Grrrrr .... them's fightin words 'round these parts DK and for damned sure here at the ol casa

Dumocrats remind me of a comment one of our posters here who had been raised in a communist country made several years back which went somethin like "When you're young, if you're not a communist, they say you have no heart. Then when your older, they say if you're still a communist, you have no brains."

All that lovely pie in the sky BS is great when you're young and don't know better, hell it's even a part of what adds to making a balanced society all in all. However, once you have reached middle age, if you haven't yet figured out that your life is yours to live, make what you will of it or not, that no one owes you success, and that our country only assures you the chance to create your own "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness", you obviously just don't get it.

Though it's decidedly a generalization here's my take on liberals vs. conservatives:

Liberals want a society where everyone is equal and happy together. No one fails because the government, as the great overseer, takes care of everyone from the cradle to the grave. The lower end of society is always being bolstered by the benefits provided them from what the govt. takes from the higher end producers. Personal freedoms are always minimized through the concepts of political correctness and censorship as this too is accepted as a cost everyone must pay so that everyone can be more "equal". Liberals tend to view themselves as in support of the betterment of humanity through controlling the inputs and outcome of society through the powers of the govt. they empower to do so as it's "what's best for us all", which all in all is more like using the govt. to grade society on a bell curve. Though they always are ready to champion those who fail, they think doing so with dollars from other peoples pockets is not only the way it should be, but that it's even righteous to do so.

Conservatives want a society where everyone has the same rights, and from these rights are equal to create whatever life they choose to and the govt. is only there to help in the short term if one falters. They understand that some will be winners while others will not, but that's just part of how it all works and they're not in agreement with the Robinhoodish "take (steal) from the rich and give to the poor" idea as this is viewed as punishment for one having succeeded. They tend to champion personal freedoms and as such tend to despise political correctness and censorship as they choose to instead opt for less govt. intervention in their lives. Their philosophy is more in tune with the idea that one gets to make their own choices and even fail if the choices are bad ones but that through failure they will (or should) learn from these and make better choices to insure their own enriched future. Conservatives tend to view themselves as in support of humanity by allowing people and business the freedom to do and be what they choose and what's best for the individual and indeed society as a whole is in allowing them the right to make their own choices. Surprisingly these folks tend to give more in terms of aid when there is a need, but do so from their own pockets.

This may be a flawed view, but at least it's one I damned well own and will make no apologies for in considering myself as a conservative