Talk:Political conservative

This article has now been merged into Conservatism and this talk has been copied to Talk:Conservatism. Please make any further comments there instead of here.

One fails to see how a set of viewpoints can be on both sides when defining one of the larger political groups. Here's a rewrite:

Basic principles of conservativism:

• Personal responsibility
• Everyone should be treated equally
  • No one should be discriminated against
  • No group should have higher rights or special privlidges in government programs, regulation, or judical proceedings
• Laws should be enforced
• Laws should be enforced equally
• Personal freedom should be protected and enhanced
• Citizens should be self sufficient except in cases of severe disability
• Citizens should obey the law
• have a strong military
• Not help our enemy
• Have limited government

Religious principles of conservativism:

• Moral values of Christanity should be followed

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Here's the original text, so one-sided it's quite funny. I'm placing it here so it won't be lost while I come up with something reasonably informative to those not involved (remember, folks, our purpose here is to describe things in a way that someone who has no prior exposure whatever to the ideas might understand them).

An adherent of Political conservatism.

Basic principles of conservativism:

• Everyone should be treated equally
  • No one should be discriminated against
    • This includes discriminating against people that had nothing to do with any past discrimination - Consider Alaska and Hawaii which became states in the 1950s yet are under the same affirmative action regulation as states where slavery was practiced.
  • No group should have higher rights or special privlidges in government programs, regulation, or judical proceedings (i.e., in effect, discriminating against groups that do not have the special privilidges). Consider that one group has two government offices to file a discrimination complaint (i.e., two investigations) and another group can file a discrimination complaint at only one office (i.e, one investigation).
• Personal freedom should be protected and enhanced
• Personal responsibility
  • Earn your own living without government subsidy
  • Obey the law (criminals should not be given special treatment based on background, upbringing, etc. except in cases of mental disabilities)
• Laws should be enforced and enforced equally (no one is above the law - including politicians)
• United States should
  • Strong military
  • Not help our enemys (mainly communist, terrists, or totalitarian regiems)
  • Have a small but vigours government (limited government)
    • Larger government == more regulation == less personal freedom
    • Larger government == less economic product put into improving productivity == less economic work put into increasing standards of living == less personal freedom through less economic freedom

There's lots more to be added...

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It seems to me all of these liberal/conservative/libertarian/etc. pages, where the beliefs themselves and the practices of those who hold them is so inconsistent and ill-defined, might be better served with lost of examples of legislation rather than more rhetoric. We certainly need a bit of defining text for foreign readers and such, but the real flavor should come though better with examples.

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LDC, you rock.

This article has now been merged into Conservatism and this talk has been copied to Talk:Conservatism. Please make any further comments there instead of here.