Libs, did you have this moment in your life that partially caused you to be liberal?

I think it was 'long about the time that maggot Reagan started transfering wealth from the middle class to the top 1%. Till Reagan job wages and GDP rose together. And while GDP has gone through the roof since then the middle class has not enjoyed ONE DIME of economic growth. In other words WE'RE TAKING BACK WHAT WAS STOLEN FROM US!

 

You may be referring to the work of Jonathan Haidt, who is doing some intriguing research on the subject. If so, I'd be inclined to agree. My current perspective is that the typical conservative places relatively even emphasis on a broad range of moral values when compared to liberals, who lean a smaller number of values but make up for it with the added passion they've got for those narrowed moral themes. Libertarians and people on the seldom discussed Religious Left don't fit well into either the conservative or liberal camp, morally speaking, interestingly enough. This is not yet a well-developed area of study though from what I've read in the past. Several imperfect models exist right now for measuring the moral influences at work in the minds of people in varied political factions.

 

Conservatives don't have any morals. NONE! They have religious indoctrination which is, based on their words and behaviors, in direct opposition to actual morals.

Don't believe that? How do you think the average conservative would answer this question: Can someone have morals without God? Fact is conservatives don't even know what morals are. And they'll tell you so: "If there wasn't a God behind my (so called) morality I'd do all kinds of horrible evil things" they will tell you. The concept of morality for moraliy's own sake is completely foreign to them.

No one who wasn't COMPLETELY LACKING in morals could believe in "salvation" based NOT AT ALL on behavior but ENTIRELY on whether someone believes a particular brand of religious mumbo jumbo. A 1938 poll in Nazi Germany indicated that almost 100% of the population were Christians. About half Catholic and half Protestant with almost no others at all. The result was not at all in conflict with 2000 years of Chrisitian teachings. In fact that was the CAUSE of it.

BTW before someone points out that NAZI is an abreviation for "National Socialism" let me compare that phrase to W Bush's "Clear Skies Initiative" which allowed polluters much greater leeway in what they could dump in the air. Nazis were not socialists. They were FASCISTS. A term its founder Mussilini said "Should be called corporatism because it is the combining of government and corporations." Which near as I can tell is the entire platform for the GOP.

 

I'm a conservative leaning atheist.

 

Well at least you're not compounding the problem by dragging religion into it. Conservatism is a LOT like religion. You just need more information in order to get past your confusion.

And for those who might say they are left leaning Christians I'd like to add that it is possible to be a left leaning Christian in the true sense of the word. But you CAN'T be a REAL Christian and be conservative. They are mutually exclusive concepts leading to cognitive dissonance. Hence your confusion and your constant excuses.

 

Right-wing authoritarians tend to compartmentalize their beliefs, easily get caught up in cognitive dissonance, are often very prejudicial, can claim to champion Christian values and national traditions in politics without doing so on account of having revised, inaccurate, dogmatic beliefs about the contents of their faith and national history, and so on... and the presence of RWA leaning folk is a predominantly conservative phenomenon... but it would be incredibly unfair to depict all (or even most) self-described conservatives in general that way.

I've had the honor of discussing political subjects with a number of extremely intelligent folk on the Right - some of whom were obviously more knowledgeable and experienced than I - who were quite rational in the formation and defense of their convictions. Such people are not "false" Christians, steadfast in any conviction that the non-Christian lacks moral character, and they do not make "constant excuses." They simply have found a different path in the direction of serving the public than their counterparts on the Left, in doing so drawing on different experiences, theories, and adhering to a moral code distinct from mine. Conservatism is no mental illness.

With all due respect, Black Pearl, I must insist on strongly disagreeing with your attitude toward them. There are idiots on all sides; try not to let your negative encounters with them color your perception of all adherents to ideologies adversarial to your own. Doing otherwise is liable to break down civil discourse. :\

 

It is a specious spectrum of wrong answers throughout. It is controlled by a united ruling class and it controls the minds of those who seek some authority to tell them what to think. Use your own mind and experience, plus the experiences of others who are not interpreting those experiences through ideology transmitted from above.

Thought channeled through what professionals tell you to think is a Matrix. In the movie, which purposely substituted perceptions for conceptions, Neo and the others realized something was wrong with their perceptions because of glitches in the computerized program that they had thought was reality. We have glitches such as Chickenhawks and Limousine Liberals, proving that the people in control don't believe in what they transmit. They know perfectly well that they are feeding us nonsense from all sides of the spectrum. They laugh at anybody who thinks he is "well-informed" by parroting their dumbing-down disinformation. If you listen to any authority, from Far Left all the way through to Far Right, you are only hearing voices.

 

Moral responsibility is an essential aspect of maturation, and is is expressed by the behaviour of individuals and the communities they form toward their fellow man.

Feed the hungry
Give drink to the thirsty
Clothe the naked
Shelter the homeless
Visit the sick
Visit those in prison
Bury the dead​

 

I guess the right really doesn't believe in morals if they have to pay for it with their tax dollars.

