From: Roy T. Fielding (fielding@ebuilt.com)
Date: Tue Dec 05 2000 - 17:58:16 PST
> > Heh... that is the same argument commonly used against the notion
> > of "objective truth". I guess you are a liberal and, by inference,
> > a commie as well. ;-)
>
> Okay, short form:
>
> A Conservative is a person foolish enough to believe in objective truth.
> A Liberal is a person arrogant enough not to believe in objective truth.
Er, no. I could see
A Conservative is a person foolish enough to believe that there is
only objective truth.
A Liberal is a person foolish enough to believe that there is
no objective truth.
but both labels, when used strictly, are common to arrogant fools.
The Reagan campaigns demonized the term Liberal and elevated the
term Conservative. It was a simple "us vs. them" appeal, and not truly
defined by some philosopher's definition of the true Conservative.
Most Republicans would have preferred to be called liberals (small l)
prior to that election. As webster would say:
liberal n
(1816)
1 :one who is liberal: as
1a: one who is open-minded or not strict in the observance of orthodox,
traditional or established forms or ways
1b: a member or supporter of a liberal political party
1c: an advocate or adherent of liberalism esp. in individual rights
conservative n
(1831)
1a: an adherent or advocate of political conservatism
1b: a member or supporter of a conservative political party
2a: one who adheres to traditional methods or views
2b: a cautious or discreet person
con-ser-va-tism \ken-'ser-ve-,tiz-em\ n
(1835)
1a: the principles and policies of a Conservative party
1b: the Conservative party
2a: disposition in politics to preserve what is established
2b: a political philosophy based on tradition and social stability,
stressing established institutions, and preferring gradual development
to abrupt change
3: the tendency to prefer an existing or traditional situation to change
Back to the original point, language is defined relative to the
context in which it is used --- there is no fixed definition for
a term (even in France). Thus, there is no objective truth for what
it means to be a Liberal or Conservative, because the meaning of those
terms changes over time and across contexts. A relative truth.
....Roy
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