Am I a liberal or a conservative because I think American's should be able to read books?
437378
If you think that poor people and all school children should be able to read your a LIBERAL. \nSeriously you would be a descent human being.\nIf you made Americans read books you would be a FASCIST.
640364
reading is subjective.  the reader needs to be interested in what they are reading. therefore pick books on subjects they like and books that are appropriate for their level of understanding.  if a book is too difficult to grasp, it becomes a chore.  books and reading should be an enjoyable hobby.  don't give up!  there are sure to be books that the reader will enjoy if they keep looking.  ask a librarian or simply visit a library or bookstore and browse freely.  once you find something that meets the mark, you can look for similar books.  good luck!
529582
I am a red blooded conservative.\nLong live the Constitution!!!
679564
I disagree with you 100 percent, but I think I have a book that will fill the bill....\n\nThe Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America (Hardcover) by David Horowitz \nHorowitz is a dis-illusioned liberal from the 1960s who has taken up the conservative cause.
302045
I'm a liberal and I'm not a wiener! I'm a working American, so it's not in my best interests to vote Republican. Also, the religious fundamentalists have hijacked the Republican Party, and as far as I'm concerned, they have no f**king right to tell me or anyone else how to live. Also, I would like the effects of global warming to be reversed, and that's not going to happen when the Republicans are in power.
374168
I think you are politically ignorant. You obviously spend time listening to the left-leaning liberal media. But I could be wrong.
614886
I think it's that the opposite of liberal is conservative.  Conservatives favor the ways and institutions of the past, and would like to revert to them.  And many republicans are conservatives.  Their ideal is therefor the polar opposite of liberals.  And no, I don't think there's anything wrong with liberals, both keeping an open mind and respecting the past seem like good ideas to me.  That's why I couldn't be a member of the press.  I make too much sense and am too respectful of other peoples opinions.
694274
We define "freedom" very differently.  Obviously, since you are a liberal, you cannot conceive of how your rhetoric affects conservatives.\n\nVice versa.\n\nDifference is, I don't care.
718924
I'm a liberal because I think for myself, believe in true equality for all, and I don't think that a government that bases it's policies on the 'needs' of Big Business has my (or your) best interests at heart. In addition, I value the future as a gift for my daughter, and conservatives only seem to think and plan in four year blocks.
838594
With moral decay, children need a replacement to the family element.  Thus the government comes in.  Liberals want the government to control our lives.  \n\nRush Limbaugh says it best \n\nRUSH: People struggle to define conservatism and liberalism, and you can make it as complicated as you want, and you can take it to the Nth degree if you want. It's actually a little simpler than it appears. At its root, what is life all about? Life is about people, and life is about relationships. Nostalgia generally reminds you of your pleasant memories. Very few people go back and have horrible thoughts about nostalgia. You just have those in your nightmares and your dreams unless you have some kind of problem and dwell on them, but when your life is done and you look back at it, the things that you'll remember that will have defined you and will have contributed to your happiness are the relationships you've had with people you've loved, from family, to friends, to spouses, to children, to whoever. That's what everybody will reflect on near the end of their lives, not what they acquired when, not when they scored their first touchdown. Those things matter at the time, and they're important at the time, but when you reflect on things, that's generally what happens. So people and working with and playing with and dealing with people and interacting with them is the fundamental behavioral aspect of humanity, and everything descends from that.\n\nNow, conservatism, people who are conservative will look at a culture and look at a society, such as ours, and we will have the utmost faith in the individual. We believe that the individual, when properly educated and informed (and, by the way, unshackled), we believe the individual has the ability to triumph over whatever odds that individual faces. We believe that extraordinary people are simply ordinary people could go extraordinary things. The great among us never set out to be great. They became great by virtue of accolades as a result of their achievements. Liberals on the other hand look at the average American with condescension. They don't think the average American has what it takes. The average American is stupider than the liberal. The average American doesn't have the ambition or the wherewithal to overcome these odds -- and besides they make a victim out of everybody, and they do it by saying, "That black doesn't have a chance because of racism and white people. The illegal doesn't have a chance because of the nativist and protectionist among us. Women don't have a chance because of sexism and so forth," and so the liberal mind-set and construct of people is entirely negative. It's condescending; it is arrogant, and it is almost holds people in contempt.\n\nConservatism is just the opposite. Now, everything descends from that. When liberals get power, politically, and start putting together policy, what's the policy going to be? "Empower government, because those schlubs out there cannot live their lives properly, happily, without us. Senior citizens won't eat; the poor won't get off the soup lines. The only people that make it big are the rich, and we've gotta find a way to take away from them what they've worked for." Conservatism, when it gets power and starts defining policy, you get things like welfare reform, which is rooted in the belief that people who work, which is where many people derive their identity, will experience achievement and pride, will be motivated to go even further. You can take this simple definition of conservatism versus liberalism and apply it to virtually any aspect of the political spectrum, and you'll see that it applies. So it's not complicated at all to explain the difference. This is what has been missing in Republican Party politics, philosophically for way too many years, and needs to return.\n\nBREAK TRANSCRIPT\nRUSH: I want to expand a little bit on
43165
I think Americans get along with each other rather well compared to some developing countries.  This country needs both liberals and conservatives to keep both extremes honest and moderated.  Neither extreme is right all the time.
