Conservative and LIberal, Liberal and Conservative

My friend from high school, Timothy Koons-McGee got me to thinking with an article he posted on Facebook. Tim felt it represented a fair explanation of the 2 major political viewpoints in this country. I respectfully disagreed. The following are my views comparing the two dominant ideologies.

Let me first say that in order for such a discussion to be fair and balanced it is imperative that you show each side in the best light; and that you give each the benefit of the doubt. This will disappoint some of you who are all fired up during this most political of seasons. I beg your indulgence.

Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) was perhaps the most fair-minded of politicians in my generation - one who clearly saw the weaknesses of his own party, and recognized the virtues in the other. Here is a brief bio from Wikipedia and Arlington National Cemetery

Born: 16 March 1927, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Died: 26 March 2003, Washington City

The Moynihan family moved to New York City when he was six where he attended public and parochial schools, shined shoes, and graduated from high school in Harlem. He attended City College of New York for a year before enlisting in the Navy's V-12 officer training program at Tufts University where he graduated with a B.A. in 1944. He served in the Navy until 1947, then earned his M.A. and Ph.D., also at Tufts. Moynihan served two Democrat presidents (Kennedy and Johnson) and two Republicans (Nixon and Ford), was US ambassador to India and the United Nations, served four terms in the US Senate, and in between government positions taught at Harvard, MIT, and Wesleyan universities. He wrote or edited nineteen books, George F. Will quipped that this was "more books than most senators have read". He was a committed liberal who defied orthodox liberal doctrine, frequently challenging the position of his own party. 

Liberals and conservatives are at opposite ends of many issues. One of the common observations of conservatives is how naive liberals are. Conservatives are very realistic in dealing with worldly events - business, economics, or terrorists; but extremely naive where politics is concerned. The liberal is the complete opposite - very realistic where politics is concerned and extremely naive where business, economics, or terrorists are concerned. Each is realistic and each naive; 180 degrees out of phase.

Liberalism faltered when it turned out it could not cope with truth. - Moynihan

The liberal believes in freedom as much as the conservative however that pretty much ends the common ground. The liberal believes that freedom is best assured by a benevolent government whereas the secular conservative believes freedom is the natural state and is best assured by government leaving us alone. The religious conservative believes freedom comes from God and is best assured by obedience to His commandments.


Out of that disagreement comes the appearance that liberals oppose religion, or at least people who are very religious. The liberal, believing that freedom is best assured by the government sees religious people as a threat. The conservative, believing that freedom is either a gift from God or the natural state,sees government as a threat.

The good in government is another area of disagreement. The liberal believes that government can do a lot of good; the conservative believes that government does little good outside of the military.

Somehow liberals have been unable to acquire from life what conservatives seem to be endowed with at birth: namely, a healthy skepticism of the powers of government agencies to do good. - Moynihan

Charitable works is one of the largest area of disagreement with the liberal wanting to do big things through the power of organizations such as unions, activist groups, or state and local governments. Conservatives want those same good works performed, just by different groups - charitable organizations, churches, and individuals. Each side wants good done, each side sees pain and suffering in the world; we just see different solutions to the problem.

Government cannot provide values to persons who have none, or who have lost those they had. It cannot provide inner peace. It can provide outlets for moral energies, but it cannot create those energies. - Moynihan

Fairness is another area of disagreement with the liberal seeking fairness in everything, including the outcome of events. The conservative is perfectly content with unfair outcomes as long as the opportunity for success was equal. To the conservative mind, liberals have taken the virtue of fairness and by over emphasizing it, have made it a vice. The the liberal, fairness is a virtue and therefore cannot over emphasize it. With apologies to Barry Goldwater (who famously made a similar observation concerning freedom) the liberal mantra might be summarized as follows - "Extremism in the name of fairness is no vice".

The central conservative truth is that it is culture, not politics, that determines the success of a society. The central liberal truth is that politics can change a culture and save it from itself. - Moynihan

Lastly, we react differently to political events - liberals reacting emotionally, and conservatives reacting rationally. Therefore we find liberal politicians ignoring rational explanations for their policies (although rational explanations could be given) in favor of emotional tugs. The constant insertion of race or class warfare is designed to get an emotional reaction. Conservatives tend to be much less successful in motivating their base with emotion unless that emotion is patriotism or love of military. So we find the conservative politician making rational cases for their viewpoint and largely ignoring emotion. Each can get what they want from their respective constituencies but have to use different methods to achieve that success.


In summary Americans of both sides generally have the best interests of the county in mind. I wish more of us gave the other side the benefit of the doubt. The divisions that our politics engenders is not productive. It plays into the politician's and activist's hands. Why not act like adults and simply agree to disagree without demonizing those with whom we differ.