Political Stereotypes and Political Differences

Stereotyping has negative connotations connected with it, primarily because of the possibility of labeling people incorrectly.  However, stereotyping isn’t always a bad thing.   It can be the result of a honest assessment, based on personal observations and practical experiences.  It becomes a problem when we get locked in to such a degree that an individual can’t be separated from the group.  It becomes a problem when we don’t give someone a chance because of a negative impression that we have of his/her group.

Political stereotypes work the same way.  There might be something to gain by bringing political stereotypes out into the open.  Why address political stereotypes and look at some of them specifically?  The reasons is because we might all benefit from looking at different ways we are perceived as part of a specific group if we are interested in communicating better with each other.  By better understanding how people see our own group and by better understanding the reasons behind differing opinions, it might give us a better chance of possibly working through differences and discovering some common ground.

Both liberals and conservatives want to solve problems and help people in need and they both believe that the government and the private sector play a role in that.  Where they differ is how much of a role government should play verses the private sector.

Examples of Political Stereotypes and Political Differences:

Many liberals think when conservatives don’t agree with their liberal ideas that they are being mean-spirited, they don’t care about fairness or they are not a good person.

Many conservatives think when liberals don’t agree with their conservative ideas that they are misinformed or they are thinking emotionally, rather than logically.

Many liberals believe that government is in the best positions with its vast amount of resources from taxes to handle the big social problems like poverty, health care and educational reform and often turn to government first to solve the big problems since government has a history of taking on the big problems.

Many conservatives believe that government often does a poor job of handling the big social problems and instead think that government should not be given more responsibility, but rather we should turn to some private institutions to solve problems in ways that are more personal and have a long-term chance at success for the people that we’re trying to help.

Many liberals believe that the Bible calls us to take care of the needy and they interpret that to mean usually through government programs because too many people would fall through cracks if the government didn’t guarantee the help. They also understand that private giving helps as well.

Many conservatives believe that the Bible calls us to take care of the needy and they interpret that to mean individuals caring for their fellow man, serving each other and giving to private institutions that are successfully serving people in need.  They also understand that some government involvement is necessary. 

Many liberals see conservatives as opinionated and judgmental and not willing to look at other points of view.  (Conservatives would defend themselves by saying that when they sound so sure of themselves, it is often because they have thoroughly researched other points of view and already rejected them on their merits).

Many conservatives see liberals as negative and close-minded towards people with different points of view and not wiling to listen to other ideas.  (Liberals would defend themselves by saying that they already know the kind of people that hold those views or know the particular person expressing an opinion and they have rejected their opinions in general).

Many liberals believe in helping people by identifying them as victims and then intervening in situations to help change a situation and bring about a fairer outcome.

Many conservatives believe they can best help people by not labeling them as victims, but rather treating them as capable of overcoming their challenges and supporting their efforts towards becoming more empowered, which then strengthens their confidence and resilience.

Many liberals especially value people of higher education, people who have graduated from Ivy League schools, people with high intelligence, people of fame or influence and leaders who in addition to the attributes listed above, are also inspirational and impressive.

Many conservatives especially value people with great wisdom, people who are practical, people with proven track records, people with strong character and leaders who in addition to the attributes listed above, are also principled and inspirational.

Many liberals value studies, polls, research and experts on subjects near and dear to their hearts and are not particularly interested in debating issues with conservatives.

Many conservatives are skeptical of studies, polls, research and experts because of agendas, but are very eager to debate issues with liberals.

Many liberals think conservatives think in black and white and have little ability to consider the middle ground or listen to polling results.  (Conservatives would defend themselves by saying that many decisions do become clear if studied well enough, that compromise can often lead to worse solutions to a problem and that good leadership doesn’t include following polls of misinformed Americans).

Many conservatives think that liberals are comfortable thinking in the gray areas and often change their minds based on politics and take black and white stands when it involves opposing conservatives.  (Liberals would defend themselves by saying that it is good to be more flexible and that leading based on polls can be a form of listening to Americans and that changing as the circumstances change and the desires of the people change is a good thing).

Many liberals care deeply about our environment, have long-term environmental concerns and believe that man is responsible for saving the planet and even though they care about the economy, environmental concerns trumps economic concerns. 

