I wish that people didn’t bind themselves so tightly to identities such as “conservative” and “liberal”. I can see the appeal of conservative pragmatism in some circumstances, and I think that the mindset is a very important check on the radicalism of many progressives. However, if you talk to anyone in any level of detail you’d find most agree with the following statements:

• There are some things about the status quo that are good and we don’t want to lose them (a conservative position)
• There are some things about the status quo that can be improved on and should be changed (a progressive position)

What things are worth preserving and what things need changing, and how change (which is inevitable) should occur is what’s really up for debate.

The problem is conservatives and liberals see each other with such enmity (and both sides hate centrists) that there is very little information sharing and dialogue between the two sides. And that’s a shame. Because when two sides in good faith can work together on moving society forward, more is accomplished.

I see this in discussions between my dad and myself. I’m a progressive and he’s a conservative. But we can discuss things with respect and come to solutions together.