When Did The Word CONSERVATIVE Become a Four Letter Word?

I do agree with you about the extremists, it does create a lot of problems when someone takes their beliefs and goes to the far end of either wing, whether it is right or left. But i will admit that it is sometimes hard to fit ALL of the principles that the country was founded on into this 21st century. I think that we have evolved in some areas of belief from then, but you are right about our problem being how hard it is for there to be a common ground settled upon.

I agree completely. It is the extremists on both sides that are turning politics into a circus. There is no way to unite as one nation when we let things that are actually more personal than political divide us so much.

At the time US was founded to be a republic was a liberal and radical step. Those men that signed the deceleration of independence, sons of European enlightenment were extremist liberals. US was founded by radical, extremist liberals. all the best urban

I started a discussion asking when "liberal" became a dirty word a couple years ago. I've been saying for as long as I can remember that it's the extremists on both ends of the spectrum that make everyone else look bad. You're so right, there's nothing wrong with being either a conservative or a liberal, they're just ideologies we follow and and believe in. The vast majority of us are far closer to the middle than we are to either extreme. Annie

IT became a dirty word as soon as democrats got control of the House, Senate, and the White House.

I am not a US citizen. But as a whole, when people talk about politics and about how things were when the country was founded, you have to make allowances for the passing of time. What is conservative now (or liberal) is different than what it was before. It´s the same with everything. In your national anthem you talk of the "land of the free". Yet you had slavery a long time after the hymn was written and sung. And I remember the civil right movements of the 60s. A long time later than that, I saw the movie "Philadelphia". THe name of the movie was allusive to the place where the nation was founded. Yet there, the gays didn´t have the same rights as the heterosexuals. I don´t think the world has to go back: I think the world has to move forward to more respect toward all people, all cultures, all faiths, all genders, all races. Only then our planet Earth (more important than a country) won´t be killed. Peace

hmmm maybe us "middle of the road" people need to start a movement, what do you think? I agree, it's not good to be an extremeist on either side of matters. We all need to find a middle ground and respect eachothers rights and opinions. I don't mind people having "extreme" beliefs, just don't try to force yoru beliefs on ME! You know what I mean?

The very extreme liberal side of the Democratic party is in control of Congress and the White House right now. So they with there long time extremely liberal media buddies will keep painting conservative as a four letter word for as long as they are in control. They working very hard to eliminate freedom of speech on the radio which is the only media outlet left that is not extremely biased to the far left.

I recently bouth the book "The Constituion of the United States of America". It is The Constitution, illustrated and inscribed by Sam Fink. It is an overly large (15 1/4" X 10 3/4") coffetable book. I haven't finished reading it yet, but my impression is that, for the era in which it was written, in was a rather liberal document. I have also been reading "1776" by David McCullough. From his book, my impression is that the founding fathers were conservatives mostly - there were a few of a more liberal philosophy. But the document itself was considered one of the most liberal documents of the times. Conservatism of the era seems to have been loyal to the King of England. The liberal thought of the times was that man could govern himselft without the benefit of a King or royal family or court, even though England had had a Parliment for centuries - the ultimate authority was King George III. The first book mentioned has a preface part of a letter written by Benjamin Franklin. In the letter he states that he did not entirely approve of the Constitution at present or if he ever would, but he hoped that the convention would "act heartily and unaminously in recommending this Constitution..." and urges them to put their name on the document. As the constituion was designed to be a "living document" in as such Congress could amend it when such occaisions saw fit, I don't believe that we have strayed that far from its founding principles. Only those on the Extreme conservative or Extreme liberal sides would have you believe that the opposition was to blame for all what is wrong with our country (They never point out what is right with our country). And this is nothing new: During Watergate, Democrats were so focused on trying to implacate President Nixon they overlooked and ignored what OPEC was up to and failed to prepare the country for the ensuing energy crisis. It continued throughout the 70's, through the administrations of both Ford and Carter, both sides trying to "get the goods" on the opposition that they ignored coffee and sugar prices, allowing their prices to balloon way too high. They also ignored what was going on in Iran, which let to the hostage crisis. Iran-contragate prevented to the two sides from working together to resolve the farming crisis on the mid-1980s. The Impeachment of President Clinton is where the conservative Republicans acted like six year olds catching a schoolmate with his britchs down (literlally) and trying to legally prove it that they ignored security warnings about Osama bin Laden. President Bush (the younger) fumbling of the war in Iraq - turning it into another Vietnam - and we got blindsided by the meltdown of the housing and mortgage banking industries. I agaree that there is nothing wrong with being either conservative or liberal. It takes a rainbow of colors to make a white light. It takes both sides to make our country as great as it is today.

i was in China . China as we know it is a republic country. some people from another countries think chinese people have no right ,no freedom. but i don't think so . i love china. you know china is a big population country. if every one have freedom do anything. what will the country look like. maybe it will be messy. i think now the leader of china make some policies for the the country ,that just want to make china more peaceful. so i think i can understand . i was iive in a small town in china. it is so peace and safe. i love it . thanks for the leader of china. so that most of chinese people can live a good and peace lives.

As far as I'm concerned, "conservative" is only really a dirty word when used to describe someone who feels the need to legistlate the minutia of how people live and their morality.