The constant debate between liberals and conservatives in American society has reached an all-new level of toxicity. It seems that the country is beginning to spilt into two pieces, with harsh contenders on either side. Both sides are rigid and unmoving on their feelings about national issues such as: abortion, affirmative action, the death penalty, the economy, education, the environment, gun control, healthcare, immigration, religion, marriage, taxes, and war, amongst others. While controversy and competition is healthy in establishing laws for a nation as diverse as ours, why do some people feel that all the laws should tilt in one direction? Although some liberal view points do make a lot of sense, why is it that there is little to no understanding on either side of these debates for the point one party is trying to make?
In the dictionary, liberal is defined as favorable to progress or reform & open-minded and tolerant. Now while it is definitely important to fight for one’s beliefs, liberals should try not to be so rigid in political campaigning. Being the two dominant schools of thought, liberals and conservatives (democrats and republicans) have the responsibility of deciding what is best for the nation as a whole. Liberals especially, given their nature for open-minded thinking, should have the ability to attempt to rationalize the arguments of their conservative counterparts and attempt to find a happy medium between the heavily skewed viewpoints. Then, an educated and mutually agreed upon decision should be made for the good of the people they govern.
For instance, conservatives believe that life is sacred and that fetuses become living humans upon the moment of conception, but that murderers should be executed in a court of law to protect the general public. Liberals believe that a woman has the right to choose what happens to her body, and that anyone has the choice about whether or not she is ready to mother a baby. However, liberals also believe that our country should not execute criminals since it doesn’t deter crime anyway, and there is always the risk of executing an innocent person. Jail time should be sufficient enough, and the death penalty is “cruel and unusual.”
Sorry to say this, but both sides are completely hypocritical. To the conservatives, if life is sacred, then ALL life is sacred, even the lives of the bad guys. To the liberals, if women have the right to choose to abort a pregnancy, to kill an innocent child, then why can’t this country execute people who have been proven as murders beyond a shadow of a doubt? Now, the simple is solution is either all life is sacred, or no life is sacred. It seems logical enough. What is the point of trying to reform the government when we haven’t taken the time to evaluate what exactly we are reforming? Liberals seem to want to reform for the sake of reform, but neither side is willing to deal with the reason behind these opinions.
Tags: American Liberal, Liberalism, liberals