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HUMANITY: WHITE HAT, OR BLACK HAT?
Another central difference between the definitions of the philosophies of the right and the left revolves around our concept of humanity. Conservatives hold to the supposition that man's natural state is one of evil -- an established concept upon which many traditional religions are based. Liberals, on the other hand, see humanity as essentially good, and capable of great things. A very strong argument can be made that we are seeing the psychological mechanism of "projection" at work here: Liberals, basically good at heart, see others in that light. Conservatives... well... don't. The infatuation with guns, with irrational desire to expand national defense beyond what is needed to address real threats -- these earmarks of American conservatism make perfect sense, when you take into account the basic differences in how we view humanity.
MARS
Understanding conservative philosophy is easy, once you realize Republicans are from Mars...
Mars was the Roman God of War. To have a war, you need a few things:
1. You need an enemy
2. You need something to fight over
3. You need weapons
THE ENEMY: That's us, folks. I know it seems nuts, but it's true. We liberals, "bleeding-heart" as we may be, as "live and let live" as we may be, are seen as A THREAT. Why? Because we ARE "live and let live" kind of people, and want our society to reflect our values.
SOMETHING TO FIGHT OVER: Conservatives feel we are taking their nation away from them. Really. The America of "traditional" families being not only the norm but the required, of gays being in the closet, of women being helpmates rather than equal partners, of organized religion being above scrutiny or criticism, of people not only knowing their place but staying in it -- this is the America that they feel we have stolen and continue to steal. (This is one of the few things on which conservatives are right. We did.)
WEAPONS: This is where we, as liberals, have the biggest problems with reality. Since we can't imagine pretending to be something we're not, we can't easily conceive of others doing so. Well, we're wrong. Conservatives do. If they have to conceal the truth to win, they will. In war, this weapon is called "disinformation" or "psychological warfare". When Bush said he was "a uniter, not a divider", he didn't mean it. We all know that NOW, but if we are ever going to make any progress, we must remember this lesson.
VENUS
Understanding liberal philosophy is easy, once you realize Democrats are from Venus...
Venus was the Roman Goddess of Love. To love, you need a few things:
1. You need somebody to love
2. You need to be able to find the loveable in others
3. You need to do nice things for those you love
SOMEBODY TO LOVE: That's humanity.
THE LOVEABLE IN OTHERS: We look at humanity, and we see its faults, but we also see the progress made, the potential for good still to be realized, and we want to realize that progress. We love people. We believe in them.
NICE THINGS: We want to empower The People. We believe in personal autonomy. We want to protect political and civil liberties, and human rights.
REGRESSION VERSUS PROGRESS
For me, the traditional definitions of liberalism and conservatism don't tell the whole story. There is no doubt that on some issues, conservatives seek radical change, and liberals are in the position of defending the established (take reproductive rights, for example). For me, the REAL difference between us is in the kinds of changes we seek to make -- the direction we look to find our "better world".
Liberals believe the best is yet to be. Liberals look to the future. We want progress. We see the arc of progress, see what we have gained, and want to extend that arc. We think progress hasn't gone far enough, and needs to go further. Liberals are committed to a new and better tomorrow.
Conservatives believe we have seen better days. Conservatives look to the past. They see the arc of progress, see what they have lost, and want to reverse that arc. They think progress has gone too far, and needs to be arrested and reversed. Conservatives are nostalgic for a better past.
NEXT: MORE "REPUBLICANS ARE FROM MARS..."
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