Anomalistic History

One of the first things you learn when becoming a ardent student of history is that age-old literature is usually interpreted and perceived considerably different to an informed scholar as opposed to a layman who usually reads literature of the past and perceives it in terms of contemporary events, situations and definitions.

Furthermore, as a history aficionado, you tend to develop a heighten awareness of numerous enduring words whose definitions have remained consistent for centuries but are habitually misused by both the unaccomplished and cultivated masses, including the media. Many of these words have seemingly developed certain je ne sais quoi qualities and astonishingly, the multitude perceive a solecistic usage of such words is warranted, in that they presuppose doing so to be colloquially acceptable.

An example is the word “Democracy.” Under the constitution of 1789 the United States of America was qualified as a Federation of Republics with its purpose to protect persons and their property. A true Democracy is a rule by the majority without regard for individual rights. Our founding fathers, the framers and ratifiers of the 1789 constitution never intended or wanted America to be a Democracy. The United States' form of government is a Republic not a Democracy. The following link has more details about our Republic.

The scope of this commentary focuses on two words that are used (or more appropriately misused) habitually by nearly everyone. The terms conservative and liberal are well defined but are constantly misapplied, in all likelihood because of their association with political parties.

The following definitions and synonyms for conservative and liberal come from the American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

Conservative: adjective - 1. Favoring traditional views and values; tending to oppose change. 2. Traditional or restrained in style: a conservative dark suit. 3. Moderate; cautious: a conservative estimate: a conservative spender. 4a. Of or relating to the political philosophy of conservatism. b. Belonging to a conservative party, group, or movement. 5. Tending to conserve; preservative: the conservative use of natural resources. Archaic: A preservative agent or principle.

Synonyms: bourgeois, cautious, constant, controlled, frugal, conventional, die-hard, fearful, firm, fogyish, fuddy-duddy, guarded, hard hat, hidebound, holding to, illiberal, inflexible, middle-of-the-road, not extreme, obstinate, old guard, old-line, orthodox, quiet, red-neck, right, right-wing, sober, stable, steady, timid, traditional, traditionalistic, unchangeable, unchanging, uncreative, undaring, unimaginative, unprogressive.

Liberal: adjective - 1a. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry. b. Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded. c. Of, relating to, or characteristic of liberalism. d. Liberal Of, designating, or characteristic of a political party founded on or associated with principles of social and political liberalism, especially in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States. 2a. Tending to give freely; generous: a liberal benefactor. b. Generous in amount; ample: a liberal serving of potatoes. 3. Not strict or literal; loose or approximate: a liberal translation. 4. Of, relating to, or based on the traditional arts and sciences of a college or university curriculum: a liberal education. 5a. Archaic: Permissible or appropriate for a person of free birth; befitting a lady or gentleman. b. Obsolete: Morally unrestrained; licentious.

Synonyms - liberal, bounteous, bountiful, freehanded, generous, handsome, munificent, openhanded.

As you can see by the above definitions that being labeled a conservative is not truly a compliment, albeit, the truth is almost every human being since the beginning of time can probably be construed a conservative because of the influence of religions, governing bodies and parental guidance.

Kings, dictators, presidents, religious leaders and even most parents throughout history have forced conservative idealism upon the populace. Rulers and religious leaders have done so because the very idea of opposing the norm undermines the direction of the cohesive factions they have tried to bring together. Parents probably teach conservatism because it’s the way they were brought up and most likely they feel that the safest and usually most successful way through life is following the current status quo.

The truth of the matter is even though we are force-fed conservatism it is for our own good. If the masses failed to follow most traditional views and values, constant chaos and anarchy could well be commonplace. It is equally true that without those throughout history who have opposed the idea of conservatism that the multitudes may well have remained under the oppression of the few, such as was the case for 1,000 years during the dark ages.

The real problem arises when people have tried to push the concepts of ultra conservatism or ultra liberalism to extremes. Probably more deaths throughout history can be attributed to ultra conservatism and ultra liberalism than any other single cause. In the history of man, hundreds of millions of people have been executed to conserve a ruler’s power or a religion’s control over its people. In all likelihood millions more have died in the multitude of wars construed as revolutions against the status quo being coerced by rulers and religious leaders.

Even though the concept of conservatism is essential to a civilized society, the concept of liberalism is equally as important. The United States won its independence through the ultimate liberal vision of revolution even though the organizers of the revolution were all conservative statesmen. However, many of these same conservative statesmen were fleeing from conservative oppression in mother Europe and wanted to establish a nation where personal belief and self-determination would be protected. In doing so they implemented a constitution with numerous liberal concepts including such liberties as free speech, free press and the liberty to bear arms. But probably the most liberal tenet of our constitution is the ability to change it through amendments. The manor by which these changes can be implemented is a conservative process, but the doctrine of change itself is a liberal concept.

The trick is to have a proper balance between conservative and liberal ideals. Almost everyone is brought up to admire and believe in their country. Most are also taught to respect religion and religious ideals and most are brought up to follow guidelines established by the parents. These are primarily conservative concepts. Where as, the views of liberalism are usually only emphasized selectively. Ideals such as being different, tolerant, generous, open-minded or not being limited by established traditional views or dogmas are not concepts regularly articulated by most governments, religions or parents. Therefore most of us grow up as conservatives who on occasion display liberal traits. Some people have more liberal tendencies than others but most of us live principally conservative lifestyles.

