrikaans is in fact a derivative of Nederlands, we have to thank the Dutch East India Company (the first multinational company) for bringing it to SA ;)

thanks for explaining the dynamic of our work - i tend to be intolerant of people that i assume are trying to undermine and discredit our belief in Liberal Democracy, Human Rights, Free Enterprise, Individual Rights, The Rule of Law and an Open, Tolerant, Opportunity-Rich Society. Knee Jerk reaction i fear ;)

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Avishkar Govender

eThekwini-Durban
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
SADC - AU