[RMadd]

Quote: (Originally Posted by RalphyS)

Well there is one difference between the social norms of liberals and conservatives? Those of liberals aren't edged into stone like commandments or in a book that says they are absolute and there is not any discussion possible about these rules.

Isn't that sort of an inherent difference, though? I would think that conservatives, by rule, tend to prefer maintain the social, political, economic (etc etc etc) norms; liberals, on the other hand, by definition seek a variety of ways to alter those norms. Politically speaking, true conservatives in the US (I'm not referring to neo-conservatives, who tend to care little for the federalism debate, but focus, instead, on social issues) have supported a strict interpretation of the constitution, such that the constituent states of the republic should maintain control over a wide variety of issues. Liberals, meanwhile, tend to support the notion that the constitution is a living, breathing document, and that the implied powers of the federal government over the states are many. This, again, is the inherent debate: conservatives have a fast, firm way of looking at something; liberals see things as ever-changing. So to criticize conservatives for seeming to be so close-minded appears to me to be paradoxical: you're bashing conservatives for being just that!