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Originally Posted by Rockabillie Sometimes I think both parties want to control society more, but the conservatives want to control individual behavior and the liberals want to control corporate crimes.
Also: Liberals want to help people in need but conservatives want them to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps without any help or compassion. |
I agree with the majority of the first part of your post, but not this (although I can see how it may be a matter of perspective). In my view, both want to control individual and corporate behavior. The difference is in methodology. A conservative believes that the private sector (i.e. the individual) is the force that should regulate society. The liberal believes that gov't should. A "true" conservative doesn't want the Federal gov't to decide matters that are far outside the bounds of the Constitution such as the examples you gave earlier. A "true" liberal, however, looks to the Federal gov't first to decide matters.
Also, conservatives DO help people in need. We believe in the old saying that "you can give a man a fish and feed him for a day, but if you teach him how to fish, he can feed himself". In other words, instead of simply throwing money at the problem, we believe that helping the individual to help themselves is the only lasting solution. If only the "Great Society" had used this approach we wouldn't have been forced to watch generations of destitute dysfunctional people stuck in the welfare system.