Bruce Walker gets to the heart of the matter. He identifies the realities behind the code.
In a recent email conversation about the same subject, I told my correspondent, "I am an American Conservative, which means I am a Jeffersonian Liberal."
The terms we use are confusing. And finding out they originate with Karl Marx explains why!
The Gunslinger
Joebama American citizens 2024 print
1 year ago
Couldn't agree more. The "Liberal" Democrats and "Conservative" Republicans are so close to the same God damn thing, it's ridiculous. Of course, if they didn't cling to those titles, they might have to actually debate the issues to win elections.
ReplyDeleteWell, that's not exactly what I meant. I meant the "labels" are confusing. The differences are vast.
ReplyDeleteIt's just that "conservative" means you want to conserve something.
But what you want to conserve is not explained by the term.
A conservative can be a monarchist or a revolutionary, depending on what he's trying to conserve.
I wish to conserve the ideals of the American Revolution. In today's America that makes me a Conservative.
The political definition of Liberal used to be the same as the dictionary definition:
"Favorable to or respectful of individual rights and freedoms; favoring maximum individual liberty in political and social reform."
American revolutionaries were Liberals in this sense.
But today the political definition of "Liberal" is "Socialist"
"A system where the the individual is subservient to, controlled by, and provided for by the State."
This is precisely the opposite of the goals and ideals of the American Revolution.
So today, politically, Conservatives are defenders of the ideal and goals of the American Revolution, and Liberals are those who wish to overturn them in favor of Socialism/Communism.
Big difference.