Please define Left/Right. Thanx.

Read everything that Pistoff, dyslexia, Tartarin has ever said here. They are the left. Then, read everything that Perception, Scrat, Timber, myself have written, we are right.

Their are some centrist folk around, but that should give you an idea.

You will notice that the left tends to be angry and emotional, while the right tends to remain calm and n control. That's one of the things that makes us right.

notice Mcgentrix is deep in the heart of adirondacks....you can tell he doesn't get out much....

In October, 1789, the market women of Paris began to congregate, and shouting for justice, calling for the lynching of "hoarders," those who had bought up the grain supply (bad harvest) and were holding it speculatively for higher prices. They decided to march to Versailles to demand justice from the King. Carlysle contends that male agitators in women's clothing directed the march, without providing any evidence (he was very conservative, which means he is likely to have tried to throw what he considered a radically liberal movement in a bad light).

The upshot of a nasty business is that the King and the Estates General were brought back to Paris and installed in the Tuileries Palace. This worked to the advantage of the most radical revolutionaries, because they now had government in a position in which they could be directly threatened by the Paris mob.

The Estates General were renamed the National Assembly, and housed in the Manege, the former riding school of the Tuileries Palace. On a dais installed there was a desk at which the President of the Assembly sat. As he looked at the deputies, those of the constitional monarchist persuasion, following the lead of Mirabeau were on his right--hence, conservative has come to be described as right-wing. Those deputies of the Gironde and others of like mind (the Girondists were republicans who wanted to do away with the monarchy and the aristocracy) sat to left as he viewed the Assembly--so that liberal has come to be described as left-wing.

The majority of deputies, and the most radical, blood-thirsty lot, sat above and behind the left and the right, and were known as "the Mountain." I find that significant, because i believe that the majority of politicians, whether of the left or the right, do not represent the majority of the people, be their opinions "leftist" or "rightist." There is no "Mountain" in our governmental system--and to me that means that the people are basically unrepresented.

Dys, port is to the left only if you are at the stern of a vessel looking forward; if you are at the bow, looking aft, port is to your right. Port and starboard do not change, as left and right do according to the direction you are facing. This is very useful when issuing commands to sailors in difficult or dangerous situations.

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That's too true. (Additionally, otherwise you had to change the positions lamps too frequently :wink:

I don't buy it.

First of all any self-respecting person with half a brain will resist being put into these narrow little boxes.

Secondly, every such description seems to be both ludicrous and self-contradictory. For example this description says "Conservatives are believe strongly in rules..." Then it says "Conservative allow gun ownership with no restrictions.". And I never understood how Pro-life and pro capital punishment position got lumped on the same idealogical divide.

Thirdly. Most people *don't* fit into these catagories. Most people are able to make up their own minds in spite of these "labels". Intelligent people make up their minds about each issue based on their own beliefs and values. There is no inherent contradiction between someone supporting both gun control and the flag-burning amendment.

Fourth, These labels are divisive and insidious. They pressure people to accept extreme positions. For example, why can't I believe in a womens right to choose and still support parental notification legislation? These are two separate issues and an intelligent person should be able to take a moderate position. This position, however, would have people on one side calling me liberal and people on the other calling me conservative.

So, "liberal" and "conservative" are just labels used be people when they don't have the intelligence to support their own ideas. People who use either of these terms in a derogatory way are displaying the height of ignorance.

And McGentrix,

Your post insults both Dyslexia and yourself. Dyslexia expresses his opinions in a way that is clear and consistent. His ideas don't deserve to be labeled.

Please keep in mind this is an excerpt from an article and should give you a little more information on what you asked:

ConservatismSimplified Definition:


An ideal conservative believes in the importance of the individual person, including the fetus, and the family structure and that it is the responsibility for the individuals within each family to do as much as they can for themselves before asking for assistance. When assistance is needed the progressive route taken is community, city, county, state and federal, in that order, with the federal government the avenue of last resort. A conservative believes in the least government possible.

Liberalism - from the foregoing we find that this term conveys the following:


Government should correct economic deficiencies caused by an unregulated free market economy.
Government should provide social welfare.
It is right for government to impose progressive income taxation.
Government should impose a minimum wage.
The social security system should remain a system where those working support those who are receiving social security payments.
Government should support only public education paid for by taxpayers even though some object to some of the subject matter and the manner in which it is taught.
Government should impose stringent safety and health regulations.
Government should impose stringent consumer protection and environmental preservation laws.

Simplified definition:


An ideal liberal takes the completely opposite position to an ideal conservative, vying for a socialistic form of government working from the top down wherein the freedom of the individual is compromised for the anticipated good of the collective group.

