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Here's my definition. This is even more basic than "Libs are pro choice, Cons are pro life" and all that because Cons don't always agree with each other and Libs don't always agree with each other.

A conservative says things like "be thankful for what you have because things could be worse." A liberal says things like "no be progressive because things could be better." Honestly I don't see anything wrong with either of those. Anyone with common sense and understanding of moderation would be both. The only thing that creeps me out about Conservatives is some of them are a little too attached to their religion. Like Rep. Bobby Franklin here in Georgia who said women who have miscarriages could be put in jail for murder.

I am more opposed to Liberals though because I think liberals went in the wrong direction with their progression. Many libs in America don't seem to be actually progressive, they want the government to step in and be progressive for them. They don't actually make things better but wait for politicians to do it. They prefer total government. I don't agree with that. I also don't think that's what John Lennon had in mind either. He talks about peace and no countries and all that. They're going in the opposite direction.

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Eh, the religious aspect doesnt really bother me much.  What bothers me about Republicans is how they make the case that we shouldnt have certain programs/bills/laws simply because the constitution doesnt dictate it.

For instance...I like Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck.  But both have said we shouldnt have universal health-care because the Constitution doesnt dictate it.

But when written, it said nothing about child labor either.
It said nothing about animal cruelty.
It said nothing about 40-hr work weeks.
It said nothing about pensions, insurance, or women's voting rights.

Also, I used to be a member of the NRA.  Like those folks, I believed strongly in our 2nd amendment rights.  However, I dont think our Founding fathers would have felt like common civilians have the rights to own high powered weapons that could be converted to automatic weapons.  I dont think they meant for us to outgun our police forces with superior firepower.  So I quit.  There's a few nuts in that group.

So imo, just because the Founding fathers never envisioned certain things, doesnt mean we shouldnt have them.

Otoh, the Dems usually go too far with their programs.   Look at the unions and all that's going on in Wisconsin and all that stuff with the AFL-CIO and other labor groups.  what began as a good idea has been hijacked by corrupt officials who care absolutely nothing for what's good for America.  They only care about the groups they support and the power that comes with that.

When the NEA cares more about less-qualified teachers keeping their jobs than they do the quality of education our kids are getting, I have a problem with that.

Many liberals will say the Right should be more "PC", and yet run roughshod over our feelings about family, and faith and traditional values.  To them, there is just no room for compromise.  Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, Harry Reid and John Kerry were all bound and determined to force their views of gay marriage and immigration on the rest of us.  

Some of those liberal or progressive groups have forced pro-gay booklets and programs into our schools and dont care if the parents dont like it.  The liberal courts have ruled that parental rights stop at the schoolhouse door.  And groups like Planned Parenthood have pushed programs that allow your underage teen daughter to get abortions without parental notification.

Rather than leaving these things up to individual States, they want to disarm us and mold our civilization to their liking...all the while criticizing the conservatives for doing the same.

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well, tehre's teh old definitino:

"A liberal is a conservative who has been arrested, a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged"

:-P

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Conservatives are right and liberals are evil.

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Broadly speaking a conservative is someone who wants to uphold and maintain the cultural, political, and legal traditions of their nation. A liberal is someone who dramatically change (if not outright flush) those traditions.

In a slightly more American useage, liberals are the rebranding of the progressive movement which started in the late 1800s. The last dramatic morph of liberalism was when the 60s radicals had to go mainstream, but in doing so changed the channels of that stream. The 60s radicalism changed liberalism by injecting a hate-America-first mentality. But I stop here because if I go much further I will digress.

(Everything I will write about conservatism is from Alfred Regnery's Upstream book) American conservatism started with Hayek's The Road to Serfdom. Thus making the modern fiscal libertarian anti-Keynesian the oldest breed of conservative (not all avant garde as traditionally portrayed). Not much later WF Buckley's God and Man at Yale was another shot across the bow of liberalism. Buckley also created the magazine National Review which allowed for a forum to hone conservative thought. After Roe v Wade a few catholics, Jerry Falwell, and Francis Schaeffer created the pro-life movement which created the social conservative. Thus the somewhat inappropriately named three legs of American conservatism: fiscal, foreign policy, and social conservatives.

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Originally Posted by Dennis Young:


Also, I used to be a member of the NRA.  Like those folks, I believed strongly in our 2nd amendment rights.  However, I dont think our Founding fathers would have felt like common civilians have the rights to own high powered weapons that could be converted to automatic weapons.  I dont think they meant for us to outgun our police forces with superior firepower.  So I quit.  There's a few nuts in that group.

Actually Dennis, that is exactly what the Founding Fathers wanted. The right to bear arms is not about hunting or personal protection. It is about social protection from governmental oppression. Remember that it was the common citizen who stood up to the British Empire.

I also think you are mistaken about high powered fully automatic weapons. Hunting rifles are much more powerful than any main battle rifle (MBR) out there. A 7.62mm cannot stand up to anything like a 338 RUM or 416 Rigby.

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wow, very good points everyone. I realized something else. I don't see much reason to be so progressive if you're already living in one of the coolest countries in the world. I just wish some progressives would stop for a moment and take a look around and be thankful for where they live. When I was in the navy I saw things in other countries I wish I hadn't.

