Do liberals and conservatives have anything in common?

[cynatnite]

Honest question here, folks. Surely there's some common ground besides living in the same country.

[Democrats_win]

1. "e" "s" "i" "r" "a"

[PuraVidaDreamin]

2. Brain scans

Has there ever been a study to see how the liberal brain
lights up compared to the right wingpnut brain in an MRI?

[ulysses]

3. we're all carbon-based life forms. n/t

[solinvictus]

4. Neo-cons....yes...

They favor the American worker, unions, ending outsourcing and illegal immigration, and are against the current Neo-con attempt at an Orwellian "Big Brother" agency.

[solinvictus]

16. Oopps..I meant PALEO-cons.

Neo cons are anti-American shits.

[FlemingsGhost]

5. "We all want to be happy. Let's start there." -- The Dalai Lama

How about we get rid of the Republican/Democrat system all together. Then we can all work on trying to be happy, without labels and snap judgments hindering us.

[whistle]

6. See if this article can shine a light on common ground....

http://www.crisispapers.org/essays-p/elements.htm

[VOX]

7. Fiscal responsibility, so that excludes the a**holes currently in power...

I'm talking about **true** conservatives now, and not radical neocons. They used to be proponents of responsible spending, less is more, etc.

I think that the saner members of both factions might agree that spending $$$ wisely -- without big breaks for rich pals -- is good for the country.

The problems is that conservatives' brains are so shot through with lies now, it's impossible to get anything across to them.

[Deja Q]

8. People tell me not to use generalizations... now it's my damn turn.

I know many repubs who I agree with on many issues. Many of which I've said on DU and have gotten lots of "I agree with you"'s on.

Offshoring, outsourcing, cut'n'spend... you name it.

Many repubs do not like what is going on.

Many even hate wal-mart, golly gobsmacking gadzooks to that one.

While neocons is a fair epithet, they all sing the same tune, those who vote republican are as diverse as you or I.

Centrist isn't about appealing to the right wing (and therefore licking the corporate dollar) but agreeing on commonalities and fair debate and compromise.

It's how we want to govern ourselves.

Maybe the repubs who are getting tired of what's going on will make a stink at some point too.

[Enquiringkitty]

9. Usually they do have common goals on drugs, crime and human

rights. It's the methods they want to use to solve these issues that differ. In the past, they have had common goals on foreign policy but with this prez, it has all become very divided and out of hand. From where both sides stand at this time, there doesn't seem to be any room for compromise. What Bush is insisting on isn't something that most Democrats (who want to keep their jobs) are willing to compromise on.

[Nite Owl]

10. With true conservatives

I think we do. They love this country too, they are fiscally responsible, they respect the right to privacy. It's just that there aren't many of them left. The ones that are in congress still bear the Republican name and that isn't what it used to be. They should leave the party and become independents then maybe we could find things to work together on.

[Zenlitened]

12. Agreed. I was about to ask... What's a conservative?

And does such a creature still exist in nature today?

A lot of conservatives who've considered themselves Republicans all these years have some serious soul-searching to do these days. The party they once belonged to is no more.


(edited spelling)

[Nite Owl]

14. If they are still Republicans

then there is just guilt by association. The time has come for them realize that their party up and left them. They aren't going to effect change from the inside at this point.

[tnlefty]

11. Unfortunately for me DNA is common...

and my neighborhood and that is about it.

[jdots]

13. We would both like to conserve certain things

What we would like to conserve is worlds apart..Are there common threads ? yes are those dissapearing ? yes.

[petronius]

15. Everyone poops!

(But I can't think of much else...)

[forgethell]

17. Absolutely!!!

Both think the other is evil & stupid.

I kid you not.:)

[Solon]

20. Problem is, of course...

they have been proven to be both evil and stupid, we have not, so for them its rhetoric, for us, its calling out a fact.

[forgethell]

21. Well, you could be right,

but they would disagree.

For myself, I just think they have a different world-view.

A)They can't be stupid, if they were how come they keep beating us in elections? Or, if they are stealing them, how come we cannot obtain any hard evidence?

B) I don't think they are evil. Some of the kindest, most generous people that I have ever known have been conservatives. Some of the biggest, including the very biggest assholes I have know have been Democrats. Of course I've know several of the other kind in both camps, too.

I think once you can grok the concept that they see things differently, that they filter the same facts in a different way than we do, some of the anger and hate dissipates. I think it might work the same way for them, too.

Of course, then the problem becomes, whose world-view is the correct one? The only way to figure that out is empirically. Which solutions work in the real world? Whose solutions cause the least trouble for the most people? Those kind of things.

Cheers



:)

[burn the bush]

18. Yes, they both have very strong feelings about shrub.

Ok so one hates him and the other loves him, but it is a sharing of very strong feelings.

[leftofthedial]

19. yes.

we both want to kill the other.

[blondeatlast]

22. True conservatives, yes, there is common ground.

The current pack of salivating, submissive theo/neoCons; nothing at all.

Contrast Barry Goldwater with Bill Frist and I think you can easily get the picture.