Conservatives and Liberals Share Core Values.

I tuned into a podcast self described as a center for social conservatives.  The hosts praised the virtues of family, community, individual responsibility, public accountability, and education as the foundation of their socially conservative ideology.  It seemed to me these are virtues cherished by social liberals in equal measure, although the program hosts were adamant about denying such a thing was possible. 

The odd truth is that the liberal side of politics has a conservative streak. It treasures the ideals of the Declaration Of Independence and Constitution, including its amendments. It believes that democracy depends on the guarantee of individual rights and the duties and accountabilities associated with them.  Polls suggest that the public finds it hard to believe social conservatives and social liberals can share the same core values and call them virtues necessary for a healthy society. But it’s true.

One reason for public incredulity is the public has bought into the idea that conservatives and liberals are on  extreme opposite sides divided by an unbridgeable chasm. That’s the story pitched by propagandists, news media, and social rumor mongers.  Told often enough in colorful ways, it becomes believable as a self evident truth. There is also a strong tendency for people to engage in false equivalency in the assumption, I suppose, that if one side is dominated by extremist voices, the other must be also. There are times when only one side is dominated by extremists and that has been true for well over a decade.  There are left wing extremists who grab what headlines they can, but they have little influence. 

At the same time there are legitimate differences between the more reasonable elements of social conservatives and liberals who make up the broad center right – center left public whose views will shift from one side to the other depending on issues and conditions.   Social conservatives tend to define their values and virtues as adhering to social norms popularized during the two or three decades following WWII, but which they call traditional. Family for instance is defined as a married man and woman with children.  Extended family is an appendix to the nuclear family. Social liberals hold family in equal esteem but give it a broader definition that includes different ways for people to associate as family.  Extended family is important to them but need not be limited to kinship ties.  For both liberals and conservatives, family and friendships form the bonds on which community is built. A spectrum ranging from impenetrable barriers to permeable boundaries separate communities from one another.  Conservatives tend to favor the barrier side until they are certain removing them will do no harm.  Liberals tend to favor the boundary side, and assume the good will of those crossing them. Who is right?  It depends. 

Conservatives and liberals  assign high value to education, especially in the so called STEM subjects.  They differ greatly in the area of social studies, history, English and the like. Conservatives favor a curriculum little changed from the three post war decades. Liberals are more willing to engage K-12 students in new ways of examining current social problems, teaching a more complete and honest history, and including wisdom from cultures beyond the Western canon. What liberals see as building up, conservatives see as tearing down. As for public schools, it’s a free-for-all over funding, vouchers, choice, charters, integration, with way too much rock throwing by everybody.

Social conservatives are certain the federal government is an intrusive meddler intent on indoctrinating people with liberal values contrary to the received post war tradition. Social liberals expect the federal government to provide funding and expertise that will benefit everyone regardless of location or condition of life.  Conservatives want the federal government to keep its nose out of state and local matters.  Liberals want it to keep state and local authorities from abusive and discriminating practices.  For example, a conservative commentator I listened to said child tax credits don’t work, that’s just fact, so no need to debate it.  Liberals believe they are an investment that will yield huge returns to the nationsas they help lift children out of poverty and better equip them for education.  Opinions too often take precedence over inconvenient facts.

Social conservatives believe they pay their own way and receive few benefits from the government.  They don’t approve of free handouts to anyone.  Liberals see the poor as being denied government benefits that have become so embedded in the lives of the non-poor that they are no longer recognized for what they are. More than others, the poor need a hand up. 

It all comes down to two big questions.  What social norms should guide American society? How active should the federal government be in seeing that opportunity to have what’s needed to achieve a good life is distributed as equitably as possible to all persons without discrimination?  Imperfect but acceptable agreements are reached in the push and pull of a healthy democracy where opposing sides willingly negotiate in good faith.  A final note of warning. The spectrum between conservative and liberal is long.  People may self identify as conservative or liberal but they move back and forth on the spectrum depending on issues and conditions.  Most do not drift too far from the middle.

We have allowed people of bad faith and no interest in democratic processes to control  the public conversation. They are political parasites who will suck the life out of the nation if allowed.