Does the following sum up the differences between Conservatives & Liberals?

Yes.

You full well have my attention and admiration!

If it is OK with you, I would like to e-mail this World wide?

187 persons.

Proper acknowledgment, will, of course, be given.

The problem is that I know many conservatives that are liberal and many liberals that are conservative. Different aspects of life need be defined for oneself. The problem is not a problem other than the fact that you do not see that as well.

You sound like a cable-news junkie & pundit.

No, if a conservative likes guns, he runs crying to the basement if a liberal is elected because he thinks they are going to take them away, even if no attempt has been made to do so.

Conservatives like to eat meat and they don't care if anyone else can afford it or not.

If a conservative sees something threatening, even if it doesn't exist, he immediately hits it. A liberal first determines whether there is any threat at all and whether hitting it will be effective.

If a conservative is a homosexual, he hides it from all of his homophobic friends, while a liberal gay person lives his life without regard for what anyone thinks, unless they try to stop him from having the same freedoms as straights.

If a black man or Hispanic is successful, a liberal celebrates it and hopes he passes his good fortune on to others who have not been as fortunate. A conservative wonders what kind of affirmative action was responsible for him getting an unfair advantage.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he takes advantage of the same help available to a liberal, but continues to criticize it while he's doing it. A liberal takes it if he needs to and doesn't feel he should beat himself up for doing it.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he acts like Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, etc., with no regard for his fellow man. If a liberal is a non-believer, he regards his fellow man as just as important as he is.

A conservative thinks because he doesn't get a bill that says "Your payment for the uninsured" that he isn't paying it. A liberal knows that if we don't reform health care, we will all continue to pay for it at a much higher rate than we are without reform, and then even the conservatives' health care will be rationed.

Sound about right? No? Well, guess what. Your list doesn't sound right to me either.

That is one set of differences. But the conservatives can be hypocritical as well.

A liberal might be religiously conservative, believing homosexuality to be a sin, but it is often the conservative who wants to legistlate that beleif.

I am not saying Libs are better than Cons. I am saying there are hypocrits on both sides.

Sounds like a reasonably fair characterization. Basically pointing out the differences between collectivism and individualism. Liberals decide what is good for them and try to impose it on all. Conservatives just take care of their own needs and do what they feel is best for them. Liberals call it selfish, conservatives call it independence. When liberals try to impose what they think is right on everyone, they call it compassion, conservatives call it tyranny. It all depends on whether you value the rights of the individual or the good of the collective.

Wow. I never thought of it like that. Maybe I really was never a liberal because I never wanted any of that. Plus I always liked guns and meat. You can keep the homosexuality part and your talk shows.

Absolutely the best summery of the two ever given

Perfect, if you came up with that you are a genius! It is interesting that we see it that way. I would say 70%+ of th country sees it that way also.

Not even close.

Demographics, Psychology and Religion

For the most part, the Left/Right divide is really a Urban/Rural divide. While you can find a Liberal in the country, or a Conservative in the City, they are often isolated and cut off.

Urban settings and the link to Liberalism-

What occurs in an Urban setting that compels people to a more Liberal mindset is the close proximity of differing ethnic groups and cultural intermingling. You won't find a China Town or Little Italy where I grew up-in a village of less than 1,000 people. In Urban areas, you see a constant political, social and economic "battle" of differing ethnic and cultural groups. Reform, being the core belief of Liberalism, is desired in Urban areas more often due to a dynamically shifting social situation. The presence of new and different ideas also gives them a proclivity towards reform.

Upside-

With more cultures to interact with on a daily basis, Liberals often show a greater tolerance than their Conservative counterparts because they have a reason to show it-it's necessary to be successful in an Urban environment with so many different people of so many different cultures.

Downside-

Living so close to and interacting with other cultures can give one a sense of inferiority if you are a minority. When we feel outnumbered, we desire equality to rise up to the level of those above us in political, social and economic power, as opposed to desiring it for the sake of fairness, we desire it when it benefits us.

Religion-

Due to the presence of many different cultures-and therefore, many different religions-Liberals are often compelled to either weigh their religious options, or to come to the realization that all religions are valid or even all are equally foolish. This is a major reason behind the presence of Atheists in Urban areas.

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Rural settings and their link to Conservatism-

Rural settings are much more homogeneous-that is, being of solely or largely one ethnic group. There is a sense security that this offers, as one can easily relate to a fellow citizen and have a pretty good idea of what they believe. So being Conservative, they are hesitant towards reformation because of the relatively stable social situation they find themselves in.

Upside-

Conservative towns are often known as peaceful and with trustworthy neighbors. Many such towns' residents don't lock their doors as a result, and among Conservatives you'll find some of the hardest workers. Hence, they value Freedom FROM the dynamic and unpredictable changes that Liberals see as the key to bettering society.

Downside-

However, Conservative towns, often being homogeneous-also suffer from a type of backwardness, the automatic mistrust of those who differ from them. A black family-no matter how respectable-moving into a small mostly white community often compels their neighbors to lock their doors and mistrust them.

Religion-

Desiring security-religion plays a large role in Rural communities, where the comfort in the belief of an afterlife adds to their feeling of security. This is also why many Senior Citizens move out to the country-if only to get away from all those whippersnappers.

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Purposeful division in the media-

Edward Bernays-in his 1928 Thesis, Propaganda-had this to say on the matter of division-

"In theory, every citizen may vote for whom he pleases. Our Constitution does not envisage political parties as part of the mechanism of government, and its framers seem not to have pictured to themselves the existence in our national politics of anything like the modern political machine. But the American voters soon found that without organization and direction their individual votes, cast, perhaps, for dozens or hundreds of candidates, would produce nothing but confusion. Invisible government, in the shape of rudimentary political parties, arose almost overnight. Ever since then we have agreed, for the sake of simplicity and practicality, that party machines should narrow down the field of choice to two candidates, or at most three."

Captain Parker and Mamanuk have it right.

Just saying, because I can't vote up or down yet.