Post by Afterpaw on May 24, 2013 17:11:48 GMT -6
Before I get started on this particular tangent of mine, let me define the two terms you see above.
Conservative (adj.) - Holding to traditional values and attitude, and cautious of change, particularly towards religious or political views.
Liberal (adj.) - Open to new behaviour or opinions, and willing to set aside traditional values and attitudes.
Now that we've got that out of the way, let's move on to the actual tangent. Be warned that this will most likely turn into more politics than anything else.
To be, or not to be... That is the question. Liberal or conservative? Unbiased or leaning? When someone says they are liberal, you probably immediately think "pro-choice, pro-LGBT rights, anti-theistic, etc.". When someone says they are conservative, you probably immediately think "anti-abortion, anti-gay rights, most likely Christian, etc.".
My big question is this; Why does it matter? Why should it matter, the political and religious views of another person? Why is is that, when in the discussion of politics, a religious point is almost always made? Or when a discussion of religion happens, it ends up less as a discussion and more like a debate? What prompts people to assume that, because someone identifies as one thing, that they must immediately follow suit to everything that their peers and predecessors do? What makes people think that, because their parents are Republican, they must be as well, lest they be a disappointment to their parents? What makes people think that if they're not Democrats, they're going to be viewed as bigots and Bible-thumpers?
Well, the answer is sort of in the question; People automatically assume that, by the title's definition, a person or persons must immediately be exactly like the nearest person of the same view or trait as them. When you think about it a little bit deeper, it ends up being precisely the same thing as racism and sexism. It ends up looking exactly like a man looking into the car next to him, and thinking "Man, that woman of Asian descent is going to kill me if I drive near her!" Even worse, it's precisely like a woman going up to a man and calling him a pig and a rapist because he made a stupid, crude joke. There are infinite numbers of other analogies I could make, but it ends up as the same thing; People assume that a person, by their title, is always the same as their like-titled peers.
My view of everything is very passive. Instead of saying "Oh, all blacks are ghetto and poor!" I would rather say "Most of the [blank] I know..." as opposed to "all." Not everyone really, truly understands how omni-encompassing the word "all" is. It's literally the definition. Omni is Latin for "all." When you say that all men are the same, you are unknowingly assuming that every male being on the planet has precisely the same appearance, genetic code, personality, and way of thinking. When you say that nobody likes a particular thing, then you are implying that literally nobody likes or promotes said thing. Whether you know of this or not, hopefully you do now. What you mean is that the general public of your area or past experience does not like that particular thing, or most of the men that you've known have acted or appeared extremely similarly. It is not up to you to judge everyone.
Those right there, are the thoughts of a liberal mind. I prefer free thought, the ability to say and feel anything I want without the guilt of any traditional morals or ritual. Which is to say, I quite enjoy being able to loudly proclaim how much I dislike something and not have any real consequences imposed upon me.
The thoughts of a conservative mind on such matters would probably be very different. However, I don't want to offend anyone who is conservative or considers themselves to be as such, so I won't voice it. It's also because the term "conservative" is an excessively broad topic to consider. What may be considered conservative to one person may seem standard to another. For example, a woman bearing a hajib may be considered conservative from the viewpoint in our modernised and...we'll use the word "licentious" here, whereas from her point of view, a woman who does not wear a hajib is considered something of a scandal. As is with a lot of things, it is all dependent upon a person's point of view. There will never be a clearly defined and uniform manner of being conservative. However, there are a lot of indicators which show mostly your political standpoint, but can show other things as well. For example, someone who is against abortion rights is more likely to be conservative and vote Republican than someone who is pro-choice.
However, those statistics are often inaccurate, and thus don't necessarily always reflect upon things accurately. So think about it for a little bit; What do you think you are and why?
Do you consider yourself conservative, traditional, often preferring to defect from things which offend the views you were brought up with? Or do you consider yourself liberal, flexible, typically adjusting to change rather than denying it, regardless of past views.
I honestly do want to know, because I'm thoroughly interested in what you all have to say. And also because I used almost 1,000 words on this because, yes, I'm that kind of bored. So...yeah...comment below or whatever. Or don't. I don't care. Give opinions. And be respectful. No need to be rude. <.<
Conservative (adj.) - Holding to traditional values and attitude, and cautious of change, particularly towards religious or political views.
