Ryan WHITTEN
Richland City Council Po. 7
Liberals and Conservatives
The juxtaposition of different value systems necessary for societal progress.
There is in the Western World a massive divide between Liberals and Conservatives which grows larger by the day. Should this fracturing continue unabated or worse, accelerate, the very political fabric that keeps the states united could tear. This country has already seen one Civil War. It was the bloodiest conflict of our nation's history, being that it was technically on both ends, with deaths exceeding those suffered in the First and Second World War, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War combined (Civil War Casualties | American Battlefield Trust (battlefields.org)). Those casualties were suffered during a time when the most lethal infantry weapons were still single-shot, muzzle loaded rifles, the whole nation existed primarily east of the Mississippi, and had a population only 10% of what it is currently. A similar Civil War in today's conditions including more fragile supply logistics, a much higher population, a larger area of conflict, and far more lethal firepower could yield casualty numbers in the tens of millions. Even if such a fracture were to result in a peaceful restructuring of alliances among the states the power vacuum created risk throwing the world into turmoil.
It need not be so. It must not be so.
Liberals and Conservatives are not naturally enemies, and nor should they consider themselves to be. Liberals and Conservatives have different values with which they interpret and navigate the world. Both have their strengths, both have their flaws. Together, through honest and open dialog
Liberal
Conservative
The Conservative Value System aims for a balance in all core values. With regard to compassion, they understand over concern can result from an observers discomfort rather than really considering the best outcome for the one suffering.
Suffering is a natural part of life and the first rules for being a doctor and nurse are good rules to live by: 'Do no harm.' and 'Don't do for another what they can do for themselves.'
The Conservative World View leans more towards the 'Realist'. Borders and security are necessary to protect freedoms and liberties for citizens.
< VALUE SYSTEM & WORLD VIEW
IMPORTANT POLITICAL ISSUES >
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Social issues of all kinds
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Equality of outcome disguised with unequal opportunities that lower standards for perceived underdogs
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Activist movements: LGBTQ, BLM, Feminist etc.
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Saving the environment generally without a full understanding of the issues, negative impact and lack of benefit of policies implemented (Green New Deal)
Liberal
Conservative
Conservatives believe social issues should not be managed by the government. When the government gets involved in social issues it is called the nanny state and has detrimental consequences on individual personal development.
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Issues that do belong in politics: Issues related to economic development while preserving freedoms
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state defense.
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The government is there to work for the people, not manage people’s lives. Period.
Liberal
A fetus is not a human life. The decision to have an abortion rests solely with the woman. It is her body and the government should stay out of it. Any women should be guaranteed the right to a safe and legal abortion, including partial birth abortion, paid for by the tax payers as needed.
Conservative
< ABORTION
No one is guaranteed the right to any health care service or any service for that matter. Abortions should be allowed and available to women who need them and paid for by the patient and their insurance. The federal and state government should not be providing extra funding for abortions and planned parenthood should be abolished as women's health services should be available via the same means as other health care services.
The social issues related to the high number of abortions we see today should be addressed within families and communities: supporting the traditional roles for men and women, modern over sexualization and meaningless sex cultural trends should be discouraged. Women should take care to avoid substance abuse and situations that make them vulnerable to unwanted pregnancies on non-consensual sex. Men should re-assert their role as protector and women should be appreciative of good men.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION >
Liberal
Due to prevalent racism in the past, minorities were deprived of the same education and employment opportunities as whites. We need to make up for that. Support affirmative action based on the belief that America is still a racist society. Minorities still lag behind whites in all statistical measurements of success. Also, the presence of minorities creates diversity.
Conservative
People should be admitted to schools and hired for jobs based on their ability.It is unfair to use race as a factor in the selection process. Reverse-discrimination is not a solution for racism.
