What Is The Difference Between Liberal and Conservative?
What is the true difference between a liberal and a conservative? Why do people buy into the entire idea that you must be one or the other? In the words of political pundit George Will, “A conservative is willing to accept freedom. Liberals tend to favor equality of outcome and are willing to sacrifice freedom to get it.” I agree with him, but I do not believe the people in power are either one - not in a true sense. I am personally much more conservative than I am liberal, but disagree with most of our political leaders.
Henry Adams said that politics is a system of categorizing our hatreds - so true, that’s exactly what it is. The origin of our political system was quite ingenious, and the two parties, republicans (conservative) and democrats (liberal) - widely speaking - are supposed to provide a balance so the society has structure and cohesion. What they failed to account for was the greed infested criminal element which is so prevalent in todays politics; thus, the political parties serve to drive people apart, giving them more reasons to hate each other. They also keep people at each other’s throats, while a corrupted government makes billions for themselves - a massive diversionary tactic with a life of it’s own.
What I cannot stand are people that play partisan politics - meaning a person will side with their party regardless of what they do. Think abut this: Many republicans will stand behind George W. Bush, no matter what mistakes he makes. One such person is the cackling Elisabeth Hasslebeck on the female driven morning TV show, The View. George Bush could stab a baby, and she would say he did the right thing; well, maybe my example is extreme hahaha. What if George W. Bush were a democrat and did all the same things, the only difference being a little “D” next to his name. The republicans would hate his guts just because he’s a democrat. What I’m saying is that people defend their party no matter what, which is a very ignorant thing to do.
Many people may believe I’m liberal because I fight for equality and am anti-war, but I am not. I am a libertarian conservative. I believe government should be small, protect our shores and deliver the mail. The idea that our federal government can equalize all people is a liberal fantasy of unrealistic idealism. We really are not born equal. We are born as a product of our environment. If we are born into a rich family, our lives will be much easier. If we are born to homeless crackheads, we will face a serious struggle. I am a political conservative with many liberal views. For instance, gay marriage isn’t an issue with me. I could care less if they get married, which is a liberal view. I am lost when it comes to federal health care. I guess the only way to find out if it will work is to give it a try. I must admit my political views are evolving into something I cannot really explain. I am simply fed up with our system. It is time to try something different. Maybe liberalism is the answer, maybe it’s not. We will find out soon enough.
Modern society has come a long way, and equality is important to ethical conservatives regardless of what people think. It’s also a myth that liberals are so anti-war they are willing to die just to be a fair person. The Federal government cannot fix the problems. Modern society has only been going a few hundred years, so perfection is an outlandish idea. My favorite politician is Ron Paul, and he says most issues of equality are being worked out through every individual’s involvement in politics and that most issues, like gay marriage and abortion should be left up to individual states. I agree with him 100%. The bigger the government is, the more problems we will have. In America, most people do not vote and really don’t care - a massive problem indeed.
If you don’t mind seeing gay guys holding hands on every street corner, move to California. If you want the right to shoot someone for walking through your yard, move to Texas. With a liberal Federal government, we will lose that ability (so I’m led to believe). I would like to point out that the current Bush administration is not a conservative government. Bush has increased the governments size and given conservatism a bad name.
So who will I vote for? I wish I could really get behind one of the two main candidates, but I cannot. I know many people who have Obama fever, but have you actually looked at his stance on every issue? I don’t believe there will be much difference between Obama or McCain, both are too liberal and are for huge government. I know that gas prices will not go down and that taxes on the middle class will only increase. Michelle Obama said that Americans don’t mind paying higher taxes as long as it’s for something good. I disagree with that 100%. I love the idea that both a black man and a woman have come to the forefront - it represents a big change in popular beliefs and opinions. That’s all fine and dandy, but how will you feel when you get major tax increases? The only thing I agree with Obama on is his position on the Iraq war. Other than that, I strongly oppose most of his policies. I could be wrong though, and am willing to change and learn something new. If something works, then I will support it. I am willing to accept anything that works regardless of party affiliation. Political evolution and adaptation is the wave of the future - at least I hope.
