•  Sotuanduso   ( @Sotuanduso@lemm.ee ) 
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      210 months ago

      For the record, I’m not a conservative. I just did some research and drew on personal experience from interacting with them.

      In general principle, conservatism is resistance to change, which has its place when some liberals want change that isn’t actually a good thing.

      They tend to be small-government, in favor of low-tax low-spending economic policies that, while they don’t help much with the class problems we’re facing, do make commonfolk feel less robbed by the government. Whose bright idea was it to put “this is how much you’d make without taxes” on the paychecks anyways? If you ask me, you should get paid the negotiated salary and then taxes are an extra expense on top of that.

      Conservatives often concern themselves with the national debt, which I don’t often hear talked about on the left. It’s kinda like how the left cares about global warming which the right often ignores. If it goes too far out of control, it could hit a breaking point, and both sides will tell you their respective issue is already out of control and the breaking point isn’t too far off.

      They like the first amendment. I know liberals often do too, but conservatives are stronger supporters of it. It lets hate speech through, but it also helps to prevent 1984.

      They like the second amendment. Yeehaw, guns, which are responsible for a lot of big-headline crises these days. But the reason they support the right to bear arms is so that we can have a revolution if the government goes too far. I’m almost surprised liberals aren’t the pro-gun party with all the eat-the-rich rhetoric.

      Where liberals went ACAB, conservatives supported the police. Yes, the police system has major issues that need a rework, but if everyone went ACAB when it began, there would be a crime spree while we struggle to come up with a new system that isn’t just going to have the same issues again.

      While liberals are on the forefront of making things better for marginalized minorities, conservatives focus on making sure majorities aren’t left behind. When it isn’t straight-up fighting liberals’ efforts for equality, that is. The most prominent of these that comes to mind is Affirmative Action, especially in college admissions, which didn’t just make it easier for most minorities to make it into college. It also made it harder for white and asian students to get in.

      And lastly, conservatives, being the enemy of liberals, are going to think more critically about any liberal policies or messages. If they can help it, they’re not going to let you be blinded by your ideals into pushing a law that’s actually going to cause major problems, nor be whipped up into a frenzy by a story that manipulates the facts. Since they already consider you enemies, they’re in a position to make this kind of criticism much more freely, because they don’t feel the threat of being alienated by their party for going against the narrative. And you do the same for them. It’s a shame the rebuttals have such a hard time crossing the gap, though.