Systemic racism and white supremacy are not at all rampant in America. This is toxic propaganda the left pushes to create cultural instability and maintain it’s voter base. The only real systemic racism is the left fueled politically correct white race hatred and vast racist acceptance initiatives that favor people of color over people of European and Asian descent.
Minorities lagging behind in statistical measures is exacerbated by the repercussions of nanny state policies.
Liberal
We should abolish the death penalty. The death penalty is inhumane and is ‘cruel and unusual’ punishment. It does not deter crime. Imprisonment is the appropriate punishment. Every execution risks killing an innocent person.
Conservative
In extreme criminal, gruesome, and serial killing circumstances the death penalty can be an appropriate punishment. It is neither cruel or unusual in these circumstances and can function to deter further crimes.
< DEATH PENALTY
ECONOMY >
Liberal
Favor a market system in which government regulates the economy. We need government to protect us against big businesses. Unlike the private sector, the government is motivated by public interest. We need government regulation to level the playing field.
Conservative
The free market system, competitive capitalism, and private enterprise afford the widest opportunity and the highest standard of living for all. Free markets produce more economic growth, more jobs and higher standards of living than those systems burdened by excessive government regulation. The government is not really motivated by public interest. By design the government is interested in growing and maintaining itself, much like a large complex corporation.
Liberal
Critical Race theory and LGBTQ issues should be taught to young kids in school.
School vouchers are untested experiments. We need to focus on more funding for existing public schools -to raise teacher salaries and reduce class size.
Conservative
< EDUCATION
Critical Race Theory(CRT) is Inaccurate, dangerous and divisive. Teaching CRT and LGBTQ awareness is indoctrination and harmful to children.
Masks are not useful and children should be able to go to class with their piers without masks.
School vouchers will give all parents the right to choose good schools for their children, not just those who can afford private schools. Parents (who pay the taxes that fund the schools) should decide how and where to educate their child.
GUN CONTROL >
Liberal
The Second Amendment gives no individual the right to own a gun, but allows the state to keep a militia (National Guard). Guns kill people. Guns kill children.
Conservative
The Second Amendment gives the individual the right to keep and bear arms. Gun control laws do not thwart criminals. You have a right to defend yourself against criminals. More guns mean less crime.
Liberal
Support universal government-supervised health care. There are millions of Americans who can’t afford health insurance. They are being deprived of a basic right to healthcare.
Conservative
Healthcare is not a right. Free healthcare provided by the government (socialized medicine) means that everyone will get the same poor-quality healthcare, which means inadequate health care for all with little to no personal accountability for health care requested services, and intractable expectations for healthcare workers. Health care should remain privatized. Support Healthcare Spending Accounts. Remove restrictions to increase supply and create complete cost transparency to improve personal accountability and drive down necessary costs.
< HEALTHCARE
Immigration
Immigration
Immigration
IMMIGRATION >
Liberal
Support blanket amnesty for current illegal immigrants. Believe that regardless of how they came to the U.S., illegal immigrants deserve:
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U.S. government healthcare, employment assistance, welfare, & financial aid for college tuition.
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Visas for spouse/children to come to the U.S. Families shouldn’t be separated without regard for child trafficking considerations.
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Illegal immigrants do the jobs that Americans do not want to do.
Liberal Democrats encourage illegal immigration because it fuels their voter base. They are not concerned with taxing our country socially and economically in favor of an unstable welfare state.
Conservative
Support legal immigration at non-destabilizing rates, but do not support illegal immigration. Government should enforce immigration laws. Oppose President Bush’s amnesty plan for illegal immigrants. Those who break the law by entering the U.S. illegally should not have the same rights as those who obey the law by entering legally.
If there were a decrease in cheap, illegal immigrant labor, employers would have to substitute higher-priced domestic employees, legal immigrants, or perhaps increase mechanization. Americans should encourage Americans to do and hire for jobs perceived to be jobs that Americans do not want to do.
Liberal
Support the separation of church and state. Religious expression has no place in government. Support the removal of all references to God in public and government spaces. Religion should not interfere with government.