Liberal (adj.) - Open to new behaviour or opinions, and willing to set aside traditional values and attitudes.
Now that we've got that out of the way, let's move on to the actual tangent. Be warned that this will most likely turn into more politics than anything else.
To be, or not to be... That is the question. Liberal or conservative? Unbiased or leaning? When someone says they are liberal, you probably immediately think "pro-choice, pro-LGBT rights, anti-theistic, etc.". When someone says they are conservative, you probably immediately think "anti-abortion, anti-gay rights, most likely Christian, etc.".
My big question is this; Why does it matter? Why should it matter, the political and religious views of another person? Why is is that, when in the discussion of politics, a religious point is almost always made? Or when a discussion of religion happens, it ends up less as a discussion and more like a debate? What prompts people to assume that, because someone identifies as one thing, that they must immediately follow suit to everything that their peers and predecessors do? What makes people think that, because their parents are Republican, they must be as well, lest they be a disappointment to their parents? What makes people think that if they're not Democrats, they're going to be viewed as bigots and Bible-thumpers?
Well, the answer is sort of in the question; People automatically assume that, by the title's definition, a person or persons must immediately be exactly like the nearest person of the same view or trait as them. When you think about it a little bit deeper, it ends up being precisely the same thing as racism and sexism. It ends up looking exactly like a man looking into the car next to him, and thinking "Man, that woman of Asian descent is going to kill me if I drive near her!" Even worse, it's precisely like a woman going up to a man and calling him a pig and a rapist because he made a stupid, crude joke. There are infinite numbers of other analogies I could make, but it ends up as the same thing; People assume that a person, by their title, is always the same as their like-titled peers.
My view of everything is very passive. Instead of saying "Oh, all blacks are ghetto and poor!" I would rather say "Most of the [blank] I know..." as opposed to "all." Not everyone really, truly understands how omni-encompassing the word "all" is. It's literally the definition. Omni is Latin for "all." When you say that all men are the same, you are unknowingly assuming that every male being on the planet has precisely the same appearance, genetic code, personality, and way of thinking. When you say that nobody likes a particular thing, then you are implying that literally nobody likes or promotes said thing. Whether you know of this or not, hopefully you do now. What you mean is that the general public of your area or past experience does not like that particular thing, or most of the men that you've known have acted or appeared extremely similarly. It is not up to you to judge everyone.
Those right there, are the thoughts of a liberal mind. I prefer free thought, the ability to say and feel anything I want without the guilt of any traditional morals or ritual. Which is to say, I quite enjoy being able to loudly proclaim how much I dislike something and not have any real consequences imposed upon me.
The thoughts of a conservative mind on such matters would probably be very different. However, I don't want to offend anyone who is conservative or considers themselves to be as such, so I won't voice it. It's also because the term "conservative" is an excessively broad topic to consider. What may be considered conservative to one person may seem standard to another. For example, a woman bearing a hajib may be considered conservative from the viewpoint in our modernised and...we'll use the word "licentious" here, whereas from her point of view, a woman who does not wear a hajib is considered something of a scandal. As is with a lot of things, it is all dependent upon a person's point of view. There will never be a clearly defined and uniform manner of being conservative. However, there are a lot of indicators which show mostly your political standpoint, but can show other things as well. For example, someone who is against abortion rights is more likely to be conservative and vote Republican than someone who is pro-choice.
However, those statistics are often inaccurate, and thus don't necessarily always reflect upon things accurately. So think about it for a little bit; What do you think you are and why?
Do you consider yourself conservative, traditional, often preferring to defect from things which offend the views you were brought up with? Or do you consider yourself liberal, flexible, typically adjusting to change rather than denying it, regardless of past views.
I honestly do want to know, because I'm thoroughly interested in what you all have to say. And also because I used almost 1,000 words on this because, yes, I'm that kind of bored. So...yeah...comment below or whatever. Or don't. I don't care. Give opinions. And be respectful. No need to be rude. <.<