The reason people hate George W. Bush isn’t necessarily because of the Iraq war, it’s because it sucks being American with prices getting so high. Our economy is all screwed up because of a corrupted congress, big government and big oil. Want it to get even worse? Then elect Obama or McCain. Government will get even bigger, prices will skyrocket and taxes will become unbearable. Don’t believe me? Wait 4 years and see.
I know, the above statement is quite sarcastic and somewhat negative, but I’m trying to be realistic. If we lived in under a truly conservative government, operated by honest people of honorable character, things would be fine right now; however, they are not honest and are greed infested scum. The idea of conservatism, is truly the root America is built on. The problem is, most people cannot afford health care, and more and more young people will not have an opportunity to go to college unless their family is financially well off. This is where liberalism is supposed to provide balance, giving a voice to the poor and middle class. I agree 100% that we as a society have to lift up the poor, and give them every opportunity. Who will pay for all these programs? It will be the middle and lower middle class. It’s a complete conundrum. What if every rich person were of such high character, they never left their money to their children, but instead gave it all to a poor citizen college fund? Haha…dream on! A rich family will of course leave their money to their children which helps fortify a lopsided division of wealth. When you’re talking about a radical redistribution of wealth, you’re talking about communism.
When the liberals become too far left, and the conservatives get too far right, the outcome is fascism and communism; which is where we are right now and it’s only getting worse.
When the big corporations are heavily taxed, they just move to other countries and outsource their work, which only fuels the problem even more. The oil titan Haliburton, moved to Dubai for that very reason, just one example of how taxing the rich effects things. There is no one greedier than a billionaire who loses a few million - something I do not understand.
The degree of corruption is so deeply ingrained, I don’t really see an answer. I believe any change from Bush will be a good change. I certainly hope if Obama gets elected, he doesn’t get so caught up in “Washington”, that he forgets why he became president. It would be impossible for any of us to comprehend just how Washington changes people. Look at what happened to the Bush administration; they went in to change Washington, but Washington changed them.
If things continue like they have been here in America, we Americans will eventually be a third world country doing outsourced jobs for all the foreign corporations that actually used to be American corporations. The answer to all these problems is really up to individual citizens. When I hear someone say, “I don’t vote…I hate politics and don’t pay attention to it,” I can only surmise that’s it’s this person’s fault we are in the shape we’re in now. Every problem we have is caused by individual citizens who just apathetically ignore the political system. It is your duty to get involved. It is also your duty to see through the lies and corruption and not play partisan politics. No one is above being called down on the average citizen’s floor - where the true power of our democracy is supposed to be. In my heart, I so yearn to get behind a great leader. Whoever gets elected, please don’t let us down.
I feel better now…I think I’ll eat a few sandwiches and go to sleep.
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Soooo…..Long story short…..?
You say you will probably vote for Obama. Why? If you listen closely, he will tell you that he’s gunning for even more spending, higher taxes, stealing oil company profits (and what about the other industries with higher profit margins), increasing unemployment, taking money from our retirement (see oil profits, unless we get higher gas prices), Socialist medicine, castrated military, spending almost a trillion on “foreign poverty” etc. etc. etc.
Further Snobama’s proven that he’s dangerously ignorant when it comes to the war on terror. We can’t afford someone who will surrender, subject the U.S. to failure and then gut the military and toss out our nukes while other countries are ramping up theirs. They’re not going to listen to him no matter how “nice” he pretends to be. In fact, they’ll mock him for exactly that.
What’s more, aside from his obvious disdain for average Americans, he surrounds himself with losers (Carter, Gore, Kerry), terrorists, America haters, homophobes, Nation of Islam, and a wide array of throwbacks from the Clinton Administration. What’s so “new” about this guy?
ThatGayConservatives last blog post..Guess Which Kind of Cells Cured This Man
It is a good point you bring up to ponder what a conservative and what a liberal is, there isn’t anything quite like taking a word we use in everyday language and stepping back to see what we are really implying when we use that word. These two words are definitely ones I am going to have to ponder more.
