Are You Conservative?

                    Polls show that there are more conservatives in the United States than there are liberals.  Polls also show there are more conservative-leaning independents than there are liberal-leaning independents.  There are conservative Republicans and conservative Democrats.  There are also fiscal conservatives and social conservatives.  There are even conservative movies. The real question is, are you a conservative?

                    A dictionary definition of the word "conservative" is as follows:  "inclined to keep things as they are or were in the past; opposed to change, especially any change in traditions; not inclined to take risks; cautious; moderate; of or belonging to a political party pledged to preserve established traditions and to oppose major changes in national institutions…" (World Book Dictionary, p. 442).

                    If you are wondering if you are conservative or liberal, you might try this site.  I thought I was definitely and completely conservative, but my quiz results say that I am only 80% conservative and 20% liberal.  The quiz had some interesting questions where I had to guess. 

If you took the quiz and are still questioning whether you are conservative or liberal, StudentNewsDaily.com has a wonderful article comparing conservative beliefs versus liberal beliefs.  The article starts, "We all want the same things in life.  We want freedom; we want the chance for prosperity; we want as few people suffering as possible; we want healthy children; we want to have crime-free streets.  The argument is how to achieve them…."  The article then lists 21 different issues from abortion to welfare and gives the liberal and the conservative point-of-view on each.  The site is very interesting and informative.

                    Here is an example from this site by using the comparison about abortion.  The liberal viewpoint on abortion is:  "A fetus is not a human life, so it does not have separate individual rights.  The government should provide taxpayer funded abortions for women who cannot afford them.  The decision to have an abortion is a personal choice of a woman regarding her own body and the government must protect this right.  Women have the right to affordable, safe and legal abortions, including partial birth abortion." 

                    In comparison, the conservative viewpoint on abortion is:  "Human life begins at conception.  Abortion is the murder of a human being.  An unborn baby, as a living human being, has separate rights from those of the mother.  Oppose taxpayer-funded abortion.  Taxpayer dollars should not be used for the government to provide abortions.  Support legislation to prohibit partial birth abortions, called the `Partial Birth Abortion Ban." (Partial Birth Abortion:  the killing of an unborn baby of at least 20 weeks by pulling it out of the birth canal with forceps, but leaving the head inside.  An incision is made in the back of the baby's neck and the brain tissue is suctioned out.  The head is then removed from the uterus.)

                    I had a difficult time with the description of a partial birth abortion!  As a mother and grandmother, I cannot even imagine doing such a terrible thing to a tiny little baby!  These two definitions about abortion show the great difference between the liberal and the conservative viewpoint.  I highly recommend that you check out this site for other comparisons.

                    I found this wonderful video entitled "WhatIs A Conservative?"  It gives a commonsense view of America and describes very well what being conservative means.

                    So, after taking the quiz, reading the comparisons of conservative versus liberal viewpoints, and watching the video, the question remains:  Are you conservative?