Coldheartedtruth

Coldheart's Truth

Difference between cats and dogs... or Liberals and Conservatives....

After spending countless hours watching and posting on the Yahoo Message Boards, talking politics among friends and relatives, reading articles from the left and right, and listening to our fabled television policitical talk show hosts.... It suddenly occured to me... There is an inherent difference between liberals and conservatives.

Now, this in and of itself is not much of a revelation... But similar to someone who has a problem.... recognizing and accepting that problem is the first step to understanding it. Likewise, with political affiliation, understanding that there is a basic difference is the first step in uncovering what that difference really is.

Now I am not talking about the difference between those floating voters who change affiliation based on a couple or even one particular issue... No, I am referring to the "argue their side of the argument until they are blue in the face" partisan crazies that have never, will never, and can't possibly fathom, even considering, a single reason to vote for the other party. The 'good vs evil' types who see politics as a war of wills, with the world coming to an end if their side loses.

The typical philosophical ideals of the liberals seem to focus on the government helping the little guy and leveling the playing field. They oppose tax-cuts for the rich, they are distrustful of big-business and those who are wealthy. They like government programs that help minorities and those with lower incomes. They want to raise the minimum wage, provide better national healthcare, provide better unemployment and welfare coverages, and are concerned about privatization of Social Security. They nearly always side with unions over management, the guy who sues the big business, and David over Goliath. They are sick and tired of conservatives telling them that the poor are poor because they don't work hard enough. They are sick and tired of being criticized for caring about the little guy.

The typical conservative tends to focus his/her philosophical Ideals on the self reliance and free market. They don't see the need for big spending politicians and big government programs. They would prefer to see the money stay in the private sector, as they believe that business people tend to be better at economic decisions than politicians. They believe that the government has it's place, but many times oversteps it's authority for political reasons. Big business and corporations are not evil in their world, in fact most conservatives will tell you that big business and corporate success is the only thing that will make the economy go. They side with managment over unions, they think the lawsuit is no doubt frivilous, and they accept that Goliath will probably kick David's ass everywhere but in the story. They are sick and tired of being call heartless and uncaring by liberals, simply because they accept basic realities and may offer different solutions to the same problems.

So what does it all boil down to?? It's how the two view different philosophies view human nature.

Liberals focus on the bad side of human nature, and look to the government to protect us from it. They see the fragility of the human spirit and overwelming outside factors as the determining reason why people struggle. They see those who are born with better looks, more intelligence, more athletic skills, more creative skill, or more money as having an unfair advantange in life. They believe that those at the top of mostly gotten there either by these advantages, or by stepping on people. This is why they view those at the top with skeptism, because if they stepped on people to get there, they continue to step on people once they are there. They see examples of this in their own everyday life... The snob from school who had everything given to him, and is now a successfull business owner who pays all of his employees minimum wage so he can drive a Caddy. The poor kid from down the block who had to quit school to help support his family, and now works menial labor jobs because he never got the chance to get an education. Why should some people fail, while others succeed? Life shouldn't be like that.

Conservatives, on the other hand, tend focus on the good side of human nature. They see the resiliency of the human spirit and the pursuit of the American dream as fueling our country. They celebrate the differences in looks, intelligence, athleticism, creativity and wealth as part of life, believing that you need models, scientists, pro basketball players, artist, businessmen, and yes... janitors to complete society. They don't see life as unfair as much as they see everyone having a different opportunity to succeed.... and that success comes from hard work and diligence. They see examples of success in their own everyday life... The girl from the poor side of town who worked her way through school and now is successful, or the high-school egghead that everyone picked on in high-school now teaching Law at Harvard.... Everyone may not succeed, but everyone has the same dream... Our county guarantees the pursuit of happiness, not happiness itself...

In the end, it seems to boil down to a simple difference.... the liberals view the glass of human nature as half-empty, while the conservatives view it as half-full.

And that, my friends... Is the Coldhearted Truth......

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