Most conservatives see liberals as stupid, most liberals see conservatives as evil.

Well, thinking about your question, there would be a lot of variables to consider before I even gave my odds. First off, what social class would the 16 year old be coming from? Second, does she come from a traditional nuclear family? What part of the country is she from? There are a lot of variables to consider. Give me my parameters and I'll give you a my odds. If I were a betting man.

 

He posted the Obama video in which he mentioned a hypothetical scenario involving a 16 year old.

I said that there are exceptions to the rule.

 

Here are the parameters:

All children born in the United States with a parent that is 17 years of age or younger.

 

Oh ok.

I don't know that there is a rule to be honest. It heavily depends on the situation the child is born into. Something tells me that this child has a high chance of turning out pretty well.

 

I don't doubt that this child will turn out ok either. That being said, I don't think that it is outside the realm of reality to label most 16 year old pregnancies a mistake.

 

I think they are almost all a mistake in that at the very least they weren't the goal being aimed at when the young couple "get to know each other."

 

Let's look at the stats in the US

http://womensissues.about.com/od/datingandsex/tp/Teenpregancy.htm

In the United States, one of every ten births involves a teen mother. According to a September 2006 report by the Guttmacher Institute, the following statistics characterize teenage pregnancy in the US:
1. Three-quarters of a million teens between 15 and 19 become pregnant each year.
2. Very few teens who become mothers plan on doing so.
Out of all teen pregnancies, 82% are unintended. Teen pregnancy accounts for 20% of all unplanned pregnancies annually.
3. Two-thirds of teen pregnancies occur among teens 18-19 years old.
4. Teen mothers account for 11% of all births in the US.
5. Out of all teen pregnancies, 57% end in birth.
Another 14% end in miscarriage.
6. Nearly a third of pregnant teenagers choose abortion.
Out of all teenage pregnancies, 29% are terminated by abortion.
7. Black teens have the highest teen pregnancy rate.
For young women age 15-19, black teens are most likely to become pregnant (134 per 1,000 women). Slightly lower rates occur among Hispanics (131 per 1,000) followed by non-Hispanic whites (48 per 1,000).
8. Teens who become pregnant are less likely to attend college.
Although teenage mothers today are more likely to finish high school or earn their GEDs than in the past, pregnant teens are less likely to attend college than teens who do not become pregnant.
9. US teen pregnancy rates are higher than those of other developed countries.
US rates are twice as high as in England and Wales or Canada, and eight times as high as in the Netherlands or Japan.
10. Teen pregnancy rates declined between 1991 and 2005 but are on the rise again.
The teen pregnancy rate reached an all-time high in 1990 with an estimated 116.9 per thousand and an all-time high birth rate of 61.8 births per thousand in 1991. By 2002, the pregnancy rate had dropped to 75.4 per thousand - a decline of 36%. However, a December 2007 report by the Centers for Disease Control shows a 3% increase in teenage pregnancy from 2005 to 2006.

So based on this information....

Odds are against them from succeeding as a WHOLE. Only because you take a look at the majority of teen pregnancies and where they come from, that brings that number high of failure rate. Factor in social class, religion, location, then that success rate is going to change.

But you also have to factor in Sociological shifts in the US and the impact of Globalization to the success of these children. That affects all children and not just the ones that were born from a Teen Pregnancy.

Again, I'm not a sociologist and couldn't give you an accurate number. My guess is that if you are a minority, your success rate is much less than if you are white in the U.S.

 

Read Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think by George Lakoff, a professor at Berkeley. He breaks the split down to cognitive metaphors centered around the family model. For Lakoff, it's authoritarian father morality vs. nurturing mother morality.

 

I had a professor in college who suggested the following rule to differentiate conservatives from liberals, worldwide: conservatives thinks mankind is fundamentally evil and liberals think mankind is fundamentally good.

 

that is how i view rust and bill oreilly; however, they're not

• as stupid as palin, beck, bachman, and hannity nor
• as incompetent as GWB

 

Liberals see it as the governments responsibility to care for those in need

Conservatives see it as their personal responsibility to care for those in need

which is why studies show that conservatives of all income levels give a higher percentage of their income to charities than liberals at the same income levels.

both care about the poor and sick

 

And normal, well rounded people view both groups as freaking morans.

 

I think... they think of each other the same way.

 

Fundamentally evil? Really. Wow. Is that true.. you Conservatives out there?

 

Anyone who sees a group of people that spans the nation in the millions as all the same ideologically is making glaring generalities and kidding themselves if they think that's a healthy viewpoint. Besides, many conservatives see liberals as evil, while many liberals consider conservatives as stupid.

Just because we are forced to buy into the two party system doesn't mean it's all positive or negative, black or white. The parties in power are merely out of control in their greed and tribal mentality, and truth more and more frequently takes a backseat to partisanship for various reasons. This way the agenda that can be force fed gets promoted, instead of a more fluid and flexible system of compromise in sight of what is best for everyone.

 

I wish the bolded were true but it's right-wing fantasy. Too many conservatives (particularly the well-off) don't give a flip about people in need and view them as bothersome parasites.

 

I think that anyone who bumps a thread this old to respond to an old comment from bigtexxx is stupid AND evil.

 

Evil is really a conservative term. They blame all kinds of **** on evil this or that.

 

The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it.

P. J. O'Rourke