A Democratic Conservative

I have been watching the campaign very closely this year. Each of the candidates has their own beliefs of what can be achieved in the next four years. I, myself, wonder if anything of great importance to my life will be change. I imagine I will still have to struggle as I have the last forty years. As I watch I hear different terms being used, like for instance, liberal, conservative. I sit and ponder, as I listen to the speeches wondering how I would describe myself.

So I decided to ask my oracle and I receive an answer from a modern prophet named Mark. He explains as follows:

The liberal philosophical system

· Epistemology: Reason. Knowledge comes from human beings. "Inalienable rights" are innate in human beings, as a result of their being reasoning beings.

· Metaphysics: Subjective reality. Liberals don't believe that what is true for one person is true for another person.

· Ethics: Do things for the good of society as a whole. Liberals place more importance on society as a whole instead of individuals. Helping the less fortunate is also important. Liberals deal with people in groups rather than as individuals.

· Economics: Socialism. Liberals believe that an uneven distribution of wealth is not ethical, so another mechanism -- in this case, the state -- must allocate that wealth.

· Agency: Determinism. Liberals believe that things happen outside the control of human beings and that they have no control of what occurs in the world.

The conservative philosophical system
Epistemology: God. "Inalienable rights" come from God, who created human beings and gave them the capacity to reason.

Metaphysics: Objective reality. There is a knowable truth that is universal for all people (this truth, incidentally, is usually the same as the politician's truth).

Ethics: Self-interest. A thing should be done by an individual for the good of that individual. Things done for the good of the individual will necessarily be done for the good of society (Adam Smith's "invisible hand").

Economics: Capitalism. Conservatives believe that capitalism is the most just of all the economic systems. A person should work for what he earns and nothing less or more.

Agency: Free will. There exists nothing outside the control of a human being's free will. There are no excuses because everything is the result of a person's good or bad choices.

I will now offer an explanation, for which I will be torn to pieces if I don't offer one. I added "agency" because I think that's an integral part of these philosophical systems. Conservatives and liberals have different views on who is responsible for things happening in the world. Conservatives, like existentialists, believe that everything can be reduced to choices. If you've got problems in your life, it's your own fault, because you made bad choices. Liberals, on the contrary, believe that you have limited control over your reality. They are determined by your environment, by other people, and by your own genetic makeup. You have no control; you merely react to things that occur.

These descriptions would represent an ideal liberal or an ideal conservative. No human being could be like these ideals, but they are things that a conservative person or a liberal person strives for. Real people are a mixture of both, or of other systems, for these systems are not the only philosophical systems that exist.

These systems translate readily into the realm of politics. Democrats tend to be "liberal," while Republicans tend to be "conservative." Politics sometimes messes up the reasoning behind things, because politics is about power. Is a liberal politician doing something because he feels his liberal philosophy will be best for the country, or is he doing something because he wants raw power? Sometimes it's hard to tell. Politicians -- allegedly -- do things for the good of the country. A conservative politician pushes for conservative policies because, in his opinion, those policies will be best for the country. Or is he pushing conservative policies because he feels they will give him more power? That's when these philosophical systems get intertwined with politics and it becomes hard to tell what "liberal" or "conservative" means. Some politicians that might be considered liberal favor conservative policies and conservative politicians might favor liberal policies.

Conservatives are not bad people because they are conservative, nor are liberals evil because they are liberal. Neither one hates America. They represent opposing philosophical systems, nothing more. People from each side feel that theirs is the correct philosophy because ... well, because that's the way people are. When a person holds a belief, he naturally feels that his belief is correct. The problem occurs when these philosophies enter the realm of politics, when people are making decisions for America based not on an objective evaluation of the situation (i.e. "What is good for America?") but an ideological evaluation (i.e. "What do I think is good for America?"). This is where we run into the problem of conservative thinkers using their conservative ideology to make decisions and not their own minds. As Abraham Maslow (famous psychologist) would agree, a liberal person is not bad, but he can use that liberality to bad ends.

Politics today relies too much on ideology, and ideology is too inextricably linked to politics. Ideology is misused and confused with wisdom and is used to achieve power, not to make America better for everyone. A politician must think about serving his country, not improving his own station in life or the stations of his cronies. Conservatism is not the correct choice all the time; neither is liberalism the correct choice all the time. A politician must evaluate each situation as it occurs and not base every decision on a philosophy which, in the end, may not be good for all Americans.

So I was raised predominately conservative. My step parents believe you work hard and you will enjoy the benefits of your labor. Theses are teachings I still believe in today. But my biological parents did not't share these same beliefs. My biological parents had their own problems of alcoholism and a list of many other undesirable traits. While I was with my biological parents we enjoy the benefits the state, like for instance, welfare and charity. I remember being excited going to school because at school, we were offered free lunches and breakfast. If it was not't for these programs I would have no clue where I would be at today. I think about the children living in the slums that I grew up in. This is heartbreaking because it took losing both of my parents before I was able to break free of poverty. I was able to find stability with an Uncle and Aunt who lived in a life of lower middle income range. I thought they were rich and I was jealous of their children, my cousins. In my reality they had everything and I was envious. It took me many years too appreciate what my Uncle and Aunt did for me. Even today I am learning the importance of their teaching. Honestly I never felt as if I was one of their children. I was, in my mind still the cousin looking in. In hindsight, my aunt and uncle was more of a mom and dad that I ever had.

This is why I considered myself, a democratic conservative. I am person who believes you need to work hard but I am not here to judge others. Because I do not know what exactly what is affecting other families. There are many families who had never experience a different lifestyle. This is all they know. To change someone's life you have to begin with opportunities and you have to help a person deal with such a different reality. This is what I am confused about with conservatives and traditionalist. Such a family spends a life time in church learning to help the unfortunates. These families give ten percent of their welfare for their beliefs. These same families are against the government for trying to help others who are lining a life of misfortune. This I were I differ because I say that here in America we should help everyone we can. Pay it forward and maybe one day we will benefits by helping someone else. It may take years to get repaid, but what else are we doing that is so important. The last time I check everyday life was getting harder for Middle America. Jobs are diminishing and education's cost is rising, not to include the cost of living. I admit I would love to be in a different social class. But I also would love to be an astronaut, but I know these things are not going to happen. I am trying to find peace in my reality in this world. But I refused to deny any benefits I can offer my neighbor.