For the second part of this blog topic I want to introduce you to modern day Conservative/Liberal defined and redefined. When my 17 yr. old daughter started her Senior Government class her teacher started by having the students answer some questions and determine if they were liberal or conservative. The first question was "Do you believe in old fashioned patriotism?" He defined old time patriotism as during our founding fathers time of "White men in power", women not voting and blacks enslaved. My daughter of course said "no".
Where in the world did he come up with that definition? I was just aghast by it. I proceeded to educate my daughter on how wrong her teacher was. I am horrified to say if this is what public schools are teaching students, to define our founders as "White men oppressors", then they would rightly be against everything the founders did upon creating our country.
I got on my computer and decided to look up Conservative and Liberal to try to clarify for her the differences. From the top several of the Google search.
Dictionary Definition of Conservative :
1.disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
2. cautiously moderate or purposefully low: a conservative estimate.
3. traditional in style or manner; avoiding novelty or showiness: conservative suit.
4.( often initial capital letter ) of or pertaining to the Conservative party.
5.( initial capital letter ) of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Conservative Jews or Conservative Judaism.
1. favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.
2. ( often initial capital letter ) noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform.
3. of, pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism.
4. favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, especially as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.
5. favoring or permitting freedom of action, especially with respect to matters of personal belief or expression: a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.
The definitions alone would have a child wanting to be a Liberal. But lets continue to Wikipedia. I know but does your child know?
Conservatism (
Latin:
conservare, "to preserve")
[1] is a
political and
social philosophy
that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports,
at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives
seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and
continuity, while others oppose
modernism and seek a return to "the way things were".
Then we have Student News Daily. Thank goodness!
LIBERALS –
believe in government action to achieve equal opportunity and equality
for all. It is the duty of the government to alleviate social ills and
to protect civil liberties and individual and human rights. Believe the
role of the government should be to guarantee that no one is in need.Liberal policies generally emphasize the need for the government to solve problems.
CONSERVATIVES
– believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets,
individual liberty, traditional American values and a strong national
defense. Believe the role of government should be to provide people the
freedom necessary to pursue their own goals.Conservative policies generally emphasize empowerment of the individual to solve problems.
I believe the last link is the most accurate and really gives a more honest contrast between the two.
It truly scares me that the history of our founding fathers and the creation of our great country could be redefined to be something so ugly and untrue. It begs the question, why would anyone push such an insidious portrayal of our countries founding?
