Interesting quote, what do you guys think?

It must have been said by an idiot.

To paraphrase Lt. Commander Data from the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV show: "It is not futile to strive for something that can never be attained; a goal that can never be reached. It is the attempt and the striving that are important."

(I'm sorry that I can't remember the exact quote, but I believe the message is true regardless of the exact words.)

Another quote from another person whose name I can't remember: "It's never too late to have a happy childhood."

Both sentiments are true in some ways, and false in other ways. An idealized future that many liberals envision is not attainable if you factor in what is presently known about human nature. Given that our great country was founded by criminals, deviants and social rejects, it is predictable that a "heaven" of sorts has been attained by a very, very few of their descendants. And to this day, it remains exclusively for them and theirs only.

An idealized past that many conservatives remember is only relevant to each individual as they remember it. The human mind is constantly imprinted with emotional traumas gathered from infancy and return each day to interfere with the daily life and the productivity of the individual. To grow past those traumas often takes an entire lifetime.

An intriguing quote, to be sure...

Liberals do try so often to achieve the ideal, which is why Senator Ted Kennedy, with a wisdom gained from years of striving to achieve perfection yet failing, often told his Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle: "Do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good." And conservatives do tend to fear and resist change, even though change is the only true constant in life. The militiant rigidity (even fanaticism) of modern-day cult-evangelical "conservatives" who have seized control of the GOP does not apply, however, because these cult-extremists' nefarious goal (taught from infancy on into adulthood through home-schooling that relies on literal interpretation of scripture only) is "dominion" over every level of our government---a coup from within---and to take dominion over all "nonbelievers" or, in other words, over any American who does not accept the literal interpretation of scripture as the law of the land (Goldberg, 2009; Schaefer, 2007; Sharlett, 2008). These fanatics are not true "conservatives" even though this is how they label themselves, and they are dangerous.

I agree with the sentiment expressed in the quote, and with you for finding it interesting.

The trick is that everybody is looking for something that either never existed or never can, and refusing to work with the other side to make what there actually is today as good as it can be.

Nice quote, but most of us live in the present, and look to the past to help chart a course for the future.

I agree with you, the quote is rather profound. I like the way it sums up in few words, yet drives home a true message.

I like the quote..

I wish we could find someone to put the "action" in Reactionary...

You know.. Like a long time ago when the country didnt have an entitlement deficit and wasnt on the verge of default!

who are you quoting?

In actuality it means nothing at all because it says both sides have Utopian ideals which they already know. However it is a clever play on words.

I agree with the quote.

But think at how many great things we accomplish while striving to accomplish what so many think is unattainable ,