Dear Liberals,

When conservatives say things like:

“Allowing gay marriage will lead to the general moral decay of society.”

you know they have no idea what they're talking about. You know that morality has nothing to do with sexual orientation. You know conservatives are afraid to face their own unresolved personal issues related to sexuality and gender identity, and they're inventing disaster scenarios to justify it. And you know that withholding basic rights, like establishing custody and inheritance, from same sex couples is unforgivable. When conservatives say things like:

“Allowing the legalization of marijuana will lead to wide spread addiction to hard drugs.”

you know they have no idea what they're talking about. You know if you give them the statistical and biological facts about drug use, addiction and the medicinal properties of marijuana, they will reject it no matter how conclusive it is. You know that the threat of wide spread hard drug addiction is a delusional scare tactic, but the threat of unnecessary suffering from withholding medication from incurably ill people is real, immediate and dire. And you know that destroying families and communities by sentencing peaceful people to the rape rooms of government cages is unforgivable.

You know conservatives refuse to think seriously about their moral principles. You know their positions amount to frivolous bigotry. And you're right. You're 100% right.

But what you don't know is that conservatives know the same thing about you. Conservatives know that when you say things like:

“Allowing unregulated free trade will lead to the destruction of the middle class.”

you have no idea what you're talking about. They know that the middle class is a necessary byproduct of the unregulated market and that the most heavily regulated markets in history have always been the most stratified. They know that you're afraid to face your own unresolved personal issues related to poverty and efficacy, and you're inventing disaster scenarios to justify it.  They know that banishing poor and predominantly non-white children to a lifetime of poverty by removing the bottom rungs of the economic ladder is unforgivable.  When you say things like:

“Allowing unregulated private gun ownership will lead to a significant increase in violent crime.”

you have no idea what you're talking about. They know that if they give you the facts about how private gun ownership reduces crime rates, you will reject it no matter how conclusive it is.  They know that the threat of sudden increases in gang violence and school shootings is a delusional scare tactic, but that the threat of assault, home invasion, and rape in some communities is real, immediate and dire. They know that demanding that rape victims be disarmed is unforgivable.

They know that you refuse to think seriously about your moral principles. They know that your positions amount to frivolous bigotry. And they're right. They're 100% right.

Neither one of you has ever given a serious thought to moral principles. You call yourself a liberal, but what does that mean? What is the grand unifying concept from which all liberal positions logically follow? What is the guiding principle that connects being pro- universal reproductive rights with being anti- universal defensive rights? Until you can answer that question, until you can demonstrate a fully integrated system of values, you don't get to call liberalism a philosophy.

And maybe I can help both of you, because I see a pattern that fits both liberal and conservative positions. It goes like this:
                     

Allowing [natural rights] will lead to [bad stuff]. 

 

And I noticed another pattern in the way liberals and conservatives see each others positions.  It goes like this:

 [Violating natural rights] is unforgivable. 

 

Good luck,

Ansible

P.S.

Here's an example of a principle, in case you weren't sure what they look like.