- Mar 4, 2000
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Not to start a flame war, which I'm sure if this thread ever takes off it will, but I find myself sitting here struggling to understand this whole process of why people feel the way they do. I know I'm oversimplifying things too much, so don't complain. As you can see, "A" does not equal to conservative and "B" does not equal to liberal.
Let's let the following key be our guide:
Philosophy "A": The private party involved, who can be reasonably deligated responsibility is accountable, with freedoms to match
Philosophy "B": Due to the nature of the topic, the private party involved may not have the means economically or otherwise, to be responsible. In some cases this defaults to "society or the government must assume responsibilities."
abortion.
A: For religious and moral reasons, abortion is murder. If you get pregnant, you and your partner alone are accountable for brining up the child in a positive environment.
B: Some people are too poor, and they make mistakes, and should not have to suffer the rest of their lives for it (often under the guise of "It's none of your business, its a woman's body")
guns
A: If you own a gun you not only accept, but completely acknowledge and stand by the confines of its laws. It can be a handgun or hunting rifle, but either way there is no reason to take it outside the home or to have anything more high powered.
B: Most people who have anything more than a handgun will be able to attain it no matter the laws anyway, and the law keeps only the law-abiding folk from having them, thus punishing the wrong people. It is my freedom to own these weapons for whatever reason I chose.
welfare
A: Teach these people, give them jobs, help them find their own way out so they won't be a burden on society and the tax dollars of hard working Americans
B: Those poor poor people! Give them money and food and housing!
Social Security:
A: SS should be nothing more than supplemental income for retirement because you are responsible for saving for it yourself. Nevertheless, it ought to be there.
B: We're hardworking Americans, and the government should provide for us when we retire.
*OR* The government needs money now to fund the terrorism war, and to give tax refunds. Let's take it out of Social Security.
Taxes
A: As a proud American living in the greatest most powerful country in the world, 30% of my income isn't much to ask for peace of mind, security, public institutions, and infrastructure. (A little idealistic, I know)
B: I shouldn't have to pay so much. (Often under the guise of "the government just needs to use it more efficiently and cut out bureaucracy and slim down")
environment
A: It's all we've got, and we're responsible for it. Lose it now, might as well lose it forever.
B: The earth can handle itself, we've got more important things to worry about.
Foreign policy
A: We are an international community. Regardless of compromises, we must maintain good allies and keep open lines of communication for the sake of solidarity.
B: We're so powerful we don't need anyone else. Lets just take care of ourselves, regardless of who we steamroll.
So as you can probably tell I subscribe to the "A" perspective in every topic, and I'd like to think that its consistently the more "accountable" of the two perspectives. Some are considered liberal, and some are considered conservative perspectives. <---- This is the part I don't get...
Let's let the following key be our guide:
Philosophy "A": The private party involved, who can be reasonably deligated responsibility is accountable, with freedoms to match
Philosophy "B": Due to the nature of the topic, the private party involved may not have the means economically or otherwise, to be responsible. In some cases this defaults to "society or the government must assume responsibilities."
abortion.
A: For religious and moral reasons, abortion is murder. If you get pregnant, you and your partner alone are accountable for brining up the child in a positive environment.
B: Some people are too poor, and they make mistakes, and should not have to suffer the rest of their lives for it (often under the guise of "It's none of your business, its a woman's body")
guns
A: If you own a gun you not only accept, but completely acknowledge and stand by the confines of its laws. It can be a handgun or hunting rifle, but either way there is no reason to take it outside the home or to have anything more high powered.
B: Most people who have anything more than a handgun will be able to attain it no matter the laws anyway, and the law keeps only the law-abiding folk from having them, thus punishing the wrong people. It is my freedom to own these weapons for whatever reason I chose.
welfare
A: Teach these people, give them jobs, help them find their own way out so they won't be a burden on society and the tax dollars of hard working Americans
B: Those poor poor people! Give them money and food and housing!
Social Security:
A: SS should be nothing more than supplemental income for retirement because you are responsible for saving for it yourself. Nevertheless, it ought to be there.
B: We're hardworking Americans, and the government should provide for us when we retire.
*OR* The government needs money now to fund the terrorism war, and to give tax refunds. Let's take it out of Social Security.
Taxes
A: As a proud American living in the greatest most powerful country in the world, 30% of my income isn't much to ask for peace of mind, security, public institutions, and infrastructure. (A little idealistic, I know)
B: I shouldn't have to pay so much. (Often under the guise of "the government just needs to use it more efficiently and cut out bureaucracy and slim down")
environment
A: It's all we've got, and we're responsible for it. Lose it now, might as well lose it forever.
B: The earth can handle itself, we've got more important things to worry about.
Foreign policy
A: We are an international community. Regardless of compromises, we must maintain good allies and keep open lines of communication for the sake of solidarity.
B: We're so powerful we don't need anyone else. Lets just take care of ourselves, regardless of who we steamroll.
So as you can probably tell I subscribe to the "A" perspective in every topic, and I'd like to think that its consistently the more "accountable" of the two perspectives. Some are considered liberal, and some are considered conservative perspectives. <---- This is the part I don't get...