Purity X

Blessed are you when people hate you . . . 

 - From Luke 6

And so we come to the final entry in this series, that examines the moral dimensions of what drives people's life choices, particularly, how and why they vote as they do.

Research shows that Liberals tend to vote according to two criteria only: caring and fairness.

Conservatives also desire government that cares, and that establishes fair rules for all.

But to those two dimensions, Conservatives also consider such areas as loyalty, respect for authority, and purity. Liberals do not seem to be too concerned about offending family members in the attitudes and beliefs. They do not see the value in the wisdom of their elders. And have little interest in such concepts as morality and purity. Traditional values, parameters around our behavior, self-control, etc., they do not care if the society and our politics casts that all aside.

Of course I am generalizing. But the research tends to uphold these two profiles of what motivates the typical Liberal, and Conservative, to vote as they do.

It's up to the reader to determine the rightness or wrongness of all of this.

My own anecdotal evidence supports the findings of the research. In a heated on-line debate, the Conservative is more likely to back down, and to avoid language that offends (purity). If Liberals learn that they have been offensive (F bombs, for instance), they tend to lay it on even thicker.

If you try to allude to the wisdom of the ages, Conservatives will concur. But Liberals will denounce the ways of prior centuries (we all know there was evil . . . but there is good that we can still embrace).

The goals of caring and fairness are very strong ones to prioritize. But Conservatives prefer conducting themselves according to a personal code that requires them to care, and to be fair. Liberals seem to believe that if the government doesn't do all the acts of charity, and enforce equality (according to the definitions of the party in power), that it doesn't exist.

Tomorrow, I will wrap it all up with some comment about the dimensions that have been added to this list.

Oh, and as to the Scripture reference: The words of The Son of God are more compelling now than ever. If you're doing the right thing, there's no way the prevailing culture is going to applaud you.