Liberalism = Conservatism (or no labels?)
Liberalism is as conservative as conservatism and I am disappointed.
I listen to classmates speak about their own belief and worldview systems and hear the undertoned assumption of the "rightness" to what they say. It is okay for liberal Christians to give political sermons that condemn the war in Iraq, but there is something wrong about the conservative Christians who support the war. (?) Both dichotomous groups have a methodology of reason by which they come to their own conclusions about knowledge and truth, and see these methods and epistemologies as superior to those who do not hold the same system of thought. It is as if the divide between liberals and conservatives falls down on political issues and "right" thinking, but I always thought the difference was over one's understanding of truth or Truth. (Some might say that the difference is whether one was able to hear and honestly consider another's thoughts, beliefs, and reasonings.) Some conservatives complain about how liberals don't have a system of right and wrong and that they are too open to too many opinions. Some liberals complain that conservatives are too narrow-minded and don't leave flexibility for various opinions. I think that there are some conservatives and some liberals who are both narrow-minded and fixated on certain ideals of what is right and wrong. I want to hear us in dialogue with each other. I want to hear dialogue that sees beyond liberal/conservative to individual people from various backgrounds seeking the truth and desiring to do the right thing. Why do we have to think that our process of considering the facts is superior to another? And why can't we honestly consider each other's ideas while still seeking the Truth, yes, that is with a capital T?
Side note: Why does U.S. Western American culture view death as a bad thing?
I listen to classmates speak about their own belief and worldview systems and hear the undertoned assumption of the "rightness" to what they say. It is okay for liberal Christians to give political sermons that condemn the war in Iraq, but there is something wrong about the conservative Christians who support the war. (?) Both dichotomous groups have a methodology of reason by which they come to their own conclusions about knowledge and truth, and see these methods and epistemologies as superior to those who do not hold the same system of thought. It is as if the divide between liberals and conservatives falls down on political issues and "right" thinking, but I always thought the difference was over one's understanding of truth or Truth. (Some might say that the difference is whether one was able to hear and honestly consider another's thoughts, beliefs, and reasonings.) Some conservatives complain about how liberals don't have a system of right and wrong and that they are too open to too many opinions. Some liberals complain that conservatives are too narrow-minded and don't leave flexibility for various opinions. I think that there are some conservatives and some liberals who are both narrow-minded and fixated on certain ideals of what is right and wrong. I want to hear us in dialogue with each other. I want to hear dialogue that sees beyond liberal/conservative to individual people from various backgrounds seeking the truth and desiring to do the right thing. Why do we have to think that our process of considering the facts is superior to another? And why can't we honestly consider each other's ideas while still seeking the Truth, yes, that is with a capital T?
Side note: Why does U.S. Western American culture view death as a bad thing?
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