No heart/no brain
Consider the following hackneyed phrase, often attributed to Winston Churchill, but it's an idea so prevalent that an approximately equivalent saying exists in all three languages of this journal:
English: If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart. If you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.
Deutsch: Wer mit zwanzig nicht links ist, hat kein Herz. Wer mit vierzig es immer noch ist, hat kein Verstand.
Nederlands: Wie op zijn twintigste niet links is heeft geen hart, wie het op zijn veertigste nog steeds is heeft geen verstand.
Do you think it's true in general? Is it true for people you know? And for those of you who've already made it over the proverbial hill: is it true for you?
And finally, for those of you who notice a distinction between those who this holds true for and those who it doesn't hold true for: what do you think makes for the difference?
English: If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart. If you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.
Deutsch: Wer mit zwanzig nicht links ist, hat kein Herz. Wer mit vierzig es immer noch ist, hat kein Verstand.
Nederlands: Wie op zijn twintigste niet links is heeft geen hart, wie het op zijn veertigste nog steeds is heeft geen verstand.
Do you think it's true in general? Is it true for people you know? And for those of you who've already made it over the proverbial hill: is it true for you?
And finally, for those of you who notice a distinction between those who this holds true for and those who it doesn't hold true for: what do you think makes for the difference?