Liberals vs Conservatives
A bunch of MY opinions
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
WARNING: This is an article about generalities with regard to political ideologies.This article contains MY personal observations, opinions, and conclusions. It is all based solely on things I have observed personally and is not supported by sources other than my own observations (It's called thinking for yourself) It is just chock full of generalities. If that bothers you, stop here and move on to another article.
I read articles and discussions written from both left and right wing perspectives. I listen to various opinions and debates on the radio and television. I observe, listen, and draw conslusions based upon what is said and how it is presented. I prefer to form my own opinions based on verifiable facts and information instead of just "what someone else says" I should think.
If someone says something, I'll check it out and weigh it against available information and what I already know.
In observing the discussion, debates, articles, and oher communications from both sides of the political spectrum I have drawn some conclusions regarding the general styles and ideas of both sides.
Liberal: It seems to me that the bulk of the arguments from the left seem to be based heavily upon feelings and emotions. Often, the arguments lack much in the way of substance and seem to be more of a "Our way is much more humane, tolerant, fair, and enlightened than yours. We know what's best so you should think this way and do these things."
Often the "facts" presented are either flatly untrue, or more often only "half truths" taken out of context and skewed to support an argument that otherwise would be unsupportable.
The biggest thing I have noticed from the left is a venomous intolerance of opposing views. I see much more hateful diatribes spewing from the left. They claim to be standing up for tolerance and yet are extremely intolerant themselves. They employ scare tactics and misinformation and when challenged by verifiable facts fall back on emotional rhetoric and accusations ranging from racism to homophobia (totally misusing the word) to lieing about the facts which are easily verified. Sometimes it seems they are unwilling to investigate the real facts for fear of being forced to change their minds.
Conservative: The right does tend to rely more on verifyable facts upon which to base their arguments but are often guilty of ignoring the "human factor". To me, I see them more concerned about themselves than their fellow human beings.This is the impression I often get from them.
I see a far more rational argument style from the right, and a good deal more tolerance of the opposition's views. Tolerance does not equate with agreement, simply respect for the right of someone to have an opposing view. The right seems far more interested in protecting the rights of all citizens instead of just the rights of a select group, while at the same time addressing the realities of the world.
Their debating style is far less based upon emotion than it is factual information although I have seen them become enraged when faced with emotionally based arguments which can't be reasoned with.
The right appears to me to be far more supportive of the ideas of personal responsibility and self-sufficiency. The old "give a man a fish/teach a man to fish" idea.
The right seems to be much more corporately oriented and money driven. They, in my opinion, are far more likely to support the goals of the wealthy than the poor. I see them as being guilty of elitism and classism at times, seeing the poor as more of a burden than anything.
But, frankly,, the bulk of the productive work is accomlished by the right. They spend far more energy on the practical side of things than the idealistic.
All in all, I don't see either side in a very good light as I see the real, practical, and best solutions to things to be somewhere in between these two ideologies. My personal ideology lies a little right of center in a good many areas, and a little left of center in some other areas. I like to thing that on the whole I'm just about at the center.
Perhaps if people spent less time and energy worrying about "left" and "right" and just got together to hammer out real, substantial, and workable solutions to things we just might actually progress. I think a great many good solutions to problems get chucked to the wayside in the name of ideology. The left refuses to work with the right and visa versa.
Oh, and if people would just stick to the facts instead of ideological smokescreens (both sides) intended to advance their own agenda, things would move along much better.
Again, these are MY opinions and conclusions based solely on my personal observations and thinking. I am quite sure that there are plenty of anecdotal examples to contradict the things I said regarding either side but I am speaking in generalities here. I know, generalities drive some people nuts. Oh well, this is an article about generalities. And, after all, the views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not represent the views or opinions of, well, anyone else.
I read articles and discussions written from both left and right wing perspectives. I listen to various opinions and debates on the radio and television. I observe, listen, and draw conslusions based upon what is said and how it is presented. I prefer to form my own opinions based on verifiable facts and information instead of just "what someone else says" I should think.
If someone says something, I'll check it out and weigh it against available information and what I already know.
In observing the discussion, debates, articles, and oher communications from both sides of the political spectrum I have drawn some conclusions regarding the general styles and ideas of both sides.
Liberal: It seems to me that the bulk of the arguments from the left seem to be based heavily upon feelings and emotions. Often, the arguments lack much in the way of substance and seem to be more of a "Our way is much more humane, tolerant, fair, and enlightened than yours. We know what's best so you should think this way and do these things."
Often the "facts" presented are either flatly untrue, or more often only "half truths" taken out of context and skewed to support an argument that otherwise would be unsupportable.
The biggest thing I have noticed from the left is a venomous intolerance of opposing views. I see much more hateful diatribes spewing from the left. They claim to be standing up for tolerance and yet are extremely intolerant themselves. They employ scare tactics and misinformation and when challenged by verifiable facts fall back on emotional rhetoric and accusations ranging from racism to homophobia (totally misusing the word) to lieing about the facts which are easily verified. Sometimes it seems they are unwilling to investigate the real facts for fear of being forced to change their minds.
Conservative: The right does tend to rely more on verifyable facts upon which to base their arguments but are often guilty of ignoring the "human factor". To me, I see them more concerned about themselves than their fellow human beings.This is the impression I often get from them.
I see a far more rational argument style from the right, and a good deal more tolerance of the opposition's views. Tolerance does not equate with agreement, simply respect for the right of someone to have an opposing view. The right seems far more interested in protecting the rights of all citizens instead of just the rights of a select group, while at the same time addressing the realities of the world.
Their debating style is far less based upon emotion than it is factual information although I have seen them become enraged when faced with emotionally based arguments which can't be reasoned with.
The right appears to me to be far more supportive of the ideas of personal responsibility and self-sufficiency. The old "give a man a fish/teach a man to fish" idea.
The right seems to be much more corporately oriented and money driven. They, in my opinion, are far more likely to support the goals of the wealthy than the poor. I see them as being guilty of elitism and classism at times, seeing the poor as more of a burden than anything.
But, frankly,, the bulk of the productive work is accomlished by the right. They spend far more energy on the practical side of things than the idealistic.
All in all, I don't see either side in a very good light as I see the real, practical, and best solutions to things to be somewhere in between these two ideologies. My personal ideology lies a little right of center in a good many areas, and a little left of center in some other areas. I like to thing that on the whole I'm just about at the center.
Perhaps if people spent less time and energy worrying about "left" and "right" and just got together to hammer out real, substantial, and workable solutions to things we just might actually progress. I think a great many good solutions to problems get chucked to the wayside in the name of ideology. The left refuses to work with the right and visa versa.
Oh, and if people would just stick to the facts instead of ideological smokescreens (both sides) intended to advance their own agenda, things would move along much better.
Again, these are MY opinions and conclusions based solely on my personal observations and thinking. I am quite sure that there are plenty of anecdotal examples to contradict the things I said regarding either side but I am speaking in generalities here. I know, generalities drive some people nuts. Oh well, this is an article about generalities. And, after all, the views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not represent the views or opinions of, well, anyone else.
