Thread: lilberal v. conservative

I know a thread has been closed which addressed this issue. It's not my intention to stir things up, but perhaps to offer a resolution.

When I was in high school, I wondered what the difference was exactly. A magazine (The Nation?) printed a couple of articles that have guided me ever since.

It's been forty or so years, but this is what I recall.

A conservative respects the past. A conservative understands that tradition can, at times, have wisdom that simple logic has not. There is a reason our fathers and their fathers believed in and did things a certain way. We may not understand those reasons, but we should not abandon them cavalierly. When, however, it becomes clear that the old ways no longer are useful or viable, a conservative is willing to move on. He or she is not bound to the past. He respects it, but understands that he must live in the present.

A liberal believes that all human progress arises from new ideas and institutions. While old beliefs and ways of doing things have value (they would not exist otherwise), a liberal is willing to consider alternatives. When it becomes clear that present realities no longer conform to past verities, a liberal is willing to consider novel ideas and policies. He respects the past, but understands that he must live in the present.

If only we, whether "conservative" or "liberal," accepted and respected these very reasonable orientations, I believe we could create productive dialogues between us, rather than than the animosity that presently divides us.

We are not so different. We want our children to be well. We need to unite, and oppose those who have neither respect for the past, nor confidence in the future, but are focused only on personal gain and immediate self-gratification.

Really, they are few. And we are many.