The difference between liberal and conservative
Not going by actual word definitions but by political characteristics, there is a big difference between liberal and conservative mindsets.
I'm intentionally not using Democrat and Republican because while most Democrats are liberals, there are some who are more conservative, or more traditional Democrat.
Likewise, while most Republicans claim to be conservative, there are Republicans who are liberal. A big example are many of those in the Utah state legislature. There is a lot of legislation that is being pushed that is not conservative in nature, but I'll get to that.
The big difference between conservative and liberal is freedom.
I expect most liberals will want to disagree with that and say they believe in freedom, but here is my reasoning.
Where does freedom come from? Is freedom our ability to choose what we are going to do and say? Or does freedom come from the government telling us what we can do and say?
The conservative mindset wants to minimal government interference and regulation into our everyday lives. The conservative wants to be empowered to make their own decisions, to be responsible for their own choices.
The liberal wants the government to regulate everything, which means they want the government to be involved with everything and to have some degree of control in everything.
Again, I'll have liberals who'll want to disagree with that assessment but here is a general example.
If a conservative is offended by something someone says to them, the conservative will recognize that person has a right to their opinion and will walk away. (Note, I'm not talking about an extreme conservative who is just as bad as an extreme liberal). If a conservative reads something offense, they choose to stop reading.
If liberals are offended they want the government to step in and regulate the offense. While they may see it as protecting others from some offense, the reality is they want the government to restrict some freedom.
So the difference is who gets the freedom. For conservatives, the freedom is individual and should be maintaining and protected as much as possible as an personal right.
Liberals are willing to give their freedom to the government so the government has greater freedom to control the lives of the citizens.
Conservatives recognize that government has an important role, but that role needs to be actively watched and restricted because government should be controlled by the people, and it is in place for the people.
Liberals are much more willing to cede control to the government believing that those in power will act in the best interest of the people, and not for their own political or personal power and gain. Instead of having a government of the people, by the people, and for the people liberals belief the people should be regulated and controlled by the government.
I mentioned earlier the Utah legislature. In name, most are Republicans. However, there is an increasing amount of legislation that is focused on providing more government programs, more government involvement and control, and more power of the government over the lives of Utah residents. A prime example was the Tax Reform law that the legislature pushed through in December 2019.
There may have been some good things about the Tax Reform law, but the citizens didn't like it. A referendum managed to gather enough signatures and it scared the legislature enough that one of their first actions was to repeal the law during their 2020 legislative session. The law would've allowed for taxing entities to more easily raise taxes with little or no input from the residents. The law would've introduced taxing services, and that would eventually expand to much more.
The Utah legislature seems more open and willing to spend money than to cut expenses. There are education bills that would require more money towards more testing in schools.
From my perspective, the Utah legislature wants to have greater control and ability to tax and charge fees over a wider range of potential revenue sources. They want to tell the people what they are going to tax, instead of the people telling them what they (the people) are willing to be taxed on.
So, as we move further into this big election year, it would be good to really look at the candidates running for the various positions. Is the person liberal or conservative? As mentioned, both sides have conservatives and liberals, although most Democrats are liberals and most Republicans tend to be conservative.
It would also be good to really identify what you want: do you want the freedom or do you want to give your freedom to the government?
If you vote for Sanders or Warren, you are assuredly voting to give your freedom to the government. The other Democrat presidential candidates aren't far behind, although they don't appear to be quite to the socialist extreme.
Be aware that the liberals do talk about the Constitution and protecting Constitutional rights and freedoms. But talk is cheap. Look at their records. What have they done to actually protect those rights and freedoms. Look at what they have done to further regulate or restrict those freedoms. And, also look at what they have talked about doing to those freedoms if they are elected. Are they wanting to restrict freedom of speech (such as through internet censorship to "protect children"), restrict the right to keep and bear arms (through legislation that will make it more difficult and more expensive for law abiding citizens to exercise that right), or regulate the freedom of religion (maybe by forcing religions to perform same-sex marriages or reducing their right to exercise their beliefs)?
