12 Contrasts between “Liberals” & “Conservatives”
by John Tennison, M.D. (AKA Nonjohn) Copyright July 20, 2005
Surely the words “liberal” and “conservative” are currently among the most ambiguously used words. Despite the frequent use of these words, users often have no specific denotation in mind. Therefore, when you encounter usage of one of these words, you should always require that the user tell you exactly how THEY are defining the word at that particular moment. Nonetheless, if one could analyze all of the instances in which the words "liberal" and "conservative" have been used in the last 50 years in the United States, one could derive the following contrasting trends in the intended denotations. The following list is not exhaustive and represents only tendencies of so-called “liberals” and “conservatives”, rather than absolute definitions. Therefore, it should be obvious that a given individual might easily defy a specific tendency listed below.
Conservatives
Tend to think that they know the truth, that the truth is obvious, and black-and-white.
Liberals
Tend to think the truth is not always obvious, tend to admit when they don’t know the truth, and regard “truth” as almost always occurring in a continuum, rather than being black-and-white.
Conservatives
Tend to think to there is one absolute truth and standard of behavior that applies to everyone.
Liberals
Tend to be more relativistic when it comes to truth and not believe that one person’s or group’s moral standard should be forced on everybody else.
Conservatives
Tend to be more selfish, and less likely to empathize or sympathize with someone who is less fortunate than themselves.
Liberals
Tend to be more able to empathize with the less fortunate and therefore more likely to want to support distribution of resources to the less fortunate.
Conservatives
Tend to not want to engage in analysis or think too much about something, even when a quick decision is not required.
Liberals
Tend to see the value of and often enjoys analysis/thinking, even lengthy analysis, especially when the stakes are high, or when one has the luxury of time.
Conservatives
Tend to place a high value on the accumulation of personal wealth, even though their religions often emphasize the evils of materialism, such as when Jesus claimed that it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven.
Liberals
Tend to place a higher value on the betterment of public health, and tend to more closely exemplify Jesus’ imperative of loving thy neighbor as thyself.
Conservatives
Tend to be suspicious and/or fearful of higher education, and afraid that it might change them.
Liberals
Tend to value higher education, and welcome the ways in which it might change them.
Conservatives
Tend to see themselves as independent from the rest of the world, and therefore tend to discount the effects their economic or other activities might have on others or the rest of the world.
Liberals
Tend to see themselves as part of a larger ecological system in which all things are interconnected, and therefore tend to be concerned about the effects of such things as toxic waste sites and global warming.
Conservatives
Tend to think that heterosexuality is the only acceptable form of sexual behavior.
Liberals
Tend to think that, as long as they're not hurting anyone, choices of sexual behavior, like any personal behavior, should be left up to the individual.
Conservatives
Tend to think that “life starts at conception,” and thus think that abortion is murder, and therefore tend to be against a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion at any stage of a pregnancy.
Liberals
Tend to know that life is present even before conception, in the form of sperm and egg cells, and therefore conclude it is completely arbitrary to say life suddenly began at conception, thus, tend to support a woman’s right to choose, at least early-term abortions.
Conservatives
Tend to tell themselves and others that they are interested in “small” government, yet support measures that enlarge government, such as the Patriot Act, or a constitutional amendment to outlaw gay marriage.
Liberals
Tend to not be interested in “large” government for its own sake, but rather, support government entities that help counter-balance threats and protect citizens from other large institutions, such as corporations, organized religion, other countries, or other subdivisions of government. The EPA and FDA are (in theory) supposed to serve this type of function, although corporate infiltration has eroded and corrupted their missions.
Conservatives
Tend to place value on “doing” alone, and value immediate, obvious, and macroscopic actions, such as the “shock and awe” (A.K.A. "terrorism") of bomb dropping before exhausting diplomatic efforts.
Liberals
Tend to not need to see large-scale, physically-obvious events to believe that progress is being made. Tend to want to balance “doing” with “thinking” and “feeling.” Given the luxury of time, would prefer to let “thinking” and “feeling” inform the “doing.”
Conservatives
Tend to be uncomfortable thinking abstractly and symbolically, such as thinking in terms of metaphors. For example, tend to want to interpret text in the bible literally, despite the fact that Jesus himself clearly explained that his parables were metaphorical.
Liberals
Tend to be comfortable thinking abstractly, theoretically, and metaphorically, such as in interpreting bible verses metaphorically, such as reasoning that if John said “God is Love,” then logically, “Love is God.”
REFERENCE: In Matthew 16: Verses 7-12, Jesus makes it clear hear that he used the words "yeast" and "bread" metaphorically as he spoke about the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Moreover, Mark 4: Verses 33-34 indicate that Jesus spoke publicly in parables, but later explained the metaphorical meaning of his parables to his disciples while in private.