As seen by the above comments most of us are very conservative which is exhibited by the way we live, talk, spend, dress and act. We all have a tendency to mentally process numerous liberal ideals but because of our conservative upbringing, few of us fail to act on many of them. There are some true liberals among us, but very few.

By definition the question then is who are the political conservatives and liberals? It is typically believed that Republicans are conservative and Democrats are liberal. This is a concept that has evolved only in the past 40 years and is not consistent with the history of the two parties. Southern politicians prior to the Civil War and the decades that followed were almost exclusively Democrats and were also the most conservative wing in Washington. But for now let’s consider the two terms as they are understood by most people today, Republican as conservative and Democrat as liberal. If we put the terms in their proper context the literal application of conservative and liberal does not coincide with the current behavior of our politicians.

In a literal sense probably the most misused word in politics is conservative. Almost all politicians elected to hold a federal office are very conservative individuals. However from a political standpoint fiscal conservatism is not a popular position in Washington among either Democrats or Republicans. Normally from the day most politicians are elected they begin working hard toward obtaining federal funded programs for their constituency. Also most are liberal spenders for the programs they champion whether it’s for social programs, corporate subsidies or military spending. All are willing to spend liberally for the causes they support.

Probably the most flagrant violation of true fiscal conservatism is allowing the accumulation of the national debt, which as of November of 2003 totaled nearly seven trillion dollars. Last year the interest expense paid on the debt by taxpayers totaled over 26 billion dollars a month. Without the liability of the national debt, income taxes could be easily reduced by more than 20%.

Nearly every politician in the past 50 years has to be held responsible for the creation of this debt. Republications like to blame Democrats because of liberal spending on social programs, which definitely has been a major contributor to the problem, but when analyzing the debt we see the biggest culprit for periods of large debt increases has been the spans when substantial increases in military spending have coincided with a sluggish economy. The military expenses presently being incurred funding the war against terrorism and in the Middle East, coupled with the downturn in America’s economy are having a devastating effect on the national debt total. Probably the second largest contributor to the debt is the continual expenditures of interest on the debt itself.

True fiscal conservatives in a literal sense would unquestionably be concerned about their country's defense, but during periods of non-aggression their number one priority would be the elimination of all debt as quickly as possible and at any cost, including the reduction of social programs, reduced military spending and an interim period of numerous tax increases until all debt is repaid. However, since it would be extremely unpopular to take the position of a true fiscal conservative, few politicians have ever considered doing so.

The word liberal is also misused, but is probably applied more appropriately to the Democratic Party, not only because they spend liberally as do the Republicans but also because their platform emphasizes a tendency to side directly with the common man and the less fortunate. This is not to say that most Democrats are not conservatives, but it appears more Democrats are often more outspoken and openly sympathetic to the plight of the common man. In contrast, the Republican Party’s platform emphasizes stimulation of big business in the hopes that they will share their good fortunes with their employees, therefore indirectly benefiting the common man. Some Democrats are often referred to as extreme liberals but most of those individuals are just more adamantly opposed to conservative policies than being true liberal extremists. The same can often be said for politicians labeled as conservative extremists. The true assessments of any politician’s convictions as to whether he may be leaning toward conservative or liberal thinking are hard to determine because of the individual drive by politicians for personal recognition, the goal to be re-elected and also many are constantly maneuvering to be in a position to secure a higher office.

In summation it can facilely be construed that nearly all politicians are conservative but at times both Democrats and Republicans exhibit excessive liberalism in support of their causes. In a literal sense, almost all individuals are conservatives, but without some liberal idealism, it’s probably a banner we shouldn’t necessarily be proud of waving.

If one were to strictly adhere to a veritable dictionary definition of a conservative, he would probably hold these beliefs:

Bringing back “the good old days”- a strong reminiscence for a lost past
A high enough tax base to satisfy all fiscal needs without incurring unnecessary debt
Environmental conservationism in the top order
Strong central governing body to prevent changes in status quo
A strong military
Gun control, keeping guns and other weapons out of the hands of the common people

If one were to strictly adhere to a veritable dictionary definition of a liberal, he would probably hold these beliefs:

Inaugurate legislation to make changes in the status quo
Spending for social issues
Protecting freedom of speech, press and any type of literary or artistic expression
Assuring tolerance of all religions and races
Legislation sympathetic to the causes of the less fortunate
Advocate of the freedom to bear arms

As a closing remark the terms “left wing” and “right wing” originated in pre-revolutionary France. In 1789, the French National Assembly was created as a parliamentary body to move control of issues, such as taxation, from the king to the citizenry.
Inside the chamber where the National Assembly met, members of the Third Estate sat on the left side and members of the First Estate sat on the right. The Third Estate consisted of revolutionaries, while the First Estate was nobles. Thus, the left wing of the room was more liberal, and the right wing was more conservative.

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If you wish to share your thoughts on this commentary please feel free to respond through the "comment" link at the end of this article or send e-mail to Denman Collins ( historiography101 AT yahoo .com)


The radical of one century is the conservative of the next. The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out the conservative adopts them.
-----Mark Twain

“Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds”
-----Franklin D. Roosevelt