1067831
The generally accepted definition is that liberals expect government to provide services to all of the citizens, and expect government to protect the freedoms and rights of all citizens.\n\nConservatives generally want less government, which means less government services, less government protection for citizens, and expect citizens to rely only on themselves for their needs and not government.\n\nLook at how the conservative point of view has been corrupted over the past 20 years -- even the Republican platform still states that they believe in less government, yet W has enlarged the government (through the creation of new departments, hiring of employees, etc.) more than any other president since FDR.  Conservatives officially believe in less government spending, yet W has spent more than any president in history, while cutting taxes for the rich so that there is no way to pay for all that spending without borrowing money to run up the biggest deficit in US history.  At the same time he cuts government's services for the needy, he spends our money on defense contractors, needless wars, and incompetent agencies that do nothing to provide any real protection.  "Conservative" has moved away from its original meaning, being taken over by religious fanatics (who want government to do MORE to enforce their own religious rules on all Americans) and by big-money defense/oil companies who want all the government's money but don't want to pay any taxes.\n\nLiberalism has changed as well, though not as dramatically.  Many "visible" liberals today are for everyone's rights except the fundamentalist religions, which they would like to squash.  True liberalism is hard, you need to accept and protect the rights of everyone, even those you don't agree with.  Many current so-called liberals don't live up to that ideal.
219883
Look at the words Liberal and Conservative ... and their roots.\n\nAt 22, the idea of conserving seems crazy. The idea of freedom and liberartion to someone young and full of ideas seems the way to go. I consider myself to be moderate. I see the advantage to both ideals and the idea of oppostion. \n\nIt's great to have ideas on how we should proceed. Just remember that the opposite side of the aisle has their ideas too and that you need not disgrace the other side. Both sides have merit.
472427
OK, first off i am a conservative.  now that that is out of the way i have never heard of stars and stripes ice cream.  i enjoy Ben and Jerry's ice cream cause it is delicious.  As far as my political preferences guiding my purchases let me say this first and foremost i am an American.  I would like to say that i am an independent voter, but given the choices i have had to vote for since i have been of voting age i have voted republican.  i did not care for bill Clinton or algore. and i could not in good consince vote for jonh kerry.  if the dems would put ppl up like jfk and truman they might get votes from me.  I can not vote for ultra liberals, i feel that they are the ones undermining our american way.  in ww2 liberals and conservatives joined together to fight the common enemy. there are too many of the love cildren of the sixties polluting the american spirit and corrupting the american way of life.
391320
Yes\n\nEDIT:\nThe book you're thinking of buying shouldn't be too political ;-)
604448
I think it's all a matter of perception. When liberals, such as myself, do present evidence to back a claim up, it is often viewed by SOME neocon nutjobs as vicious and nearsighted when in fact it proves to be the truth in my (our) estimation. I suggest taking a broader look at any political issue and then view it from different perspectives, i.e. race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, etc., then ask yourself "if I was in their position what would be acceptable and reasonable". It all comes down to ones perception, when it comes to our great country it behooves us (citizens) to think with our brains and NOT our hearts. Now go have nice tall glass of Kool-Aid and think about what I just said.
1119000
That's a question you'll never get a straight answer to. Instead you'll be told that you aren't a patriotic American or that you need to read the Bible. The conservatives know how to debate liberals:\n\nor.... "Arguing without Listening"\n\nLiberal Lie: "We rushed to war on false pretenses."\nEducated Response: "You Hate America!"\n\nLiberal Lie: "The Constitution isn't a political tool."\nEducated Response: "Read the Bible!"\n\nLiberal Lie: "The Clear Skies Initiative raises pollution."\nEducated Response: "America Hater!"\n\nLiberal Lie: "There is no link between Iraq and al-Qaeda."\nEducated Response: "Traitor!"\n\nLiberal Lie: "The tax cuts clearly benefit the wealthy."\nEducated Response: "Stop hating America!"\n\nLiberal Lie: "They turned a surplus into a deficit."\nEducated Response: "It's Clinton's fault!"\n\nLiberal Lie: "The 2000 Election was a sham."\nEducated Response: "You hate, Hate, HATE America!"\n\nLiberal Lie: "I don't hate America."\nEducated Response: "Flip-Flopper!"\n\nRemember, it's not about being right.... it's about winning!