Post by Voltaire on Apr 15, 2003 23:14:43 GMT -5
I've read several posts on these boards (many of them well written), and a single theme seemed to stick out of many of them: Liberal Doctrine and Conservative Doctrine
I wanted to start a post to debate this concept.
Here's a list of the basic rundown (according to words, rather than current states of affairs)-
Liberal- One who wants change, open to differences, willing to try new things
Conservative-One who wants things to stay the way they are, normally closed-minded
Moderates- One who tries to find a 'happy-medium'
Now, in US politics, the two major parties, the Democrats (seen as liberals, for common people) and the Republicans (seen as conservatives, for big business) seem to be becoming more and more like each other.
In the past, they both used to defend rights in some particular area, but with recent bills, such as the 'PATRIOT' Act, make the government bigger and give it the ability to spy on individuals the government considers "Un-American." Because of the vague wording of this document, any activity the government does not like (someone speaking out against the act, for instance), could be considered 'Un-American.'
This reek of the phrase "Big Brother is watching!" from 1984.
The problem lies that many of the so called 'liberals' accepted this proposal, while 'Conservatives' violated their party's base of 'individual rights' to pass this.
If this isn't hypocrisy, I don't know what is.
Because of the decline of both parties' morals, for this topic, let's avoid confusing the Democrats and Republicans with real liberals and conservatives.
Back to the topic. Which do you think is better-
The 'Liberal' point of view- Keep an open mind, try new things, do not be afraid to express yourself.
Comments: If not for people with 'liberal' mindsets, the Western world would be full of monarchies rather democracies or republics. Liberals wanted people to take the power, rather than a centralized group of 'conservatives.'
The 'Conservative' point of view- Keep a closed mind, do things only that will ensure your power, keep everyone else 'in their place.'
Comments: Whenever a revolution occurs, the Conservatives are the ones normally revolted against. In Soviet Russia/Iran/China, the 'Conservatives' were hard-liners that paid no heed to the opinions of the general populace.
Feel free to post any more comments or responses.
I wanted to start a post to debate this concept.
Here's a list of the basic rundown (according to words, rather than current states of affairs)-
Liberal- One who wants change, open to differences, willing to try new things
Conservative-One who wants things to stay the way they are, normally closed-minded
Moderates- One who tries to find a 'happy-medium'
Now, in US politics, the two major parties, the Democrats (seen as liberals, for common people) and the Republicans (seen as conservatives, for big business) seem to be becoming more and more like each other.
In the past, they both used to defend rights in some particular area, but with recent bills, such as the 'PATRIOT' Act, make the government bigger and give it the ability to spy on individuals the government considers "Un-American." Because of the vague wording of this document, any activity the government does not like (someone speaking out against the act, for instance), could be considered 'Un-American.'
This reek of the phrase "Big Brother is watching!" from 1984.
The problem lies that many of the so called 'liberals' accepted this proposal, while 'Conservatives' violated their party's base of 'individual rights' to pass this.
If this isn't hypocrisy, I don't know what is.
Because of the decline of both parties' morals, for this topic, let's avoid confusing the Democrats and Republicans with real liberals and conservatives.
Back to the topic. Which do you think is better-
The 'Liberal' point of view- Keep an open mind, try new things, do not be afraid to express yourself.
Comments: If not for people with 'liberal' mindsets, the Western world would be full of monarchies rather democracies or republics. Liberals wanted people to take the power, rather than a centralized group of 'conservatives.'
The 'Conservative' point of view- Keep a closed mind, do things only that will ensure your power, keep everyone else 'in their place.'
Comments: Whenever a revolution occurs, the Conservatives are the ones normally revolted against. In Soviet Russia/Iran/China, the 'Conservatives' were hard-liners that paid no heed to the opinions of the general populace.
Feel free to post any more comments or responses.