Page 20 - Liberating Liberals V2

The Mental Prison Break
passionate interest in life. To compromise it might plunge me into nihilistic despair.
Freethinking minefields everywhere!
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Conservatives also consider themselves to be freethinkers who have freely chosen conservative values. Merriam-Webster defines conservatism as those “tending or disposed to maintain existing views, conditions, or institutions. Traditional. Marked by moderation or caution.”3 Thus many conservatives have much more faith than liberals in traditional Christianity and capitalism, as well as traditional lifestyles, science and history.
Loyalty to these tried-and-true views — and caution about new views — are an important part of responsible freethinking. Stalin, Mao and Robespierre were a type of monstrous liberal whose freethinking became so detached from humane tradition that horrendous atrocity became routine. But excessive loyalty to tradition may also cause wonderful or necessary alternatives to be disdained.
As a result, many conservatives are prisoners of their own minds! And their ability to imprison freethinking often nails a massive inhibiting damper onto the liberal imagination. It can leave liberals defending insignificant advances and ignoring stupendous possibilities.
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