Liberals with Diverging Views and Conservatives with Set Talking Points

Roxanne starts a discussion that Amanda of Pandagon (man, that sounds classy, somehow) picks up: namely, why are liberals or progressives less apt to all speak on the same talking points as conservatives and/or fundamentalist Christians?

My answer to this is both simple and complex. Yes, we are often a product of how we're raised: either we accept the dogma we grow up with or we reject it. If you'd met me when I was in college, I saw the world as far more "black and white", as someone who attended Young Republican meetings, and someone who was not ardently opposed to the death penalty. I grew up in a town where "difference" was not embraced, in a family that was both racist and not appreciative of anyone knowing their business, and I desperately wanted to fit in. I used to say the only crime Nixon committed was that he was caught on what he did. As you might imagine, I often cringe at the naivete of my youth.

What's changed? Well, labels don't have the attraction for me they once did. The older and more mature I get, the less likely I am to try to peg people into pre-set slots (liberal, conservative, Christian, Jew, etc.) because I recognize that I don't fit into those slots. I am not the product of my upbringing any longer nor do I feel so compelled to "fit" into a particular group; if you like me, great and if you don't, I'll still survive. The biggest difference, however, is that starting in the early 90s, I began to actually think. Believe it or not, Ayn Rand's writing was the springboard for realizing how little I did "think" before along with the realization that too many others, like me, also did not think for themselves.

Most people would brand me either a liberal or progressive today. If you asked me, I'd probably label myself a progressive over a liberal because, by MY definition of the two, a progressive is someone who understands that people and societies change over time and we have to be willing to change with it. Progressive, too, because I do not feel the need to limit others in their expression or practice in order to feel safe, worthy, etc. A liberal, in my thinking, is a bit more free wheeling than a progressive (aka "anything goes unless there's a compelling reason it shouldn't go"). But some of my views - that English should be the official language of the U.S. to improve communication, for example - might defy either the tag of liberal or progressive.

For me, it's rather clear why liberals and progressives don't always follow a designated dogma on a particular topic as the conservatives and fundamentalists often do with their mutually agreed upon talking points. Liberals and progressives, I feel, are far more apt to have done the critical and independent thinking required on a specific topic they feel strongly about; the conclusions they come to may or may not be identical to others who wear the same label. Today's conservative (which I don't think is the same conservative of even 1980) is more apt to adopt a blind faith perspective and then echo back the points that others of their label offer up. Why do I say this? Because so often, when a conservative or fundamentalist gets called on a question that defies the clear syntax of their talking points, they simply CANNOT answer so they just echo back the non-answer they learned by rote. The more they're challenged, the louder they repeat the non-answers ad infinitum. You see this again and again and again in the blogs, on pundit shows, etc.

With that said, of course, this is a massive generalization. There are many conservatives I respect who have done the critical thinking and arrived at a far different answer than I have. The dialogue yesterday in comments with the fellow from the Cool Blue blog - another Vermont blog - is an example. He sees Afghanistan entirely differently than I do, but I don't think he's "dumb" or a "Koolaid" kiddie because his view is so counter to mine. Although there's no "meeting point" between us on this issue, I still respect his opinion and the man behind them. I can't muster that level of respect for the Koolaid kiddies.

Now, just as there are conservatives drinking Koolaid elsewhere, there are liberals who are also just spouting talking points without thinking about them. I don't think the world or they themselves are well served by just spouting or following the dogma "no matter what".