Many conservatives care a lot about our economy and the world economy and believe that some of the new environmental policies are based on one-sided research and even though they care about our environment, the proposed environmental policies won’t make enough of a difference in the long run to justify damaging the economy, as they believe these policies will do. 

Many liberals believe critical thinking to mean thoroughly studying what highly regarded experts have to say on specific subject matters, as well as looking at issues from a non-traditional way, from a non-conventional out-of- the box kind of approach. 

Many conservatives believe critical thinking to mean studying both sides of issues and then discerning the pros and cons of both and finally making judgments and conclusions as to the best solutions for the best outcomes.

Many liberals would say that conservatives don’t believe in bi-partisanship and that they think their ideas are the only good ideas.  (Conservatives would defend themselves by saying that conservatives value hearing the other side of issues and then want to decide the best solutions, rather than solving problems by way of figuring out how to compromise).

Many conservatives would say that liberals talk about bi-partisanship more during campaigns and what that means is when liberals are not in power, conservatives should compromise with them and when they are in power, liberals don’t have to consider conservative ideas.  (Liberals would defend themselves by saying their idea of bi-partisanship is not inconsistent and when it does change, the reason for it is because the voters voted them into power).

Many liberals see America with its strengths and weaknesses and then focus more on our weaknesses in order to improve America, to avoid being overly prideful and to counter the Americans they feel are blind to America’s faults.      

Many conservatives see America with its strengths and weaknesses, but feel the strengths outweigh the weaknesses dramatically and by focusing on our strengths, the positive aspects will increase, young people will be more inspired and we can have more of a positive influence in the world.

Many liberals believe that national pride is a negative thing and it says to the world that we think we are better than they are and what we should do instead is focus on either one world vision or racial diversity and multi-cultural thinking. 

Many conservative believe that national pride is a good thing for nations to have and that in America, uniting around our uniqueness and values draws us together, rather than separates us according to ethnic diversity and race.

Many liberals think conservatives are hypocritical because they promote family values so much and then live their personal lives contrary to those values.  (Conservatives would defend themselves by saying that is not the norm, that human beings have human weaknesses and that when hypocrisies are discovered, the majority of conservatives won’t tolerate them and call for the resignations of people in positions of influence).

Many conservatives think liberals are hypocritical because they preach tolerance and diversity so much, but then won’t tolerate diversity of opinions or diversity of thought and instead become very angry, call people names and use a lot of personal put downs.   (Liberals would defend themselves by saying that they do permit diversity of opinions, some conservative ideas do make them angry and the really angry liberals are the exceptions).

Many liberals think that conservatives are arrogant on the world stage and that the world hates America because of it.  (Conservatives would defend themselves by saying it is the Left in the world that hates America when conservatives are in power and that a strong America has given more opportunities to the world, which is more important than our country being loved).

Many conservatives think that liberals are more interested in being loved by the world than by making good policies.  (Liberals would defend themselves by saying that we can accomplish more in the world if we are loved and that they believe that our strong policies have turned countries away from us).

Many liberals think that conservatives don’t want to pay higher taxes because they are greedy and don’t care about the poor.  (Conservatives would defend themselves by saying the reason they don’t want to increase taxes is because when you tax the people more who do the most hiring, jobs will have to be cut, which will increase our deficit because less people will pay taxes.  They also believe that additional tax money should go directly into the economy, rather than some of the ineffective government programs.

Many conservatives believe that liberals want to increase taxes on the wealthy in order to redistribute wealth, make more people dependent on the government for advantages in elections and move us closer to the kind of socialism they have in Europe.  (Liberals will defend themselves by saying they are interested in more social programs, not socialism and that increasing taxes won’t reduce hiring, but will instead bring more money in to be used to pay down the deficit.  They also believe that there is a level of wealth that is beyond rich and it doesn’t seem right for some to have that much.).

So what good is it to point out these political stereotypes and differences?  Perhaps it will help someone on one side of the isle to understand the reasons and passions behind someone else’s point of view.  At the minimum, hopefully people will see that just because someone has a different point of view than yours does not make them an ignorant or bad person.  If we could agree to that, perhaps we could have more respectful political discussions?  If we could have more respectful political discussions, perhaps we could come up with better solutions to problems?

Sally Pitts
Centennial, Colorado