 

I will try to explain it more clearly.

The fact is republicans are (against) anything that helps the poor or middle class.
And republicans are (for) anything that helps the rich.
(LITERALLY)


The following are examples on how republicans treat the poor and middle class.

Republicans are against tax cuts for the working poor and middle class.
Republicans are against high min. wage laws for the working poor.
Republicans are against long unemployment benefits for middle class Americans.
Republicans are against giving poor, working poor, and middle class Americans health insurance.
Republicans are against any and all assistance to Americas poor (whether its helping poor people get homes, or feeding hungry children with welfare.)
Republicans are against helping middle class Americans keep their homes in bad financial times.
ex.ex.ex.


But lets look at how republicans treat the rich CEO's.

Republicans want the supply side formula (tax cuts for the rich)
Republicans want the Flat Tax (the flat tax greatly reduces tax payments for the rich)
Republicans want 0% tax rates on dividends (so rich CEO's will have 0% federal tax rates.)

Rich CEO's hate working peoples unions (so republicans try to get rid of unions)
Rich CEO's hate class action lawsuits (so republicans try to get rid of these lawsuits)
Rich CEO's want corporate deregulation (so republicans want corporate deregulation)
The rich CEO's hate the EPA (so republicans try to get rid of the EPA)
ex.ex.ex.

I challenge you to name (1) republican idea that helps the poor or middle class.
People say republicans are for the rich, and democrats are for the poor and middle class.

I bet you can't list a single republican idea that helps the poor or middle class.

 

No, even in the 1960's - 1970's, we were taught solid history of the nation (to include our State). Not all we studied about ourselves was positive; the point was to impart knowledge about our past. It was not some fever-pitched 'pep rally'.

You rolled a lot into some terrible-social-burrito. What the heck are you talking about?

Most often, but not always.

I don't want every possession taken from me and donated to others... but really, there has to be some amount of and purpose for concerted effort and the commonwealth. Civilized societies require that.

Umm... no.

Cut to chase: It takes all kinds to keep this nation balanced and healthy. Clearly, conservatives do not (and never have) had all of nor the ONLY good answers.

With some it may be; certainly not all.

 

Syncretic is basically code for elitist authoritarian eugenicist.

 

I still consider myself a liberal. My priorities are fiscal responsibility, civil liberties and the absence of discrimination. The term "liberal" has been hijacked into corruption ever since LBJ started the "get something for nothing" policy in the 1960's at the expense of the taxpayer. It is a form of enslavement and has become extremely offensive under Obama. It is very difficult for the poor to say no because the alternative to free stuff is a long and arduous path of self-recognition and WORK.

 

I am liberal who has worked hard all of my life.

I am a liberal because I care about people.

 

That (to me) is awesome!!

 

... they're not what the modern term 'liberal' would mean in America. At most, they would be 'classical' liberals, but for the most part they fall more along libertarian lines (not all, not none entirely).

 

Well, the concept of libertarianism was not even around during the Enlightenment, so I see no reason to apply a modern term to their political philosophy. As a generalization, the seven men I provided were classical liberals.

 

The "Moral" Majority Biblebangers don't believe in morals either:

$ERMON OF A JE$U$ $ALESMAN


Pray
Then pay
That's the way
To make my day

 

Alex Jones, is that you?

 

I am

 

This is a very reasonable and civilly-presented post. Thank you. I respect that.

I would like to say something, that I mean sincerely and that I sincerely hope might cause someone to think. It will be perceived in the form of an insult, but I can't help that. I can only hope that it might be also received with a thought of, "Well, heck, maybe if I think about it, it has a grain of truth that would benefit me."

#1- I do NOT think that partisan politics or partisan ANYTHING is a good deal. No side has all the answers. I support the left on diminishing corporations' power, green energy (though not discouraging drilling in addition), protection of earth's resources. I agree with the Right on almost all moral issues.

#2- The main problem of the Right is greed. Not all right wingers have it of course, and many on the Left have it also.

#3- I believe that obviously we drift toward that political party which most reflects our political views. BUT, I believe that these political views are generated by certain character traits. Therefore, I believe that there are certain character traits which are MUCH more common to one side than the other.

I believe that the quality of fear is far more predominant on the Left than on the Right. I believe that that is what is responsible for the Left's tendency toward a welfare state and toward a big govt to control all. Fear creates hate, and hate creates anger.

I believe that fear is the worst of qualities to base a philosophy on (along with hatred), and therefore I think that in a very real way, the Left is the inferior philosophy.

Yes, I think that there is a very concrete reason that this class of persons has more fear than the other class, but that, by my choice, is not part of the discussion here.

 

Just cause Alex uses common terminology does not mean he owns the words.

 

I moved out of my parents.

Went from Libertarian capitalist to Libertarian socialist.

 

But it does mean that you're a paranoid delusional.

 

Actually, you're comments verify these 2 things.

A. You're completely into worshipping the god-state.

B. You're too uninformed to be posting on PF.