There's nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos.

[SlowwHand]

There's nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead
armadillos.
-- Jim Hightower, Texas Agricultural Commissioner



I'm not positive, but I think it's Berz that has, or had, in the sig line. The reason it comes up is that it was one of the While Waiting quotes. It's not a bash on the person, Berz on not. It's a Jim question.

I'd like to discuss this point.
For starters, what does it really mean? Surely, I'm not the only living person that has views on both left and right side of issues.
Now this is my counter point in Mr. Hightower's statement. If a person has the both sides views, would that not become balance, middle of the road?
If that's what it's supposed to mean, that you either believe in all from one side or the other, or you're an armadillo, I don't buy it, and I think that's ridiculous.

I think this could be a poll, don't you think? All your head.

[Aeson]

Is there something wrong with being an armadillo?

Better than the sheep...

[SlowwHand]

Wrong other than being dead? I've seen more along a road than I have at night moving around. They're pretty shy.

[Ben Kenobi]

Well it can't be as bad as being on the fringes, as the only things there are ditches and garbage.

[OzzyKP]

You can find some cool stuff on the side of the road.

[Kontiki]

Re: There's nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos.

Originally posted by SlowwHand
If a person has the both sides views, would that not become balance, middle of the road?

Balance, maybe, in some odd kind of way. Centrist, not likely. Just because you have some wildly right wing views and some wildly left wing views doesn't put you in the middle. It just means you're prone to extremes.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Indeed... being in the middle of the road is not exactly the same as believing in views from different sides. After all, the political spectrum doesn't exactly encompass all parts. Not even the political square does that.

[SlowwHand]

I didn't say radical viewpoints. Maybe I was unclear.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I don't think he just meant radical viewpoints... he was just using them to make a point.

[-Jrabbit]

Sometimes you have to cross the line.

[SlowwHand]

Yes, Jr. I think if you're just one side only, all the time, it's called brainwashed.

Imran, are you saying that there are "weighted" issues? Some count more than others?
+6 added to -6 is what? And if these hypothetical weighted issues, what if in the end the same balance exists? That's middle of the road. That is true independent. I don't consider it armadillo. I call it seeing both sides of issues. I don't think either party, any party, is correct on all things, all the time.

[snoopy369]

I think he didn't necessarily mean people who believe in points on both sides, but people who try to please both sides - ie, politicians who are 'moderate' and try to get votes from both sides of the aisle. I'd say that he's encouraging people to stick to what they believe in, and not try to be 'moderate' just to get votes.

[Theben]

You're not a dead armadillo, you're a yellow stripe... so Jim infers. It's a 'stick to yer guns' kinda message.

[Theben]

I have that book around somewhere. Haven't read it in years.

[Lancer]

I remember when I was growing up in Jersey the speed of cars on the streets got faster. We didn't have armadillos. The squirrels didn't know how to deal with cars when crossing the road. They would see a car coming and start running to one side, then turn round and start to the other only to reverse again and continued doing this until finally they got run over. If they had just stuck to their guns they would have been fine.

That's my take on the situation.

Towards the end of my stay in Jersey this seemed to happen less somewhat. A girlfriend of mine ran one over once and came home feeling miserable. I told her she was contributing to evolution, that some sunny day all the indecisive squirrels would be dead. That made her feel alot better, but I don't really understand girls.

That squirrel thing really doesn't apply to people I don't think. Well then again maybe it does...but nah.