Liberals, conservatives... No, please, just no... Thanks.

So today I had an enjoyable discussion about politics with an interesting girl I met on Twitter. See k8black on Twitter. OK, so this triggered some thoughts in myself about what I think of political ideologies and such. Most people would know that I lean strong on the left side of things, but that's not to say that I don't share many conservative beliefs as well (death penalty, nonsense ERA amendment and such). I've noticed a few things from random "modern-day proverbs" that I've been hearing tossed around by people that probably can't explain their meanings.


1. Liberals vote their hopes and conservatives vote their fears.
2. If you're 18 and not liberal, you have no heart. If you're 30 and not conservative, you have no brain.


Now, these two sayings are fairly accurate, BUT they can be severely misleading. The first one sounds like Liberals are much more worthy of respect. The way that I see it, liberals tend to spend a lot of time concerned with other people. In their eyes, they're doing the right thing for everybody else. Conservatives view this as being nosy and idealistic, but far from realistic and a waste of time, resources, and brain power. I can agree with both sides there. Conservatives protect themselves, their property, and their lives. They're much more down-to-earth and realistic, but liberals view this as being self-centered. I can agree with both. Reason would say that the obvious choice would be to be a moderate. This can be a bad thing, as most moderates that I found aren't moderates because they share a balanced set of views between both groups, but they just want to avoid having to deal with it, so they just have no opinions on anything. 


As for the second "proverb," whatever your age is, it's never good to consider yourself entirely one thing. an 18 year old can be a mature one, has a lot, and thus is conservative. A 30 year old can be poor and would greatly benefit from universal healthcare, and thus is a liberal. That saying makes absolutely no sense if taken literally. Generally speaking, however, there is a truth to it. 


The point I'm trying to make, and probably doing it poorly due to my constant deviation of topic is that liberals need to stop trying to make an ideal world because you need to think more realistically and conservatives need to give a little more and realize that not everybody can achieve the same things.


I thought about it today as this:


Conservatives tend to see a small piece of the world and globalize it, meaning that they take their lives and apply it to everybody else (which can work, because to them, the rest of the world is the UK, France, Canada, and Japan - Poor countries don't even exist). Some people just can't achieve the same things in life that you can and there are people that need and/or want your help, not just to take advantage of it, but to actually appreciate it. Stop screaming "socialism!"


Liberals take the whole world and apply it to themselves, so they are under this weird impression that we should just give up everything we have and help those in need (because to them, the rest of the world is Tibet, Myanmar, North Korea, Darfur, and those war-faring countries - nobody else exists). Not everybody needs our help, not everybody wants our help, and quite honestly, we can't help everybody. Stop thinking you're better than everybody else.


In the end, what I suggest is that do your socialist thing of the day and help an old lady cross the street or recycle a bottle and finish it off with a $70 glass of wine for yourself.


Don't take that statement literally, but do take this one -
Do what makes you happy, so that when the end of the day comes, you are in bed with a smile on your face. Nothing else matters.


If you're wondering why I didn't mention religion... That's another post, another day... Preferably when It's not the last thing I do for the day.