Liberals VS. Conservatives

[gopunk]

i dunno, i've just noticed recently how people will post things (namely about santa ) and throw in a "liberals" or "conservatives". why do they do this? what is the point? are they trying to make one group look better than the other? both sides can be just as silly / weird when taken to an extreme. extreme liberals ban santa, paint fur coats, etc. extreme conservatives walk around with giant signs saying they hate *insert any group that isn't like them*, shoot abortion doctors, etc.

as a society, shouldn't we be working to bring attention to the fact that this type of fanaticism is the cause of all this weirdness, instead of trying to paint it as a "liberal" or "conservative" thing?

btw, i am neither liberal, nor conservative, i am just anti-fanatic.

 

[SmackdownHotel]

You just have to learn to sift through all of the BS, which at times is pretty large here on AT.

 

[SpongeBob]

What I don't understand is why people want to "label" themselves as a liberal or conservative. Why not just accept that your ideals are probably not 100% in line with any group? I may be a green party member, but I wouldn't consider myself liberal or conservative. I take it topic by topic.

 

[Amused]

You think that's bad. I've got it worse! It's always me against BOTH

 

[dullard]

There are many news sources with either a major liberal or major conservative bias. With nearly every news item they publish, they somehow try to put it in their light. Then when people repeat that news item, they often repeat the bias.

Here is a theoretical example from Fox News:
"Pres. George W Bush is the best president yet, and no future president will be any better. In Maryland one town banned Santa. Bush obviously would be against any liberal stance like that. We here at Fox News give you only fair and unbiased news."

That is why you see posts like this everywhere.

 

[gopunk]

exactly spongebob.... i personally don't like any of the parties. i wish there were more than just two... and i don't necessarily mean the green party (too green for me )... what ever happened to that bull moose party?

You think that's bad. I've got it worse! It's always me against BOTH

hehe, me too! then i get labeled as conservative or liberal by the opposite side! oh, the irony...

 

[Zenmervolt]

<< What I don't understand is why people want to "label" themselves as a liberal or conservative. Why not just accept that your ideals are probably not 100% in line with any group? I may be a green party member, but I wouldn't consider myself liberal or conservative. I take it topic by topic. >>



An admirable goal, but can you honestly say that there is no one group that covers a majority of your beliefs? I consider myself a conservative with libertarian leanings, meaning that I am for small government but I am not religious (agnostic, in fact, but that's neither here nor there). I do not agree with everything that is traditionally considered to be "conservative", but I think it is fairly clear that most of my beliefs lay along conservative lines, thus I call myself a conservative.

ZV

 

[SpongeBob]

Basically, the only reason I support the green party, aside from possibly being an environmental wacko, is that I really want to see an end to the two-party system. In the future, I probably won;t align myself with any party.

 

[khtm]

good topic, gopunk.

I've wondered the exact same thing. Being a Canadian, it seems even STRANGER to me. I don't know anybody that tries to throw political opinions into completely unrelated arguments.

I wonder if the "Search" feature could give us some amusing examples..

-khtm-

 

[vi edit]

Some people can't see gray.

 

[Logix]

"If you?re not a liberal when you?re young, you have no heart. If you?re not a conservative when you?re old, you have no brain." - Winston Churchill.

On a very general level, liberals are more "compassionate" and thus act more with their heart. Conservatives are more "business-like" and thus act more with their brain. Neither idiology is perfect, both have flaws. Ideal resolutions lie somewhere in the middle.

 

[khtm]

<< Ok then you are out of the image of hating gays.
I have on friend who lives in the US, who is extremely christian and doesnt care much about politics or being liberal or conservatives. Not my fault everyone I meet is liberal. >>





<< I love how the liberal community preaches tolerance and diversity, but when it comes to accepting Christians and Conservatives, the rule doesn't apply. >>





<< This is CLASSIC liberal elitism right here, thinking I need your blessing before proving I'm not a bigot. LOL >>





<< Just goes to show you that our country is really messed up. Too many conservative spoon fed @ssholes in the government doing nothing good for the public. We are under the governments control, make no bones about it. We aren't free. When it's against the law to have gay sex in your own house you begin to see why we aren't free. >>





<< Now lets turn the table. Have you ever had conservative who differed with your positions strongly as a friend? >>





<< conservatives will probably put all the problems and evils of today's society on us turning away from God. >>



ROFLMAO!

