Letters to the Editor
-
Another Conservative Big Lie
Most of the time, conservatives demonize liberals, more or less overtly. But sometimes they switch gears and say things like this:
shooter242:
There is also the disconnect between how one would like life to be like, versus what actually works, albeit imperfectly. That alone is what I consider the primary divide between liberals and conservatives. We both want the same things essentially, but differ on how, or even whether, a particular goal is achievable.
However, both historical reality and empirical research combine to show that this is not true in some very fundamental ways.
Put simply, liberals want equality--liberty and justice for all--while conservatives want inequality--liberty and justice for their own kind. In fact, conservatism is a form of identity politics--the original form. All the other forms of identity politics are merely reactions against the pre-existing landscape of conservative identity politics. The MyDD diary of mine that Glenn linked to was part of a series that was dedicated to establishing that point--a series that was initiated because I disagreed with Glenn's take on conservatism at the time (which has since changed).
A particularly telling chart is here:
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/PaulRosenberg/Free-Cantril/FC-Outgroups-By-OpSpec-Table.jpg
It's a chart from 1964 showing how operational conservatism correlates with saying that different groups should have "less influence"--Blacks, Jews, Catholics and unions.
Operational conservatism is part of core conservatism, representing opposition welfare state spending. A large number of ideological or self-described conservatives--more than half--support increased or stable welfare state spending Those who don't, operational conservatives, show a clear unwillingness to let marginal social groups gain power. Liberals, OTOH, are either supporters or members of such groups. They want a much more pluralistic society, where liberty is the birthright of all, where social justice is available for all, where respect, opportunity, and political power are available for all--a very different world than that which hard core conservatives want.
Of course, the liberal vision is the one America was founded on. And so one of the conservative's favorite fallbacks is the claim that conservatives want the same thing, only they are just more realistic. It was this "realism" that said, "unfortunately, blacks just aren't equal to whites," and that liberals were "unrealistic" to support black equality. It said the same thing about women as well. It says today that non-Christians aren't "real Americans" (good luck with that, Mr. Romney). That's what conservative "realism" looks like.
And of course, it says that gays scum of the earth. Just like it used to say about Jews.
Pretty damn ugly if you ask me.
And not the least bit liberal--which, among other things means generous and tolerant.