Conservatives vs liberals?

Question

I've seen a number of people here say that conservatives are more thoughtful and logical and liberals are more emotional and arbitrary. This seems like a male vs female stereotyping to me.

Aren't conservatives more likely to be people of faith rather than liberals who are more likely to believe in the logical origins of life (evolutinary explanation). Aren't conservatives emotional about abortion while liberals don't get up in arms about it. Aren't conservatives more likely to respond to the the emotion of fear whereas liberals stand for principles in the face of fear mongering?

Your thoughts please.

To Spirit Walker;

Conservatives get much more emotional about abortion. The guys standing with bloody fetus signs at public gatherings for instance.

Evolution has tons of evidence from the fossil record, and especially from molecular biology. Did you know, for example, that humans and apes have >98% of their DNA sequence in common?

What's a reasoned (not emotional) way to explain that away?

Answer 1

I think that emotional fervor can be claimed by both sides, depending on the issue at hand. I also think that I want to be put in the third category of thinker. I have rather conservative views regarding things like finances and rather liberal views regarding religion. So pigeon holing me one way or the other is inaccurate.

In my experience, political and religious conservatives tend to be oriented to a more top down method of organization. "Tell me what is right and I will follow." You can see this in how they nominate candidates for office. The leadership selects someone and the party members give their support. Conservatives on a whole tend to believe in rules. They tend to support Zero tolerance policies, that is until it comes to affecting them, then you have to understand the special circumstances. Religious conservatives tend to accept the idea of an unshakable, fixed set of rules for success and family harmony and value conformity over individual expression. They tend to see problems in a more polarized way, either yes or no, good or bad. Conservatives tend to interpret the word liberal as meaning permissive or promiscuous.

Again, in my experience, political and religious liberals tend to have an inclusionary way of organizing, they strive for consensus and require more accountability from their leaders. They are more likely to question decisions made by leadership. You can see this in the primary process as they select nominees for office. Unfortunately for political liberals, their attempt to fully examine issues and debate or discuss all the options is seen by much of the general population as indecisiveness. Religious liberals tend to view religious and moral values as continuing to evolve with society. They view rules as guides to help settle differences and difficulties in a fair and just way. They value diversity of opinion and tradition as a strength. They see problems as complex and multifaceted requiring study before taking a course of action. Liberals tend to interpret the word conservative as rigid, uncaring and overbearing.

When it comes to faith, I think it depends what you mean by faith. If you mean the acceptance of a belief or position because someone in claimed authority says it's true, then I think conservatives are your people. If you mean the kind of faith that is built on experience and solid research and testing, then I think liberals are your people. I think liberals have more faith in human nature than conservatives. I think conservatives have more faith in the system than liberals. Of course we're talking in generalities here, not of individual people. And as we all know "you're actual mileage may vary."

Personally, both of these groups tend to see the other too much as a stereotype. Neither can be characterized by a simple label. The commonality we all share as human beings gives us many more similarities than differences. When we disagree, we need to focus on the issues and not personalities. We have to realize that we are both probably seeking the same or similar goal, we just have different visions about how to get there. My observations would lead me to believe that those who resort to name calling or writing off people as "just a liberal wing nut" or "a conservative chauvinist" are usually those with the weakest logical points to make for their side of the discussion/argument. Closing down and not listening happens on both sides, liberal as well as conservative. People tend to accept most readily those messages that reaffirm what they already believe, notice I said people, not conservatives, not liberals. We are all like this. We need to fight that natural compulsion if we are to make real progress in society.

Answer 2

The distinction between the two has gotten clouded over time. Conservatives are more rational in their thoughts on provate property. They are more likely to believe that individuals make the best decisions about their own money. Liberals are more rational when it comes to letting people decide about their own moral values. They justifiably disagree with statements about Republicans about the importance of religion or family values, moral systems that should be decided by the individuals themselves. My recommendation is just think of the two parties in terms of their view of individual rights. Conservatives are pro-property rights and liberals are pro-right to the pursuit of happiness and both seem to oppose the other's chosen flagship right

Answer 3

You must be a liberal, as you cloak your question with bits of truth and then put in the BIG LIE. Besides you last sentence being a load of crap, the one preceeding it is in error too. Libs get highly emotional about abortion. They believe it should be give to everyone. And where do you get that evolution is logical? There is NO scientific proof of that.

Answer 4

Conservatives let the church rule their thinking while liberals let the constitution guide their thinking.

Answer 5

I agree...but however there are different levels of emotions by each group to each issue..its not all black and white.

Answer 6

You can look at it any way you want, just don't get too emotional about it.