Note: this article is written from the perspective of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of other staff-members at Liberal America or the official position of Liberal America.
With the way liberals and conservatives are constantly butting heads it’s all too easy for both sides to develop a warped view of one another.
Hopefully my experiences growing up in a conservative part of the country can help set the record straight, and help mend some of the tension that our readership feels against conservatives.
Also, this article focuses on people. The actions by a large segment of Republican representatives are inexcusable, but conservatives as a whole tend to be a bit more complex.
1. Conservatives Likely Carry Some Liberal Leanings
I was born and raised in Wyoming, and I still live here. I also have plenty of friends here who, like the majority of the population of the state, are conservative.
And you know what? Most of them are in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage (even though that’s a non-issue now) and marijuana. We’ve had conversations about gun control and the pros and cons of raising the minimum wage, and while me may not always agree we can still stay civil and respect each other’s opinions. While my friends obviously don’t represent the party as a whole, they’re definitely not the only conservative voters who believe in some more liberal principles.
So why do they vote Republican? Well, they’ve been influenced by the people in their lives to believe that Republicans are the only people who can accurately represent them. They’ve been told all their lives by family members and role models that Democrats are destroying the country.
The problem isn’t that they’re sheep or that they don’t make an effort to have at least a basic understanding of the issues; it’s the fact that their perception of the world has been warped by the people they trust.
2. Conservatives Feel Alienated By Liberals
Part of the animosity between liberals and conservatives comes from the fact that both sides feel ignored by the other. It’s actually possible that conservative people actually experience that more intensely than liberals.
Imagine living in a rural part of the country where you depend on firearms to ensure the safety of your livestock, which possibly makes up the lion’s share of your income. Now imagine that a person from the other side of the country wants to erode your right to possess the firearms that makes your career possible.
While I get that gun control advocates don’t favor disarming the American public, and I support gun control legislation, it’s not hard to see why gun ownership is such a touchy subject for many conservative voters.
3. Rural Conservatives Really Just Want the Government (And Everyone Else) To Leave Them Alone
Part of living a rural lifestyle—which encompasses a lot more than most people would believe—is the fact that you have a lot of privacy and independence.
A part of really having privacy and independence is being able to live your life with minimal interference from anyone, government or otherwise. And a part of what drives the “small government” crowd is that they feel that if a government is too powerful their independence is going to be stripped from them.
Now as a liberal, I obviously don’t agree that the small government most conservatives advocate for is going to do much of anything for the country. But while I disagree with their opinion, I don’t think it’s completely outlandish. We shouldn’t follow our leaders blindly, but we also shouldn’t let our fear blind us to the potential benefits that regulation and liberal policies can have. We also shouldn’t blindly push for regulation or more government control without considering the effect that those actions will have.
4. Conservatives Are Just People
So before you rush to the comments section, I do recognize the hypocrisy of a rural conservative who feels that the government has no business interfering in his life while still feeling that same-sex marriage and marijuana should be illegal.
And to be perfectly blunt, that’s a huge problem. It’s selfish, shortsighted, and it doesn’t speak well of the intelligence of the person who feels that way. And above all else it’s human.
Some people are dumb, and some people are hypocrites. Some people are kind and gentle, but hold views that hurt people all over the country.
The thing is, there are a lot of conservative people in our country. There are conservative teachers, conservative bankers, and conservative freelance writers. Conservatives come from all walks of life, and they’re just as diverse and multifaceted as those of you reading this.
Image provided by FutureAtlas.com via Flickr under a Creative Commons Attribution License.