Please note that these definitions do not include side issues such as abortion, gun control, immigration, campaign reform etc. Conservatives and liberals may have similar positions without compromising their respective ideal ideology.


In summation, the fundamental difference between a liberal and conservative is whether an individual is allowed the freedom, with attendant responsibility, to freely function in society - or - whether an individual´s interests are subservient to the collective interest of the members of society. One must either be one or the other because once the collective interest takes precedence an individual´s freedom is compromised, then it just becomes a matter of degree as to the extent. A liberal who compromises his ideal ideology may consider himself a moderate liberal but is still a liberal. It is difficult for a conservative to be a moderate conservative because any compromise involves usurping individual freedom and attendant personal responsibility and this would then tend to define him as a moderate liberal.

Taken from: 'Are you a Liberal or Conservative' by Ben Cerruti

(Sigh)

ebrown_p is another good example of a leftist. He believes that no one should be labeled. Even when no one is labeling anyone, until now, but when discussing schools of thought many get upset about being being labeled a leftist. It's odd that you never see anyone from the right being upset when labeled a "conservative" or "right-winger".

Let ebrown_p's disgust be a further indication of the differences between the left and the right.

a typical example of differences between the left and right in the US might very well be FDR, elected 4 times as president, suffered from polio hence his image on the dime (march of dimes) has so infuriated the right that they want to remove his image from the coin to be replaced by Reagan.

Good McGentrix, now you have labled me.

But what good does that do you? Does it tell you anything about what I believe or how I live my life.

Does it tell you where I stand on any given issue?

I am not offended. I am just pointing out that your label is meaningless. You would probably guess wrong about my opinions on many things.

But what the label allows *you* to do is close your mind. If you consider yourself a "conservative" you don't need to think for yourself anymore. You can sit in your "conservative" tent and rest assured that other conservatives have already made up you mind for you. (Rest assured, there are people who do the same in the "liberal" tent).

If that's where you want to be, than OK.

Many of us have open minds. I, and many others, believe strongly in some "conservative" causes as well as "liberal" ones. I am willing to listen to both sides and decide on my own on an issue by issue basis.

I don't think you mean to say that open minded is synonimous with liberal.

the function of a liberal education is to convert an empty mind into an open mind.

Is that where "March of dimes" got it's name? That's an interesting fact.

If Reagan is placed on them they will either be "I don't recalls," or "War is greats."

Good question! I'd love to take a stab at this, and want to be clear that I am not using this as an opportunity to insult those on the left. If you disagree with my opinion, explain how I'm wrong, but know that it is what I honestly believe and not just a cheap-shot at liberalism.

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I believe that the fundamental difference between liberals and conservatives is that liberals tend to measure freedom in terms of how free the individual is from adversity, while conservatives tend to measure freedom in terms of how free the individual is from exterior control. This leads liberals to measure equality in terms of outcome (how many women firefighters are there?) while conservatives measure equality in terms of access (do women have the same chance to become a firefighter as does an identically qualified male applicant?).

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Please note that I recognize that there are lots of conservatives who want to control the behavior of others just as much as (but in different ways than) do liberals. I am not one of those, and have tried to describe above the kind of conservative I am, and what I see as the fundamental difference between my outlook and the outlook I have encountered (as best I understand it) from liberals.

In January 1938, alarmed by decades of worsening polio epidemics and the terrible toll the virus was taking on America's young, President Roosevelt established the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. The National Foundation emphasized the nationwide significance and non-partisan character of the polio crusade. FDR believed that people could solve any problem if they worked together. Comedian Eddie Cantor coined the phrase "March of Dimes" (playing on the popular newsreel feature "The March of Time"), appealing to radio listeners all over the country to send their dimes directly to the White House. The campaign proved to be hugely successful. The National Foundation officially changed its name to the March of Dimes in 1979.

Scrat, nothing personal, but your definition also fails.

Under your explaination Conservatives are pro-choice, since the individual should be free from "exterior control[/b]" and the liberals wanting unborn children to be "free from adversity" must be pro-life.

Conservatives, under your definition, would also want to legalize drugs.

And Conservatives would not support an educational system based on testing -- i.e. No child left behind. This is a clear example of "measuring outcomes".

Please someone! Why can't you all drop these silly lables and just think for yourselves!?!?

Because the McGentrix National Convention doesn't have enough money to support a candidate.

Wasn't the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis a private foundation funded by private donations?

yes it surely was and is. The Mint issued the FDR dime in 1946, shortly after his death, to commemorate Roosevelt's support of the March of Dimes.