Oddly advocate for Islam. Oppose the State of Israel.
Support removal of Christian heritage symbols and flags but will fly BLM and LGBTQ etc. flags.
Conservative
< RELIGION
The phrase “separation of church and state” is fine, and generally a non-issue. Oppose the removal of symbols of Christian heritage from public and government spaces. Government should not interfere with religion and religious freedom. And the removal of God and traditionally Christian references form public should be discouraged as the lack or realization of the deeply ingrained messages this religion has in our cultures history should be respected.
The ‘dealth of religion’ and rise of modern hero worship of celebrities has contributed to the moral degredation of culture and society. Awareness here and reassertion of traditional values is a good way to help mend the damage done to families and communities.
Liberal
Marriage should be legal for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender couples to ensure equal rights for all. All individuals, regardless of their sex, have the right to marry. Believe that prohibiting same-sex citizens from marrying denies them of their civil rights. Opinions differ on whether this issue is equal to civil rights for African Americans.
Conservative
Marriage for LGBTQ people is not a major issue. Couple of any combination should be able to marry. The system should still have deterrents in place for people abusing the legal benefits for marriage. This is again, a social issue, not suitable for state and federal government.
Culturally the promotion of LGBTQ sexuality should not be supported by government funding. And these same ideals should absolutely not be promoted in children’s education system, the psychological influences in personal development should be a serious consideration, and life altering surgeries should not be promoted for people of any age.
SAME SEX MARRIAGE >
Liberal
Generally oppose change to the current Social Security system. Opinions vary on whether the current system is in financial trouble. Changing the current system will cause people to lose their Social Security benefits. Support a cap on Social Security payments to the wealthy
Conservative
The current Social Security system is in serious financial trouble. Changes are necessary because the U.S. will be unable to maintain the current system in the future. Support proposal to allow a portion of Social Security dollars withheld to be put into an account chosen by the individual, not the government.
< SOCIAL SECURITY
TAXES >
Liberal
Support higher taxes and a larger government. High taxes enable the government to do good and create jobs. We need high taxes for social welfare programs, to provide for the poor. We can’t afford to cut taxes.
Conservative
Support lower taxes and a smaller government. Support complete transparency and accountability for government management of tax dollars. Support more efficient management of tax dollars overall. Lower taxes create more incentive for people to work, save, invest, and engage in entrepreneurial endeavors. Money is best spent by those who earn it.
Liberal
The United States has a moral and a legal obligation to support the United Nations (UN). The UN can be effective in promoting peace and human rights. The U.S. should not have acted in Iraq without UN approval. The U.S. should submit its national interests to the greater good (as defined by the UN).
Conservative
< UNITED NATIONS
The UN has repeatedly failed in its essential mission: to preserve world peace. The wars, genocide and human rights abuses of the majority of its member states (and the UN’s failure to stop them) prove this point. The U.S. should never subvert its national interests to those of the UN.
WAR ON TERROR >
Liberal
9/11 was caused by America’s arrogant foreign policy. America needs to stop angering other countries. The threat posed by terrorism is exaggerated.
Conservative
The world toward which the Militant Islamists strive cannot peacefully co-exist with the Western world. In the last decade, Militant Islamists have repeatedly attacked Americans and American interests here and abroad. Awareness for the threats from islamic extremism is a must.
Liberal
Support welfare and the need to provide for the poor. Conservatives oppose welfare because they are not compassionate toward the poor. We have welfare to bring fairness to American economic life. Without welfare, life below the poverty line would be intolerable.
Conservative
< WELFARE
Oppose long-term welfare and state resource abuses. Government handouts should be efficiently managed and discouraged where possible. We need to provide opportunities to make it possible for poor and low-income workers to become self-reliant. It is far more compassionate and effective to encourage a person to become self-reliant, rather than keeping them dependent on the government for money.