Note: This is my comment on a post from a conservative website where I was accused of espousing a Liberal Vision.
Wait a minute.
Why is it that working together, or seeing America as united is a “liberal vision”? There was a time when our nation prided itself on working together to achieve great dreams. Remember that? How about the moon mission, defeating fascism, creating vast infrastructures? Do you remember those times?
There’s nothing “liberal” about working together. I don’t believe there’s something inherently bad (from the conservative view) either. I saw a wonderful definition of what conservatism is all about on this website
“The essence of conservatism — from Burke to Hayek — is epistemological modesty — an awareness of how little we can know about ourselves, and how little we can plan. Because life is so complicated.”
The plain matter of fact is no one has a lock on “truth”. We need multiple perspectives to move through the world. The poles inform the center (I’m not speaking politically here, I’m speaking about all progress, not just in politics). The nature of conservatism, as quoted above, can be a wonderful “check and balance” to the progressive nature of liberals.
But only if they work together. While I understand the satisfaction and perhaps pleasure one my get by playing to the ideas the divide us, especially in the game of politics, we can get so much more done working together.
This is not a liberal vision. It’s a HUMAN ONE.