Re: what makes a conservative/liberal and 4 issues
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You are using antiquated definitions of liberal/conservative.
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Perhaps. Liberals come from Mill and Locke. Conservatives come from Machiavelli and Hobbes.
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We use the modern definitions in context with current usage.
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An interesting modern problem is that current usuage is confusing. I can illustrate this best by showing how this confusion has prejudiced many liberals against free trade. Fiscal conservatives are for free trade. Some are socially conservative and some are socially liberal. Whenever the media labels a socially liberal Republican as conservative it confuses the less than intelligent liberal. The liberal of average intelligence subliminally lumps that republican with Cheney and Pat Robertson. This is completely unfair to that person and his/her ideas. This particular republican, perhaps, could care less about America maintaining her role as the aresenal of democracy or the leader of the free world. This Republican only cares about giving poor people a fairer shot at the American dream. But his ideas and motivations are shot down as soon as the average liberal hears the word conservative. To that end I wish that our media more accurately labeled politicians and explained their labels better.
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