Invalid Labels
I’ve long been displeased by the conventional labeling of issues as simply liberal or conservative
I’ve long been displeased by the conventional labeling of issues as simply liberal or conservative. Pick an issue, say, regulation of firearms, and the working assumption is that those for more control over the sale and possession of guns are automatically liberal and those against are conservative. That might be true in the House/Senate and state legislatures, but not in the general population. Many conservatives and even members of the (loathsome) NRA believe the lack of functional regulation contributes to the high homicide rates in the U.S.
It appears obvious that firearms industry lobbyists and accompanying political campaign donations, combined with a vocal minority of gun owners who are single-issue voters, keep many of those in national and state legislatures from doing what 90 percent of voters want: ramp up regulation. The insistence that background checks, waiting periods and control of quantities of ammunition and magazines will not stop criminals or mass shootings is simply lying. If the criterion for laws was that they completely eliminate a problem, there would be no laws because there are always those who will circumvent legal prohibitions.
Conservatives have aligned themselves with the most uninformed, zealous gun advocates, and they allow extreme organizations to dictate the issue. The NRA says a well-armed society is a polite one, yet other developed countries around the world have far less violent crime despite strong regulation of firearms. Indeed, the death rate for gun-related homicide in Europe is 1 to 2 deaths per million citizens, whereas in the U.S. it’s 31 deaths per million. The U.S. has 4 percent of the world’s population but 42 percent of the firearms. This is not a liberal issue, it’s reality.
Another version of this is climate change. Climate science has determined the veracity of the issue, yet conservatives insist the issue is a liberal agenda item. But why? It’s not as if those who aren’t liberal won’t be affected by all the changes inherent in climate change. Denial is foolish and will not avoid the costs and disruption that are inevitable. It’s not even about personal opinion. Only eight of 238 House Republicans have said they believe climate change is real and driven by human activity. This means it’s a party ideological position and everyone needs to stay in line. Attacking science or making false claims about the lack of data and linkage is dishonest and changes nothing — as if facts are a liberal ploy.
It’s no surprise that environmental protection and conservation are deemed by conservatives as part of a liberal agenda that is anti-business. Despite how critical these issues are to human well-being, conservatives pretend that humans are not part of the earth’s ecosystem, as if the environment exists only outside their epidermis. They assert that liberals care about animals more than people, the same kind of tired nonsense that conservatives apply to each and every issue. Actually, “liberals” simply refuse to pretend these things don’t matter when they know how much they do, and should matter to everyone.
Then there’s civil rights. Despite lip service, conservatives cast anything more than minimal action to ensure equality as a liberal agenda that violates the rights of others — meaning older white males. How is equality of education, opportunity and compensation a liberal issue? One could reasonably assume this is something we all would want as a society. Yes, there’s change and disruption, but human progress functions best as a result. I remind you that “liberal” is of Greek origin and means open to new ideas. Society is better for everyone when there’s a level playing field. Characterizing this as a liberal agenda item is highly misguided.
Unions are another liberal-conservative division. There are certainly shortcomings and failures in human organizations such as unions, but they have also been responsible for the rapid growth of the middle class and improved economic status of the working class. Yes, they have increased costs for business, but that hasn’t stopped private enterprise from flourishing and paying dividends to shareholders while retaining profits for growth. It is an axiom of economics that when all segments of society enjoy prosperity, the greater good drives increased economic opportunity and success. Nonetheless, conservatives are highly antagonistic toward unions, and even the minimum wage. That doesn’t make liberals (including moderates) the problem.
There’s also the issues of contraception and abortion. Conservatives conflate both into a profound discomfort regarding sexuality despite their own preoccupation with it. Contraception absolutely reduces the numbers of abortions, and abortions are what happens when having children and life do not align…for whatever reason. Agreeing with decisions made by some women isn’t necessary. It’s not a liberal point of view that live and let live is how we allow everyone to be themselves and make their own choices. Ironic that conservatives promote freedom but want to determine what it is. Does that make some freedoms a liberal agenda? It shouldn’t.
Finally, there’s the current conservative hysteria regarding Muslims. Yes, there are significant problems with Muslim extremists, but these are not your garden variety Muslims. These zealots pretend that Islam condones and encourages them to be brutal and savage. It is worth noting that the more extreme Muslims are also more conservative…not moderate or liberal. The fundamental religious purity advocated by conservative Muslims seems much like the ideological purity of political conservatives in its extremism.
Conservatives are asserting that liberals and their political correctness are compromising the security of this country, but while political correctness does need to be rethought and moderated, the issues with ISIL are not (or should not be) liberal vs conservative but rather taking necessary actions for security while not becoming the intolerant, fearful society we have been leaving behind — albeit too slowly — for the past 50 plus years. There is a tone resembling fascism in the most conservative assertions meant to appeal to the Republican party’s low-information base. Being offended by this is not about being liberal but about rejecting xenophobia.
If we could stop allowing every issue, every problem, every situation to be transformed into partisan gridlock with labels, we could accomplish so much more instead of slowly, inexorably undermining our society. It’s not as if we don’t have access to the information needed to understand and address what needs attention. Reasonable disagreement is quite different from rigid adherence to inflexible points of view that exist outside of enlightened intelligence. There is little of positive value and accomplishment in liberal versus conservative dysfunction. Real progress can only be found in pragmatism.
