Many conservatives say that those of us who are Liberal are idealists. Recently, after receiving this label for the nth time, I started thinking about what it actually means. The concept of labeling liberals as ideal became perplexing. The different ideologies of either side, in my opinion, lend more to the inverse of what conservatives say-that in fact they are the most idealistic of the pair.
Take government involvement, which happens to be one of the more divisive viewpoints between liberals and conservatives. Many individuals on the right claim they have more grounds in reality due to their basic mistrust of the government. Just watch Fox News, or speak to a member of the right, and you will hear the claims that government cannot handle serious issues like healthcare, social security, and civil rights. These claims that government should not create welfare states, over tax, or provide too many social services are primarily based in the belief that government is inherently self-interested and incompetent.
So then how do conservatives propose the ailments in society be remedied? Well it can be fixed by the private sector, don’t ya know! Let’s forget welfare and let private charities help the poor, private health insurance companies will always provide adequate coverage, of course the private sector will secure proper retirement plans.
The issue with the faith in the private sector at large is that conservatives think people will do the right thing if there is no government to step in and prevent them from doing so. Frankly, I cannot think of a more idealistic outlook on life. I want the government to provide the aforementioned services because I do not think the private sector is capable of doing so. Not when so many companies are out for pure profit and willing to skirt the basic services they promise to provide to their customers.
As a liberal, my faith in government stems from my distrust of individuals in the private area. If people receive tax cuts, they are not anymore likely to walk down to their local charity and donate that money. Perhaps liberals are more grounded in reality for wanting the government to provide basic services because they are more aware of how willing individuals are to ignore the needs of their fellow citizen. Is it not more realistic to understand the greed and avarice that plagues so much of our society, and to try and work around it by using the government to our advantage?
The government is bound by the Constitution and the will of the people during the elections to remain as open and honest as possible. Now we all know that the government is not impervious, and quite often people within the government do greedy things as well. However, the people have a say, and we can do something about it. If a company denies a healthcare claim, or has loopholes to rid its customers of the service they pay for, there is no one to complain to. The private sector is far more of a risk, and anyone who watches the news and has a basic understanding of current events could tell you this.
Let’s put some faith in an institution whose sole purpose is to serve us. I’m tired of being mislabeled an idealist by those who fail to come to terms with the blatantly greedy and capricious system. Lets get real people.
