If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.
The harsh contrast between youthful idealism and the reality of life.
Being liberal minded might be admirable - might be high minded in theory. In reality society cannot function without controls because the deepest nature of the human being is to be self serving and self interested. A liberal attitude is so often exploited - too much faith in human nature.
On a similar note - Margaret Thatcher said - compassion is rarely enough. You have to earn it first before you can give it away. Not an idealistic comment but a practical one.
Another cynical but real observation - help is too often treated as weakness and the providers of charity exploited.Take the Tressel Trust or even the benefits system more widely. It doesn't mean we should stop helping but it does mean we should not be naïve about it. The best help is to help people help themselves.
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