[quote name='David85']I'm so to the left on socail issues, like my gay marriage, aboration, and legaling pot..[/quote]
Its funny how screwed up the liberal/conservative division has become. Although most people find this hard to believe, liberalism and conservatives are, in fact, not opposing positions. They are, in fact, quite compatible on most issues - or at least they are in theory. In reality, both positions have become absolutely corrupted to the point where they no longer resemble what they're supposed to me.
A quick definition of what the two viewpoints are:
Conservatism: The conservative viewpoint is that its best to maintain 'traditional' values. The exact policies that a conservative would champion varies from place to place (since not all places have the same 'traditional' values), but here in the US, it refers to what the founding principles of the US government were. Therefore, in the US, the theoretical values of a conservative are that smaller government is good, and that government should only have power over a few key things that are essential for a society to exist (national defense, keeping crime under control, minting money, etc.) If its not essential for national survival, its not the government's job.
Liberalism: The liberal viewpoint is that the greatest good comes from giving people as much freedom as possible. As long as you're not directly hurting someone else, it should be legal.
If you look at the two definitions, you realize how alike they are. They SHOULD agree on most issues. As I said, though, both sides have been corrupted and really no longer have much of anything to do with what they're supposed to me. A few examples...
Gun control: as long as you're not using a gun in a crime, the liberal position SHOULD be that you should have the right to own a gun, the exact same as the conservative position.
Legalizing drugs: The conservative position should, in theory, be that the government has no right to interfere with people's lives unless it directly threatens national security - drugs don't, and should therefore be legal under the true definition of conservatism, the exact same as the liberal position.
Gay marriage: The conservative viewpoint wouldn't like gay marriage, since its not a traditional value, but would recognize that government doesn't have the right to interfere with individuals personal lives or to push moral values onto others, and would therefore legalize gay marriage - exactly like the liberal position.
Abortion: This issue is a trickier one, since its a question of whether life begins at conception or not. The viewpoints are close, but not quite identical, and it depends on whether you think life begins at conception or not. Its a complicated topic, and since this post is already too long, I'm skipping it
Anyway, my point is that both political sides have very little to do with what their theoretical positions are supposed to be (and the political parties that are supposed to be the embodiments of those positions are even worse.) Its well past time to wipe them both out and start again...