Liberalism vs. Conservatism

Let's do a side by side comparison of Liberalism and Conservatism and see which one most of us fit in as individuals and then a nation... (I can tell you that America as a nation falls under "Liberalism")

Liberalism (from the Latin liberalis, "of freedom"^[1]) is the belief in the importance of individual liberty and equal rights.^[2] Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but most liberals support such fundamental ideas as constitutions, liberal democracy, free and fair elections,human rights, capitalism, free trade, and the separation of church and state. These ideas are widely accepted, even by political groups that do not openly profess a liberal ideological orientation. Liberalism encompasses several intellectual trends and traditions, but the dominant variants are classical liberalism, which became popular in the eighteenth century, and social liberalism, which became popular in the twentieth century.

Liberalism first became a powerful force in the Age of Enlightenment, rejecting several foundational assumptions that dominated most earlier theories of government, such as hereditary status, established religion, absolute monarchy, and the Divine Right of Kings. The early liberal thinker John Locke, who is often credited for the creation of liberalism as a distinct philosophical tradition, employed the concept of natural rights and the social contract to argue that the rule of law should replaceabsolutism in government, that rulers were subject to the consent of the governed, and that private individuals had a fundamental right to life, liberty, and property.

The revolutionaries in the American Revolution and the French Revolution used liberal philosophy to justify the armed overthrow of tyrannical rule. The nineteenth century saw liberal governments established in nations across Europe, Latin America, and North America. Liberal ideas spread even further in the twentieth century, when liberal democracies triumphed in two world wars and survived major ideological challenges from fascism and communism. Conservatism, fundamentalism, andmilitary dictatorship remain powerful opponents of liberalism. Today, liberals are organized politically on all major continents. They have played a decisive role in the growth of republics, the spread of civil rights and civil liberties, the establishment of the modern welfare state, the institution of religious toleration and religious freedom, and the development ofglobalization. Political scientist Alan Wolfe wrote, "liberalism is the answer for which modernity is the question".^[3]

^Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism

Conservatism (Latin: conservare, "to preserve")^[1] is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism and seek a return to "the way things were."^[2][3] The first established use of the term in a political context was by François-René de Chateaubriand in 1819, following theFrench Revolution.^[4] The term has since been used to describe a wide range of views.

Political science often credits British politician Edmund Burke with many of the ideas now called conservative.^[5] According to Hailsham, a former chairman of the British Conservative Party, "Conservatism is not so much a philosophy as an attitude, a constant force, performing a timeless function in the development of a free society, and corresponding to a deep and permanent requirement of human nature itself."^[6]

Sarah Palin & The Tea Party...

Robert Eccleshall states, "It is the persistent image of society as a command structure in which the responsibilities of leadership can be exercised within the framework of a strong state manifested in divine-right royalism ... that distinguishes English conservatism from rival ideologies."^[7]

Conservative political parties include the Liberal Democratic Party in Japan, the Republican Party in the United States, the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, the Liberal Party of Australia, the Kuomintang of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Conservative Party of Canada, the Pakistan Muslim League in Pakistan, and the Bharatiya Janata Party in India.

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatism

Ok, now after seeing the two side by side...this part sticks out to me as an American:

"The revolutionaries in the American Revolution and the French Revolution used liberal philosophy to justify the armed overthrow of tyrannical rule."

So, based on this sentence alone, I would consider myself an American and a Liberal...Conservatism represents fascist/communist tendencies that are antithetical to the American ideal of liberty and freedom.  Something else of interest are the droves of young men/women in America who call themselves "Conservatives" but in reality are not.  How many times have you looked at a person/friends profile on facebook and seen them say "Conservative" for their political views and then they have pictures of lewd activity, drinking, fornication, and "liberal" dress?  The hypocrisy in the "Conservatives" is just as bright as the yellow flags of the Tea Party.