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Old 11-03-2005, 02:17 AM
jt1 jt1 is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 119
Default what makes a conservative/liberal and 4 issues

I’m trying to decide on the common denominators for what makes a conservative and what makes a liberal. Here is what I have so far.

Liberals believe in social freedom and economic mobility.

Conservatives value their national heritage and fight to preserve it.

The three concepts aren’t mutually exclusive. Nor do the two main political parties represent liberals and conservatives well: There are liberal republicans who believe that a free market system is the best way to ensure that all people have a reasonable opportunity to change their financial situation. And the majority of Democrats and many Republicans value our national heritage but believe that social freedoms are a part of that heritage. Furthermore, the Democratic party has under its tent African American groups who care deeply about economic mobility but are socially quite conservative, and both parties have groups that are neither conservative nor liberal but are purely self-interested, labor unions for the Democrats and major corporations for the Republicans.

I want to use 4 major issues to illustrate how conservatives and liberals think differently and how both major political parties can't be accurately described as conservative or liberal.

War: American conservatives believe that our pre-eminence as the world’s greatest power is both good for the world and important to Americans. They believe that our heritage of Democracy, Christianity, and Capitalism is exactly what the world needs. Furthermore, they believe our pre-eminence has become an integral part of national heritage. Liberals believe that every innocent that is killed in war is the clearest possible example of a government’s oppression and tyranny: Dead people have had all their social freedom and financial mobility stolen from them. Lyndon Johnson a major believer in economic mobility for all Americans started the Vietnam war and Dwight D. Eisenhower, a republican, invented the tern "industrial millitary complex" and said that every bomb that is made is a direct and organized robbery against poor children everywhere.

Abortion: Conservatives recognize that parents since the beginning of time have regarded the being in the womb to be their child. Since forever, most parents have talked, sang, etc to that creature like they would to a baby. Denying that creature a birth is an assault on our nations fundamental institutions including Marriage and Christianity. Liberals see abortion as a chance to give women greater financial mobility and thus have decided abortion to be a new social freedom. But there are some Democrats who believe that the fetus is a human being. And their are liberal Republicans who are pro-choice.

Gun Rights/Gun Control: Conservatives correctly see guns to be a major force in our history. The Revolutionary War as well as the fight for the West could not have been won without ordinary Americans owning and using their guns. The Wild West too! The Wild West is a major part of our national psyche. Guns and the Wild West are synonymous. Liberals believe that semi-automatic and automatic weapons restrict poor peoples financial mobility. However, there are other liberals who believe that owning a gun is as much a social freedom as freedom of speech. These liberals tend to be free market Republicans and/or Libertarians.

Gay marriage: Conservatives believe that homosexuality is an assault on Christianity and that America is a Christian nation. Liberals believe that sex is a social freedom. Many free market Republicans have no problem with homosexuality. Many Democrats see homosexuality as anti-God. These Democrats tend to African-American or Latino-American activist.

I am primarily interested in hearing peoples critique on my definition of what a liberal and what a conservative is. But all comments would be appreciated.
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