Conservative vs. Liberal: The Basics

About a year ago, I started getting interested in politics, and how it affects the lives of people living in the United States today. I'm no expert in this at all, but there appears to be lots of confusion about the fundamental differences between the conservative (i.e. "Right") and liberal (i.e. "Left") worldviews. As such, here's a comparatively simple breakdown.

First off, let's analyze the root words for both labels. Conservatism is built around the word "conserve", meaning to reinforce, protect, or defend. As such, most values championed by the Right are closely tied to that strategy. In contrast, liberalism is rooted in the word "liberate", meaning to release, divide, or separate. Most causes championed by the Left use that tactic as well. Both sides of the political arena turn to one resource in their continuing struggle: the laws of the U.S., both civil and criminal. The guideposts for that law are found in two main documents: the Declaration of Independence, and the U.S. Constitution. Each state also has its own separate constitution (note the lowercase "c"), so those are often taken into account.

Now, here's the tricky part: which issues should be protected or separated, and why? This opens up a whole proverbial "can of worms", because everything goes back to the Founding Fathers. This is a term used to describe the men whose efforts and ideals originally formed this nation in the 18th century, most of whom also signed the Declaration. When you hear names like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Jay...all of these and more were among the Founding Fathers. There's a more comprehensive list at this link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founding_Fathers_of_the_United_States

Now, these men all came from a variety of backgrounds, with different opinions about how a new country should be organized and move forward. Most were Bible-believing Christians, while a select few (like Ben Franklin) were deists. Nevertheless, the majority of them understood that a common, shared moral worldview was essential for any nation to function properly. Leftists often cite a so-called "separation of church and state" in their arguments, but that phrase is found nowhere in the texts of the Declaration or the Constitution. It's paraphrased from an 1802 letter written by Thomas Jefferson, to the Danbury Baptist Association from the state of Connecticut. You can read all about that on these pages...

https://wallbuilders.com/letters-danbury-baptists-thomas-jefferson/
https://wallbuilders.com/separation-church-state/

How does this impact modern politics? Well, you have to ask yourselves one question...and no, its not "Do I feel lucky?" The actual puzzle is, "What do those on the Right wish to protect, while those on the Left simultaneously wish to divide?" In a word, the answer is simple: absolutes.

"What is an absolute?", you might ask. Well, an absolute is something which applies equally, to all people, in all times and places, regardless of personal desire or opinion. For example, current U.S. laws say that if you murder someone, you will be arrested, tried by the courts, and sent to prison if convicted. It doesn't matter whether you are black, white, Christian, Muslim, prefer women as sexual partners to men, or vice versa...you're still guilty of murder. We do allow some exceptions for extremely young perpetrators, and the exact punishments vary depending on the specifics of the crime. However, the absolute standard remains unchanged: you broke the law, and you will be punished for it.

Generally speaking, those on the Left side of the political spectrum despise absolutes. They want every situation to follow their own whims and preferences, in spite of what may be safer or most beneficial for the American people in total. Those on the Right have also been guilty of this at certain times, but their core ideology is still based on "unalienable" rights. The word "lien" involves restriction by a third party, usually with regard to debt...but the Founders believed certain things were granted by a supernatural Creator to all mankind. Since the government did not grant these rights to anyone, they had no authority to take them away. The Declaration of Independence contains the following text, very early on...

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

That one simple paragraph sums up a series of ideas very well. First, the Founders recognized that certain truths were "self-evident" (obvious)...so you didn't need a degree to understand them. Second is the notion of all mankind being created equal by a common Creator...who most Founders believed to be the God of the Bible. Thirdly is the already-explained "unalienable" position, followed by three rights in that category: the right to live, to have liberty, and to pursue one's own happiness. All three of these rights are routinely challenged by the Left, most of whom support abortion, euthanasia, arbitrary restrictions on freedom (banning prayer in schools, for example), and government-mandated support for Leftist causes. In contrast, most on the Right support pro-life laws, a smaller Federal government, and a person's happiness being their own responsibility.   

Getting back to absolutes, its true they often divide people, especially in terms of morality. But that fact alone doesn't logically lead to abolishing the absolute. That would lead to removing all laws based on unchanging principles, such as theft, murder, and rape. In my limited experience, not many people truly want to live in a society like that.

So, what's the answer? Well, the simple truth is that there isn't one all-encompassing solution, which will fix all our problems in the blink of an eye. However, the laws of the United States were originally built around the benefit of the majority, and while that doesn't always make the larger group correct in their judgment, a very huge risk is taken when sacrificing that principle. Its like walking on thin ice during the winter, where every step sabotages the durability of the whole surface. The best way we currently have to protect American citizens with the law, is to keep the majority at the forefront of our minds. We may not always like it, but its still the best option by far.

Another solution is to support people who will apply the U.S. Constitution as written, instead of twisting it to suit their own desires. There's far too many judges who "legislate from the bench" by declaring a proposal "unconstitutional", simply because it doesn't match their specific worldview. We need to get rid of corrupt people in the government, and a big way to do that is to vote them out. But that also means paying close attention to politics, which many Americans have sadly been trained to deem irrelevant most of the time. But perhaps the biggest solution is also the most controversial one: re-embracing our largely Christian heritage and demanding our leaders recognize that unalienable rights come from God. That's what the Founders believed, and that's what this great nation was built on. Many educators now train students to think that the Founding Fathers despised religion (particularly Christianity), and wanted a completely secular society. But that's not what they wrote themselves; here's a few samples...

"It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible." ~George Washington~

"God, who gave us life, gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?" ~Thomas Jefferson~

"And as it is our duty to extend our wishes to the happiness of the great family of man, I conceive that we cannot better express ourselves than by humbly supplicating the Supreme Ruler of the world that the rod of tyrants may be broken to pieces, and the oppressed made free again; that wars may cease in all the earth, and that the confusions that are and have been among nations may be overruled by promoting and speedily bringing on that holy and happy period when the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ may be everywhere established, and all people everywhere willingly bow to the sceptre of Him who is Prince of Peace." ~Samuel Adams,  Governor of Massachusetts, Proclamation of a Day of Fast, March 20, 1797~