Liberals get a bad rap.
(Just like Conservatives)
Thanks to my Silver Age perspective,I see liberals as generous,socially active,altruistic,
heroic and able to live clean,simple lives without imposing on others'well-being.
Conservatives also seem to care about others but they might focus a bit more on a strong
defense, a "tough-on-crime" attitude and a "trickle-down" theory of a strong elite making for a strong community.
My generation 's liberals thought the well-off had a greater responsibility to be ethical and
help out those less fortunate.
They assumed that any lifestyle that was selfish and violent was inherently self-destructive.
They acted on the presumption that it's hard to be morally robust while you're sick,hungry,tired,angry,ignorant and afraid.
Such liberals assumed that if folks have their material and spiritual needs met,they
can support their society through their hard work,creativity,integrity and loyalty to one another.
.Both sides value common sense,good stewardship of resources,freedom of the individual,
personal responsibility,minimal intrusion by outside forces and a willingness to fight for their beliefs.
Liberals apply less cynicism to the underdog and treat peace as an active force rather than the absence of conflict.
Conservatives tend to believe that success demonstrates virtue until proven otherwise.
They tend to think that ill-fortune results from self-sabotage or undermining by a wooly-headed,ill-informed,lazy or dishonest leisure class that has forgotten about self-sacrifice or resents the comfort level of the powerful.
They suspect that the liberal definition of
noblesse oblige is "do-gooding" just enough to salve a sense of public guilt.
Liberals may be guilty of thinking that conservatives worship any authority or morality that doesn't infringe on how they want to live.
The honest members of both sides have more common beliefs than they have clashes.
Education,hard work,courage,clean-living,frugality,an independent spirit , a reverence for spiritual truths and a desire to make the world a better place are treasured by both groups.
Neither side gives a hoot about compromising their souls for the sake of safety or popularity.
If they could work on what they share instead of demonizing one another over perceived differences,then a bit more progress might be made.
Instead, they erode the voters' trust that either side is decent or competent or electable.
Maybe,each group should have to find something to respect about the other and demonstrate how to make the opposing team's goals positive and attainable instead of just trashing their people,their motives and their activities.