02.27.07
Conservative vs Liberal
I got to cogitating a bit on the differance between “conservatives” and “liberals” in US politics. There are a lot of differances, but one of the most pointed is:
Conservatives are generous with their money.
Liberals are generous with YOUR money.
A friend’s grandpa phrased it this way:Â “A man is in a deep pond 60 feet from the dock. There is a life ring on the dock with a 50 ft rope. The Democrat will throw the ring right to the man but not tie off the rope. The Republican will hold onto the rope and encourage the man to swim the 10 feet to the life ring.”
It comes down to attitude and world view. Conservatives know that each person is responsible for their decisions and actions. And yet their compassion causes them to reach out to help folks - with their own resources. Liberals on the other hand believe that “society” is responsible for each individual and thus “society” must “help” them. They are not moved to assist folks in need with their own resources because, after all, the almight state exists for that purpose.  They forget that the state owns nothing it has not taken from someone, it is no “magic wishing well” with unlimitted resources. In order for the state to “help” someone they must first take from someone else.