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I don’t think I like the whole party system. I always find there are some things from one side I agree with and some from the other. I could never just choose a party and stick with it because of that. Each year there are different issues and different circumstances. Things change and just because one collective group changes it’s feelings or sticks with their feelings doesn’t mean I go along with them just for the sake of being able to stay in their “club.” I think that kind of defeats the whole purpose of our freedoms. Instead of being associated with one collective group of thinking, we really need to analyze where we stand on the issues each and every time. A sandwich sounds good right about now. Yum. Don’t mind if I have one of yours.
Teenis last blog post..Should I Sit On It Or Let It Go?
i agree with you, some people do think that they have to be either one or the other. i myself find that i agree socially with one, but economically with another. and as to what you wrote at the end :
If things continue like they have been here in America, we Americans will eventually be a third world country doing outsourced jobs for all the foreign corporations that actually used to be American corporations,
i sure hope not :
This is a very interesting article that you’ve put together. I couldn’t agree with you more about what the outcome holds for us here in US. A lot has changed from years back and who knows whats in store for us in the coming years.
Cheers!
Think about it this way. If Obama gets elected (which I actually don’t believe he will…I just said that to create controversy), it will only be for one term and will force the republicans to come up with a real conservative candidate.
It’s not about surrendering - that’s the way a grade school kid sees getting beat up by a bully - who cares about saving face? I want Ron Paul to be president. The constitution is the basis of my political beliefs.
Hi Teeni! I am not affiliated with any part either, I just believe in the constitution - it’s the most influential document ever written and I wish it still meant something. Yes you can have one of my sandwiches!!!!
Did you actually read my article or just copy it for your comment? I removed the do follow just for you
Thanks for thinking so deeply
Most people that are one or the other don’t even know what it means!
Well said on a lot of points there, Bobby. This country is in a bad situation that is continually getting worse and worse. Thankfully, I no longer buy into the long-running government propaganda that brainwashes people into believing “America is the best.” It’s not. And that’s because there is no best. What’s good for one person many times isn’t good for another. Sure, there are a lot of people trying to get into this country, but there are also a lot of US citizens getting out. Many of them move to places like Canada, England, Italy, etc. Ask them if America is the best and they’ll quickly tell you how much better they like it outside of the US.
Regarding politics and what’s currently going on, Obama is no different from any of the others. He’s a politician through and through. And his most recent stunt of opting out of public campaign finance proves that. He went back on his promise, plain and simple. Once he realized that he could raise more money on his own, he went back on his word. But what’s funny is how many people praise him for it, thinking that he’s saving America money and turning down 84 million dollars in free cash. WRONG! That money is already there. It’s funded by taxpayers who voluntarily checked off the $3 contribution on their tax return.
So…what he’s essentially doing is agreeing to take even MORE money from US citizens. As much as he can possibly take, to be exact. It was a very sly move, because now he doesn’t have to disclose how much money he raises, or where the money comes from. And I find that quite bothersome. With flip-flops such as these (and he has many of them), he’s slowly showing how much of a “politician” he really is. He’s proven that he has no hesitation to break explicit, unambiguous promises as soon as they become inconvenient for him. IMHO, he should change his campaign slogan to, “Change - but only when it benefits me.”
Unfortunately, we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place yet again. We’re left with the choice between a warmongering (possibly) stubborn old mule and a freshman senator with few accomplishments to his name, one with BIG spending plans for a country that is already severely bankrupt. I mean, why would we want to elect an inexperienced freshman senator with no substance and few accomplishments at a time when our country is in crisis with wars abroad, a failing economy, a crumbling educational system, soaring gas prices, unsafe food. etc.? And why McCain? I have no good answer for either of those.
I guess we can thank the mass media for preventing the only candidate who was capable of pulling us out of this mess from succeeding. The only one with a perfect congressional record, and the only one who has a clue of what’s actually going on in the world. And that, of course, would be Ron Paul. Hey, at least his new Campaign for Liberty has taken off quite well. Yes, the revolution continues.
Btw, I gave you a shoutout in my last post. 
Anyway, that was a long-winded comment! But hey, that’s what you get when you write such excellent posts!