Who do you want to have the freedom: you or the government?
I'm intentionally not using Democrat and Republican because while most Democrats are liberals, there are some who are more conservative, or more traditional Democrat.
Likewise, while most Republicans claim to be conservative, there are Republicans who are liberal. A big example are many of those in the Utah state legislature. There is a lot of legislation that is being pushed that is not conservative in nature, but I'll get to that.
The big difference between conservative and liberal is freedom.
I expect most liberals will want to disagree with that and say they believe in freedom, but here is my reasoning.
Where does freedom come from? Is freedom our ability to choose what we are going to do and say? Or does freedom come from the government telling us what we can do and say?
The conservative mindset wants to minimal government interference and regulation into our everyday lives. The conservative wants to be empowered to make their own decisions, to be responsible for their own choices.
The liberal wants the government to regulate everything, which means they want the government to be involved with everything and to have some degree of control in everything.
Again, I'll have liberals who'll want to disagree with that assessment but here is a general example.
If a conservative is offended by something someone says to them, the conservative will recognize that person has a right to their opinion and will walk away. (Note, I'm not talking about an extreme conservative who is just as bad as an extreme liberal). If a conservative reads something offense, they choose to stop reading.
If liberals are offended they want the government to step in and regulate the offense. While they may see it as protecting others from some offense, the reality is they want the government to restrict some freedom.
So the difference is who gets the freedom. For conservatives, the freedom is individual and should be maintaining and protected as much as possible as an personal right.
Liberals are willing to give their freedom to the government so the government has greater freedom to control the lives of the citizens.
Conservatives recognize that government has an important role, but that role needs to be actively watched and restricted because government should be controlled by the people, and it is in place for the people.
Liberals are much more willing to cede control to the government believing that those in power will act in the best interest of the people, and not for their own political or personal power and gain. Instead of having a government of the people, by the people, and for the people liberals belief the people should be regulated and controlled by the government.
I mentioned earlier the Utah legislature. In name, most are Republicans. However, there is an increasing amount of legislation that is focused on providing more government programs, more government involvement and control, and more power of the government over the lives of Utah residents. A prime example was the Tax Reform law that the legislature pushed through in December 2019.
There may have been some good things about the Tax Reform law, but the citizens didn't like it. A referendum managed to gather enough signatures and it scared the legislature enough that one of their first actions was to repeal the law during their 2020 legislative session. The law would've allowed for taxing entities to more easily raise taxes with little or no input from the residents. The law would've introduced taxing services, and that would eventually expand to much more.
The Utah legislature seems more open and willing to spend money than to cut expenses. There are education bills that would require more money towards more testing in schools.
From my perspective, the Utah legislature wants to have greater control and ability to tax and charge fees over a wider range of potential revenue sources. They want to tell the people what they are going to tax, instead of the people telling them what they (the people) are willing to be taxed on.
So, as we move further into this big election year, it would be good to really look at the candidates running for the various positions. Is the person liberal or conservative? As mentioned, both sides have conservatives and liberals, although most Democrats are liberals and most Republicans tend to be conservative.
It would also be good to really identify what you want: do you want the freedom or do you want to give your freedom to the government?
If you vote for Sanders or Warren, you are assuredly voting to give your freedom to the government. The other Democrat presidential candidates aren't far behind, although they don't appear to be quite to the socialist extreme.
Be aware that the liberals do talk about the Constitution and protecting Constitutional rights and freedoms. But talk is cheap. Look at their records. What have they done to actually protect those rights and freedoms. Look at what they have done to further regulate or restrict those freedoms. And, also look at what they have talked about doing to those freedoms if they are elected. Are they wanting to restrict freedom of speech (such as through internet censorship to "protect children"), restrict the right to keep and bear arms (through legislation that will make it more difficult and more expensive for law abiding citizens to exercise that right), or regulate the freedom of religion (maybe by forcing religions to perform same-sex marriages or reducing their right to exercise their beliefs)?
Who do you want to have the freedom: you or the government?
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