Can a Christian be a liberal, NDP or Democrat?
We report, you decide
Politics and religious conviction.
"A Backgrounder": The Difference Between A conservative and a Liberal
The Left believes in removing Judeo-Christian identity, e.g., removing "under God" from the Pledge, "In God we trust" from the currency, the oath to God and country from the Boy Scouts Pledge, etc. |
The Right believes that destroying these symbols and this identity is tantamount to destroying our country. |
The Left regards Canada as morally inferior to many European societies with their abolition of the death penalty, cradle-to-grave welfare and religion-free life; and it does not believe that these are distinctive Canadian values worth preserving. |
The Right regards countries such as Canada and America as the last best hope for humanity and believes that there are distinctive American values -- the unique combination of a religious (Judeo-Christian) society, a secular government, personal liberty is worth fighting and dying for. |
The Left believes that impersonal companies, multinational and otherwise, with their insatiable drive for profits, have a profoundly destructive effect on the country. |
The Right believes that the legal system, particularly trial lawyers, lawsuits and judges who make laws, is the greater threat to society. |
The Left believes multiculturalism should be the ideal for Canadian society, schools and for government policy. |
The Right believes that the Canadian socialization of all its citizens is indispensable to the survival of Canada. |
The Left believes that the Boy Scouts as currently constituted pose a moral threat to society. |
The Right believes the Boy Scouts continue to be one of the greatest moral institutions in the country. |
The Left believes in equality more than in liberty. |
The Right believes more in liberty. For example, the Left believes that for the equality's sake, men's clubs must accept women. The Right believes that for liberty's sake, associations must be free to choose their own members. |
The Left believes that when schools give out condoms to teenagers, they are promoting safe sex. |
The Right believes that when schools give out condoms, they are promoting more sex. |
The Left believes that poverty, racism and psychopathology cause violent crime. |
The Right believes a lack of self-control, lack of religious practice and lack of good values are the causes of violent crime. |
The Left believes that "war is never the answer." |
The Right believes that war is often the only answer to governmental evil. |
The Left regards their country's nationalism as dangerous; is more comfortable celebrating world citizenship and prefers that the free world follow the lead of international organizations such as the United Nations. |
The Right celebrates Canadian nationalism, distrusts world organizations, prefers that humanity regards the United Nations as largely a moral wasteland. |
The Left believes that sensitivity to minorities' feelings trumps the majority's will. |
The Right believes that when not immoral, the majority's will trumps that of the minority. For example, because some employees do not celebrate Christmas, the Left believes that organizations should rename their Christmas party the "holiday party." The Right believes that because the vast majority of Americans celebrate Christmas, the party should be called a Christmas party. |
The Left believes that a woman must have an unrestricted right to choose an abortion but no right to choose a silicone breast implant. |
The Right believes that society must decide when abortions are moral and legal but a woman has the right to choose to have a silicone breast implant. |
The Left believes that attacking world poverty will greatly reduce Islamic terror. |
The Right believes that poverty is largely unrelated to Islamic terror. |
The Left believes that a high rate of taxation of people who earn more money is a moral imperative. |
The Right believes that allowing people to keep as much of their money as possible is a moral imperative. |
The Left identifies with the values of most university professors in liberal arts and values their insights. |
The Right regards most of these professors as moral idiots. |
The Left believes that marriage should be redefined and that judges alone are entitled to do so. |
The Right believes that the millennia-old definition of marriage as between members of the two sexes is inviolable and that it can't be redefined by jurists. |
The Left believes that in terms of parenthood, all a child needs is love, whether that love comes from a single parent, two men, two women or some other adult. |
The Right believes that children do best with the love of two married parents of the opposite sex. |
The Left believes that just as America and the Soviet Union were equally responsible for the Cold War, Israel and the Palestinians are equally responsible for Middle East violence. |
The Right believes that just as the Soviets were responsible for the Cold War, the Arab enemies of Israel are responsible for Middle East violence. |
The Left believes that criticism of Christianity is important and that criticism of Islam is bigoted. |
The Right believes that criticism of Islam is important and that most criticism of Christianity is bigoted. |
The left believes that individuals can achieve little without the intervention of big Government. |
The right believes that individuals can grow and prosper, only if Big Government does not intervene. |
WHAT IS A CONSERVATIVE
The quick List
A Conservative . . . .
1. Is proud of their country
2. Is positive about the future
3. Believes in National Security
4. Believes we must be loyal to our friends around the World.
5. Believes in small government
6. Believes in free enterprise; capitalism.
7. Believes individuals can progress, prosper and contribute to the betterment of
8. Mankind, only if they are unfettered by Big Government.
9. Believes in lower taxes.
10. Believes that arbitrary redistribution of wealth is socialism.
11. Believes in Freedom; to speak, freedom to hold religious beliefs, to meet peacefully.
12. Believes in honouring our constitution
13. Believes that judges must comply with our constitution and all laws; not create laws.
14. Believe abortion is wrong.
15. Believe that a marriage is between a man and a woman.
16. Does not believe in "same sex marriages"
Author's note:
I am well aware that not everyone on the Left agrees with every leftist position and not everyone on the Right agrees with every rightist one. There are leftists who don't support abortion rights; also there are rightists who don't support Israel. But the existence of individual exceptions does not negate the fact that all the positions listed here as Left or Right are correctly labeled.
By Steve Rudd