Shine on,
Aaron
Aaron Cooks last blog post..My Yacht and the Swimsuit Models
Hi Aaron! I’ll be the first to admit that Obama seems like a nice guy and probably means well. America is wanting change, and they will get it with him - though it may not be good change. Think of it this way: He gets elected and everyone’s taxes go up. That will “change” his public perception and maybe we’ll wise up and actually elect Ron Paul. That’s being overly optimistic. It may take that to wake people up…oh my wild pipe dreams.
McCain is a very liberal candidate who buys into the whole global warming myth. Unfortunately for all the global warming theorists, the Earth is cooling down, not warming up. Both candidates are extremely liberal and there will probably not be much difference between the two. I probably won’t even vote. I like to sleep at night….haha!
Thanks for a great comment! I’ll come see our new post!
I actually read your post write after it came out and I thought it was great. However I try not to get too political (because life is too short to try to make people see my point of view). It (not wanting to get political) probably stemmed from getting ripped apart at church for who I voted for. I am a hardcore conservative Lutheran girl and at the time I was working as the church secretary at the last church I went to. (Great place, great people, left because I moved- I don’t want anyone to get the idea it was over politics).
Anyway I told everyone I voted for Al Gore and you would think I voted for Satan.
Which I would if he had a good economic program… just kidding Lord ( you will see me at public confession Saturday at 6pm).
The point being is I can vote for whoever I want based on what issues are most important to me at that time. I separate being conservative from what matters to my family and who I feel will do the most social good. Actually in all reality my voting record is based on me weighing the lesser of two evils… if you know what I mean.
So I love the fact that you are calling people out on partisan politics! Great post Bobby.
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Thanks Michelle! The way I see liberalism, is the perception that government can somehow equalize the crooked nature of humankind through different laws and programs - I just don’t believe it can be done. We just don’t have a good candidate to choose from right now. I think either one of these guys are going to screw things up royally. Gee I’m such a pessimist
Ah…Al Gore, the Grammy award winning guy who invented the Internet and global warming - he’s a genius. I give up on politics for the day
You watch The View?
What happened to Ron Paul’s Hope for America? Ron has my vote as a write-in.
Wonder what would happen to the two party system if everyone voted for Ron and no one voted for McCain and Obama?
Can we nominate Senator Bobby Revell to run for President?
We can start another Write-in campaign for your run against Senator Speedy Holldale!
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This is indeed a very interesting post! Had me hooked to the monitor for a good 15 minutes! “libertarian conservative” hahaha, I love that word. I had a chat with a world renowned photographer once (from USA) after he stumbled across one of my post regarding religion, and he told me about his girlfren who’s a messianic jew. I asked him whats that and he said “Christian Jews” so I poked further and asked if thats similar to an “Islamic Hindu” or a “Catholic Presbyterian”
and it is even more chaotic here, because nobody is big enough to form a majority on their own, so they form a coalition government, and to a voter like me I go, “heyyyy, I voted for A because I believed in A and I didn’t vote for B because I didn’t believe in B. How come both A and B are running the country now?”
Jokes apart, I totally get what you’re trying to say. You believe in a little bit of this and that, but not either in totality. Maybe I guess having a limited option stifles your freedom of choice huh? Here in India we have a hundred political parties!
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Yes Debbie, I have watched approximately 10 minutes of “The View” since it’s inception. Watching it is like having a huge spider crawl on your leg - you cannot take it…hahaha
I’m far too antisocial to be a senator and would be assassinated by a Clinton henchman. They don’t allow write ins here, they use a hole puncher…dagnabbit
I’m a neo-christignostic buddhist who believes the human race was evolved from kangaroos - some people in my family actually have a “pouch”.
A hundred political parties? Wow, if that happened in America…I would live in the wilderness.
Politics and religion determines whether or not we hate someone in America. It’s like, “Oh you’re on that side? Stay away from my kids. I will burn your house down heretic!” I’m serious. Churches are the number one place of vandalism in America and are often burned down the day of a grand opening…it’s really scary.
Thanks for your refreshing view - It has been so difficult to find a good definition on the difference between conservative vs. liberal. Your blog brings up so many great points, especially that these terms are outdated. I hope that more Americans are tired of this rhetoric and will get involved to really force our politicians to step up, no matter what their party affiliation is. How have your views changed since the conventions and speeches? If you have the time to reply I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
From: Formerly a conservative - now a ?????