Liberals vs. Conservatives...Is It Really a Battle?

Recently in lecture, we have been discussing political ideologies. Yet, despite what some people may think, these original concepts of liberalism and conservatism do not correlate directly to the liberals and conservatives of modern day. Sure, there are certain aspects are similar, but the right-wing and left-wing members of our society do not fit so perfectly under these modern definitions.

Ancient conservatism dates back to the days of Confucian scholar, Zhu Xi, who said that conservatism was when, "The universe should be the way it is, and that is good." This is essentially saying that whatever occurs naturally in human nature, politics, life, or anything else, is morally good, and that this should be the approach that all people must take in life. Beyond this, Edmund Burke, a founder of more modern conservative thought, believed that tradition is the most reliable source of political knowledge. Zhu Xi and Burke valued traditional values as a way to govern, and this was undoubtedly a foundation for the conservative movement today. The conservatives, now seen as the Republican Party, claim to not want to change certain ideals and practices. But, of course, their modern idea of "conservatism" has morphed into something that Zhu Xi and Burke had not intended. The GOP, and specifically the Tea Party Movement, have prided themselves on the concepts of limited government, religious values, and disassociation with social progression. When many of us think of the conservative Tea Party and GOP, we think of radical preachers, such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.

Rush Limbaugh...try to count all his chins!
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Obviously, people cannot just assume that all conservatives or Republicans are radicals. That would just be ignorant. But, conservatives of our society are, in part, at fault. They point at liberals as seemingly evil demons who want to impede on rights or America's free-market economy. Conservative Republicans fail to realize that they are actually liberals themselves (that is, under the literal definition of liberalism).

Liberalism, based on the classical definition, aims to "secure individuals an ability to pursue their own conceptions of the good as freely as possible." This essentially means that Liberalism strives to give freedom of life and the pursuit of happiness to all people. This concept, the American Dream, is something that Republican conservatives ultimately want as well. The goals of Liberalism (in the classical sense) also include securing individual rights, limited government, and supporting a free-market. It also strives to maintain that people are usually the best judges of their own good. What do these messages remind you of? The values preached by conservatives in America. This shows us that the conservatives in our society that would kill for less government, are, in fact, liberals. This tells us that there should not be any crossroads between liberals and conservatives in our country; deep in our roots, we can see that both parties are liberals who want the best for our people.

The "crossroads" dilemma
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Yet, both Republican conservatives and liberal Democrats refuse to accept these facts. They (or should I say we) are so obsessed with dismissing and demonizing the other side, that they forget the origins of their perspective parties. We are too quick to label opposing views as "wrong" or "stupid" based on the fact that they don't fall under our schema of "correct ideology." In reality, we all have liberal views that date back to our Founding Fathers. In fact, during the time of the Civil War (and before it), the Republican Party and Democratic Party had completely reversed ideologies. Abraham Lincoln, a Republican president, had exceedingly liberal views. Lincoln freeing the slaves is a prime example of this.

Despite the different political labels people place on one another, we cannot forget that America is liberal, and will continue to be so. Yet, our society makes it increasingly difficult to realize this, especially when the gap between each political party has become wider than ever. Media bias and television shows do not help the process either, especially ones whose main purpose is to have individuals from each side of the political spectrum yell at each other for hours on end. 

Check out Jon Stewart on "Crossfire" below, and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Actually, "Crossfire" was cancelled after this episode, as viewers realized how ridiculous it was.

Still, my question remains. Will we ever live in a society where the labels "liberal" and "conservative"will cease to exist? Will Republicans and Democrats ever put aside their differences to solve serious issues? Or maybe a certain party will change its platform (*cough cough Republicans, following this past election cough cough*)? All I know is that every single one of us is a liberal, whether we want to accept it or not.