What’s a Democrat, a Republican, a Conservative, a Liberal?

What’s a Democrat, a Republican, a Conservative, a Liberal?

Looking back at my youth, I did not know (and still don't) which political party my father favored, if either.  Some of his assertions (rare) left me thinking he was Republican.  Others were more in tune with Democrats.  The first election I took interest in was that of John Kennedy vs. Richard Nixon.   I wasn't old enough to vote, but the year after Kennedy's 1960 election, I entered the Air Force.  Being young, I identified with Kennedy and had a certain distaste for Nixon even though I came from Nixon's hometown of Whittier.  The Nixon family was not universally well-liked within his hometown.   I was in the Air Force only two months when the Berlin Wall went up and solidified the existing Iron Curtain border.  My first post-training assignment was in Italy with what then was called Security Service. I quickly became aware of world events and my own role in them.  I had attained the ripe old age of 18, and voting age was then 21.  The Berlin crisis, the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War followed one after the other and took me quickly from interested observer to active participant in national and international affairs.  The first election I voted in was 1968 -- Nixon vs. Humphrey.  By this time I was a seasoned 25-year-old and had learned to distinguish between Democratic and Republican characteristics.  Moreover, I well knew the importance of foreign policy, and so I voted for Nixon, probably in part because I knew he had served eight years as vice-president under Eisenhower, whom I held in high esteem.  Humphrey had been Vice President under Lyndon Johnson.  As time and elections went by, I became increasingly aware of the differing values of "liberals" vs. "conservatives" though it took me longer to grasp the idea that a conservative Democrat was not so far removed from a liberal Republican.  Because I was born and raised in the West (California), I failed to perceive that "Southern" Democrats (conservative) were, for all practical purposes, Republicans.  They would not "be" Republicans, however, because that was the party of Lincoln and Grant (Civil War, north).  Still, though I at first favored Johnson's efforts in the realm of civil rights (and I remain supportive of that, though I make the distinction between opportunity and achievement), I began to perceive the true costs of his "Great Society" programs.  That was what, over time, led me to better perceive the characteristics of "liberal" vs. "conservative."  Now jumping forward many years, that very question, liberal vs. conservative, remains the “dividing line” regarding politics.  I try to sort it out by setting up a dichotomy similar to this (remember to think "tends to" rather than in "absolutes") However, a list like this serves a limited purpose since many people, myself included,  identify in part with portions of both lists, and both major political parties have conservative and liberal adherents.   In truth, our nation is an amalgamation of both, and both have merit: 

Conservative                                                                          Liberal

 Government is enabler                                                               Government is caretaker

Man is self-sufficient                                                                   Man is dependent on government

Health care is business                                                                Health care is government role

Oppose long-term welfare                                                          Support welfare

Policies favor free-enterprise                                                     Policies favor consumer

Environmental policy favors business                                      Environmental policy favors                                                                                                                                creatures

Foreign policy favors strategic interests                                   Foreign policy responds to                                                                                                                                                  "issues"

Sees U.N. as failed institution                                                     U.S. obliged to support U.N.

Opposes abortion                                                                         Favors abortion as woman's right

Favors tax decrease to stimulate economy                             Favors government spending to                                                                                                                          stimulate economy

Lower tax, smaller government                                                 Higher tax, larger government

Suspicious of government power                                              Sees government as benevolent

Liberty over equality                                                                    Equality over liberty

Focus on individual                                                                       Focus on community

School vouchers: parent choice                                                 Increase public school funding

Death penalty as punishment                                                    Abolish death penalty, rehabilitate                                                                                                                                    criminals

Favors gun ownership                                                                 Favor gun control

Acknowledge God, Creator                                                        Oppose religious expression in                                                                                                                                          government

Oppose same-gender marriage                                                 Favor legalized same-gender marriage