 

[gopunk]

An admirable goal, but can you honestly say that there is no one group that covers a majority of your beliefs?

without a doubt.

things i don't like about liberals: environment, unions, welfare
things i don't like about conservatives: issues regarding "morality" (abortion, birth control, free speech, etc), religion

but I think it is fairly clear that most of my beliefs lay along conservative lines, thus I call myself a conservative.

i call myself a moderate, if anything. my beliefs are pretty much split down the middle as you can see....

 

[Czar]

People who post things like that or talk about conservetives or liberals in that sense are just realy .... well dont know how to but it. In their minds a liberal or a conservative is the same meaning to an idiot or a moron or something alike. It is not a name for people have have a certain idealogy it is a name for idiots.

 

[Logix]

gopunk, you sound like a fiscal conservative there. Unless you're against tax cuts. Are you?

 

[busmaster11]

Well thats Tex for ya... Most of his posts exist only to synonymize(<--- is that a word?) radical idiocy with liberals so he can try to enforce his associations with both sides... You just gotta know how to sift through his BS...

As for the rest of us, you guys are correct - its best to take it issue by issue and not pigeonhole yourself to one form of thinking.

 

[gopunk]

gopunk, you sound like a fiscal conservative there. Unless you're against tax cuts. Are you?

yea, i'm against tax cuts, in general.

in general, i don't like it when the government meddles in our economy... like all this ms crap.

 

[gopunk]

I've wondered the exact same thing. Being a Canadian, it seems even STRANGER to me. I don't know anybody that tries to throw political opinions into completely unrelated arguments.

wow, so canadians don't do this? hmm. i though it was perhaps common to all nationalities, but maybe not....

so... can we get anybody to defend this practice? i'm curious as to your reasons... it's one thing to say "i wanted to point this out..." but then why don't you point out extreme cases on the opposite end of the spectrum?

 

[AaronP]

"that I really want to see an end to the two-party system. In the future, I probably won;t align myself with any party. "
----

why? the two party system has worked great for hundreds of years. Having a 3rd party, or several parties would just bog down the government and make sure nothing ever gets done. The 2 party system is fine. People who don't agree with either party can just go home and cry to momma.

 

[gopunk]

why? the two party system has worked great for hundreds of years. Having a 3rd party, or several parties would just bog down the government and make sure nothing ever gets done. The 2 party system is fine. People who don't agree with either party can just go home and cry to momma.

i'd rather have things get done to my satisfaction but slower, than to have them done quickly but in a manner that i disagree with. the two party system works great.... if you either

a.) happen to agree completely with one party
b.) like to get told what to think

and people that don't agree with either party can (instead of doing what you suggested) create new parties.

 

[SpongeBob]

why? the two party system has worked great for hundreds of years.

You have a right to your own opinion, however, I don't believe the two-party system works great for anyone except members of the two parties. Candidates that support their ideals are in office frequently, so why would they have a problem with it?

 

[AaronP]

weell, 90% of the country supports one of the two parties, so the other 10% of outcasts who don't fit in shouldn't be able to obstruct the will of the other 90%.
----

EDIT fixed some fuzzy math

 

[JACKHAMMER]

<< the two party system has worked great for hundreds of years. >>



No it doesn't, it screws those not in either party. In fact, most of our founding fathers (washington comes to mind) was strongly AGAINST bipartisanism(sp?).



<< People who don't agree with either party can just go home and cry to momma. >>



Say that when you are the one getting screwed by some ridiculous law coming through the channels.

 

[gopunk]

weell, 95% of the country supports one of the two parties, so the other 10% of outcasts who don't fit in shouldn't be able to obstruct the will of the other 90%.

maybe i'm missing something, but does that math not add up? wouldn't it be 5% outcast?

and i'm willing to bet that a large majority of that 95% doesn't totally agree with their party. they just choose the lesser of two evils (so to speak).

and what's the will of the other 95%? to obstruct the will of the minority? do you really think that's their will?

 

[vi edit]

Here's why I don't like the two party system:

You have X majority in congress, and Y President in office. They butt heads on 3/4 of issues and spend far too much time to get anything accomplished

Also, say X party president is in office, the next election Y party president comes in and just reverses are severly hampers the work of the previous president who was in turn reversing the work of the president before him how was of opposing party. I think it creates a lot of usless bickering and provides a burden of overhead to the taxpaying citizens of the country.

Call the bipartisan system a check and balance, call it a waste, I call it an innefective way of getting things done.