[BigV]

Good question.

Classicman is a regular guy, like the vast majority of my fellow Americans. He is a critical thinker. He's engaged in the process, but like most of us, can only process so much information. He understands that ALL of the details of a given subject can not be known and so makes his decisions when he feels he has ENOUGH good information to make a decision.

He also knows that in general principles, cliches, stereotypes, media images, there is often a kernel of truth around which a story is told. He also knows that there are *limits* to how far such stories can be applied and that there is almost always a contrary example, also with a kernel of truth. This kind of conflict is at the heart of what the poll at the top there illustrates.

To attempt to surround Classicman by one of the limited and cliche burdened categories listed above is to oversimplify. You could pin a label on him (or on any of us) and that might make you feel better, like you understand the world a little more. But I find it more reveals more about the labeler than the labelee.

Labels like this are useful only if they represent the beginning of an effort to learn more. If they represent (for the labeler) sufficiently complete understanding to obviate further learning, then they're a mistake, a big mistake.