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Originally Posted by Douglas Shireman:
I just wish some progressives would stop for a moment and take a look around and be thankful for where they live.

Well, you could  say that about both sides really. At the moment it seems that both parties are apparently living on different planets in terms of what they think is broken and needs to be fixed, but both sides are looking though the (fairly murky) prism of ideology, and a lot of what they think is broken isn't necessarily what the man on the street considers as an issue.  Both sides are too busy trying to turn america into what they consider to be a better place to take a look and see how good a place it already is.  

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I consider myself a liberal/progressive.  On social issues, I tend to have a "live & let live" attitude.  I also try not to judge in areas that are a bit murky as far as morals go. Hopefully, there is a greater power that knows more than I and will do the judging.  Of course it's easy to see that murder is wrong, stealing, etc, is wrong, but how is two people of the same sex loving each other hurting anyone?  Your religion may tell you that it's wrong, but then again, those same religions believe that having sex for any other purpose than procreation is wrong.  We all know that people have sex, and don't want to have a child each time.  I guess what I'm saying is that it's not always cut & dry, black & white with moral issues.  

Personally, I have no problem with people making "gajillions" of dollars, as long as they are not breaking laws or **** people over to do so, but how much $ does a person need.  Wouldn't it be ok for all Americans to have at least the very basic of human needs met (even if the govt has to help them)?  If I have a roof over my head, food to eat, able to take care of my health, etc, I have no desire to have material stuff that I don't really need, while others go without.  I think that has a lot to do with my Christian upbringing.  I have never been materialistic.  I just don't understand why some people think greed is a good thing.  I also think that when everyone in the country is doing well, we are stronger & better as a nation.

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Originally Posted by Mark Simmons:

I also think you are mistaken about high powered fully automatic weapons. Hunting rifles are much more powerful than any main battle rifle (MBR) out there. A 7.62mm cannot stand up to anything like a 338 RUM or 416 Rigby.

Hmm, depends really. Stopping power is one thing, but how many rounds can an M-16/AR-15 put out there while the guy with the hunting rifle is reloading? When it comes to firepower, apparently quantity has a quality all of its own :-P

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simple. all politicians are liberal. the only real conservatives are labeled as evil right wing extremists.i love how the media and the democrat elite have marginalize the tea party is an extreme fringe of the republican party, when in fact the tea party represents the core of conservativism. even the wave of tea party candidates have been subdued by the republican leadership, which is still stuck in "dem-lite" mode, as if we still have time for that **** before the country collapses under the government's weight.

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Originally Posted by Kieran Colfer:

Originally Posted by Mark Simmons:

I also think you are mistaken about high powered fully automatic weapons. Hunting rifles are much more powerful than any main battle rifle (MBR) out there. A 7.62mm cannot stand up to anything like a 338 RUM or 416 Rigby.

Hmm, depends really. Stopping power is one thing, but how many rounds can an M-16/AR-15 put out there while the guy with the hunting rifle is reloading? When it comes to firepower, apparently quantity has a quality all of its own :-P

All I need is one. Get the guy with that little high speed .22 way before I get within range for him. Kinda seems to work really, really well in A-stan.

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Originally Posted by Dødherre Mørktre:
simple. all politicians are liberal. the only real conservatives are labeled as evil right wing extremists.i love how the media and the democrat elite have marginalize the tea party is an extreme fringe of the republican party, when in fact the tea party represents the core of conservativism. even the wave of tea party candidates have been subdued by the republican leadership, which is still stuck in "dem-lite" mode, as if we still have time for that **** before the country collapses under the government's weight.

Did you see the videos of the anti-Tea Party demonstrators???

They were shouting things such as "I wipe my ass with the American Flag", "There's the token black guy", and "Teabaggers should die"

Talk about evil.

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Originally Posted by Mark Simmons:

Originally Posted by Dødherre Mørktre:
simple. all politicians are liberal. the only real conservatives are labeled as evil right wing extremists.i love how the media and the democrat elite have marginalize the tea party is an extreme fringe of the republican party, when in fact the tea party represents the core of conservativism. even the wave of tea party candidates have been subdued by the republican leadership, which is still stuck in "dem-lite" mode, as if we still have time for that **** before the country collapses under the government's weight.

Did you see the videos of the anti-Tea Party demonstrators???

They were shouting things such as "I wipe my ass with the American Flag", "There's the token black guy", and "Teabaggers should die"

Talk about evil.

funny how blatant anti-americanism/anti-capitalism is becoming more and more mainstream on the left. if the republicans were only as effective at brand messaging as the democrats were, then there would be no democrats in office. or should i say, if only all americans woke up to the fact that they're being manipulated by the left, then it would be game over.

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Originally Posted by Dødherre Mørktre:

funny how blatant anti-americanism/anti-capitalism is becoming more and more mainstream on the left. if the republicans were only as effective at brand messaging as the democrats were, then there would be no democrats in office. or should i say, if only all americans woke up to the fact that they're being manipulated by the left, then it would be game over.

Both sides manipulate Dod, the left have just gotten more savvy at it in the last 2 election cycles.