LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES

I have long felt that liberals are concerned about groups (women, minorities, sexual orientation) whereas conservatives are more concerned about individuals (self made man, individual responsibility), but also local communities.*  Please note that ALL the 12 step programs emphasize individual responsibility.  Liberals,  I think, believe that you should be able to screw up to a certain degree (not kill people though), and it shouldn't make you pay for it the rest of your life (e.g. St. Paul, the great redemption story from persecutor of Christians to being the major advocate of Christianity.) whereas conservatives tend not to forgive screw ups, ever.

I think the liberals too admire the person in a group (e.g. poor) who pulls themselves up by their bootstraps, but they feel the group has great impediments in breaking out.  I had a friend from the coal country of West Virginia who said that the main way people could break out of this community was through football.  Often those who have broken out feel, "I did it.  Why can't they?" a common conservative stand.

* I call the community aspect the" Kansas conservative" where, if your neighbor's barn burns down, everyone bans together and has a barn raising, not some outside group comes to raise the barn (e.g. the government).   It is sort of an expanded individualism.  Conservatives often point out that the government was not involved in restoration of San Francisco after the famous earthquake versus the liberals promoting government being heavily involved in recovery, e.g. from the New Orleans flood with accusations of not doing enough, fast enough.  On the other hand, there are conservatives who accused the president from not being involved enough in Mid-Western floods and tornadoes.  I recall one Kansas conservative who said, "We were doing all right before 'gimme politics'."