On Fri, 02 Apr 2004 03:32:34 GMT, "JTMcC"
brought forth from the murky depths:

This one's easy, even I can handle it:

Old steel is set in it's ways, and resists change, instead prefering "the
way we always did it". Old steel knows how to put in a hard days work, earns
it's keep and is reliable.

New steel is often late, some days doesn't show up at all, thinks the rest
of the world owes it something, talks back and does not yet know the value
of a dollar. If you keep it around long enough, new steel will turn, slowly,
gradually, sometimes at glacier like speed, into old speed.

That strongly reminded me of a quote which I can't seem to
find on my hard drive or at Bartlett. It went something
like "liberal(democrat?) by 20 and a conservative(rep?)
by 40", somewhat of a reverse to your metaphor.

--
The State always moves slowly and grudgingly towards any purpose that
accrues to society's advantage, but moves rapidly and with alacrity
towards one that accrues to its own advantage; nor does it ever move
towards social purposes on its own initiative, but only under heavy
pressure, while its motion towards anti-social purposes is self-sprung.
- Albert Jay Nock
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