What is Liberal? And What is Conservative? An essay by Tom Speaker Jan 03 '04    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Kitchen Enesco Our Name Is Mud by Lorrie Veasey From $5 Enesco Our Name Is Mud by Lorrie Veasey From $14 The Bottom Line See title. lib·er·al adj. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry. Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded. Of, relating to, or characteristic of liberalism. Liberal Of, designating, or characteristic of a political party founded on or associated with principles of social and political liberalism, especially in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States. Tending to give freely; generous: a liberal benefactor. Generous in amount; ample: a liberal serving of potatoes. Not strict or literal; loose or approximate: a liberal translation. Of, relating to, or based on the traditional arts and sciences of a college or university curriculum: a liberal education. Archaic. Permissible or appropriate for a person of free birth; befitting a lady or gentleman. Obsolete. Morally unrestrained; licentious. n. A person with liberal ideas or opinions. Liberal A member of a Liberal political party. conservative adj. adj. Favoring traditional views and values; tending to oppose change. Traditional or restrained in style: a conservative dark suit. Moderate; cautious: a conservative estimate. Of or relating to the political philosophy of conservatism. Belonging to a conservative party, group, or movement. Conservative Of or belonging to the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom or the Progressive Conservative Party in Canada. Conservative Of or adhering to Conservative Judaism. Tending to conserve; preservative: the conservative use of natural resources. n. One favoring traditional views and values. A supporter of political conservatism. Conservative A member or supporter of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom or the Progressive Conservative Party in Canada. Archaic. A preservative agent or principle. From The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Entry: liberal Function: adjective Definition: progressive Synonyms: advanced, avant-garde, big, broad, broad-minded, catholic, detached, disinterested, dispassionate, enlightened, flexible, free, general, high-minded, humanistic, humanitarian, impartial, indulgent, inexact, intelligent, interested, latitudinarian, left, lenient, libertarian, loose, magnanimous, not close, not literal, not strict, permissive, pink, radical, rational, reasonable, receiving, receptive, reformist, tolerant, unbiased, unbigoted, unconventional, understanding, unorthodox, unprejudiced Concept: freedom Source: Roget's Interactive Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.0.0) Copyright © 2004 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved. Entry: conservative Function: adjective Definition: moderate Synonyms: bourgeois, cautious, constant, controlled, conventional, die-hard, fearful, firm, fogyish, fuddy-duddy, guarded, hard hat, hidebound, holding to, illiberal, inflexible, middle-of-the-road, not extreme, obstinate, old guard, old-line, orthodox, quiet, red-neck, right, right-wing, sober, stable, steady, timid, traditional, traditionalistic, unchangeable, unchanging, uncreative, undaring, unimaginative, unprogressive, white bread Antonyms: incautious, left-wing, liberal, progressive, radical, revolutionary Concept: personality quality Source: Roget's Interactive Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.0.0) Copyright © 2004 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved. In society, what is a liberal, and what is a conservative? In society, liberals are generally associated with Democrats, and conservatives are generally associated with Republicans. For someone to be a Republican, they don't have to be conservative, and the likewise goes with Democrats and liberals. Certain views are also attached to the words "liberal" and "conservative" as well. Such as: Race Liberal: supports racial affirmative action. Conservative: does not support racial affirmative action. Abortion Liberal: Supports a woman's right to an abortion. Conservative: does not support a woman's right to an abortion. Homosexuality Liberal: Supports gay rights and marriage. Conservative: Does not support gay rights and marriage. Environment Liberal: Thinks the environment is in great danger, and great measures must be taken to protect it and ensure its safe-keeping. Conservative: Thinks the environment is just fine, and we could actually repeal some environmental laws. Economy Liberal: Supports more socialist views on an economic state. Conservative: Supports more capitalist views on an economic state. The Death Penalty Liberal: Does not support the death penalty. Conservative: Does support the death penalty. War Liberal: Thinks war should either be illegal or should never be started. Conservative: Believes in pre-emptive war attacks. Religion Liberal: Tends to be more atheistic. Conservative: Tends to be more monotheistic. These, gathering from the writer has seen in society, are society's stereotypical views of "liberals" and "conservatives." But what, readers, is truly liberal, and what is truly conservative? Have these titles just become purposelessly attached to certain stances, just for the sake of having them? Have they become Liberals and Conservatives, with capital letters to accentuate their stance, rather than words with meanings? Tom Speaker investigates... Race According to my own Personal Bereau of Stereotypes (PBS), Liberals support racial affirmative action and Conservatives do not. But doesn't Affirmative Action already exist? Isn't it something that has already taken place in society? A conservative person would want to keep things the same, thus, a Liberal would be conservative in wanting to keep Affirmative Action in society, and a Conservative would be liberal in wanting to change things and take it out. So thus, if you support Affirmative Action, you are now conservative. Abortion Abortion is legal in America. Conservatives want to make it illegal, which they have to evoke change to do. Thus, supporting a woman's right to an abortion is a conservative view. Homosexuality As far as I know, and correct me if I'm wrong, homosexual marriage is legal in most states in America, and sodomy has pretty much been officially legalized. Conservatives are pushing an effort to ban gay marriage (its most legal, methinks), which they would be changing things to do. Thus, supporting gay marriage is now a conservative view. Environment This happens to stay in the middle, because people are pushing it both ways. Liberals think we need to change for more care, Conservatives actually think we need to make a change for less. Both are liberal views (I hardly know anyone who wants to keep it the same). Economy One of the few things that does not change here. We live in a capitalist economy. Liberals are liberal because they want to make it less capitalistic (stereotypically speaking), and more socialistic. The Death Penalty Ugh, another one, though its hardly an issue at the moment. Liberals want to change it, so once more, they are liberal. War War does not count because its an at-the-moment type of things. It depends who is president and what war is going on to have a stance. Right now, if you want the troops out of Iraq and you don't support the war, you are liberal. Religion Our society becomes less Christian every day. Conservatives, who tend to be more Christian/monotheistic/Jewish, want to change this, which makes them liberal. Most Liberals I know could care less, and many of them being atheists/agnostics, probably wanting to keep it the same, makes them conservative. So it seems, at least from what I see, that a turning point has occurred in society where the Conservatives are more liberal, and the Liberals are more conservative. But what shall you call yourself? That, my friends, if for you to decide. You have just read my 200th epinions article. I hope you enjoyed it.

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