Liberals, Conservatives, and Tension

 Where does tension come from, and how does it build?  Tension comes from conflict.  No matter how big or small the conflict is, with every conflict comes an equal amount of tension.  The "size" of the conflict depends on the level of importance the issue is to the parties involved.  This is a subjective matter; if you don't think so, look at your partner's list of pet peeves.  Most likely you will find something on that list that you think is completely irrelevant. 

Escalating such tension is a simple matter.  Leave the conflict unresolved and simply add more conflict than there was before.  If your partner hates it when you leave your socks on the floor, getting your clean socks out of your dresser drawer and tossing them on the ground  randomly is a great way to escalate the level of tension between the two of you.  Not only did you not pick up the socks that were there before but you blatantly threw more socks on the ground for the sole purpose of making your partner angry. 

I submit that this is what happens between Liberals and Conservatives.  They are opposites who argue over the best way to use state power.  When liberals are in power, they tell conservatives "not only are you not going to get your way, but you're going to be forced to do what we want for a while", and vice versa when the conservatives are in power.  And every time one side wins, that pile of socks on the floor gets bigger and bigger.  In fact, this level of tension has become so great that it is less and less common for a liberal and conservative to be friends.  I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but pay attention to level of tension every time you see a conservative and liberal debate the issues.  Personal attacks seem to be inevitable.

And it's only going to get worse.  Every "left wing" administration will bring in new "left wing" policies, and every "right wing" administration will bring in new "right wing" policies.  The tea party and occupy protests make it clear that we have a divided country. 

As a security guard, I have observed that when tension continuously builds between people, it will eventually release in the form of a fight.  If I see tensions getting too high in my line of work, my job is to work to defuse such tensions so they are released before a fight happens.  I'm not to simply wrangle people for fighting, but to prevent the fight all together.  That way, the store I work for can keep its reputation, rather than having it be known as some poorly managed store where people go to fight. 

It seems to me that the way to reduce the tensions between liberals and conservatives and to push for voluntary interactions.  If liberals want to see people get free health care, they should network with each other to work on ways to accomplish free education and volunteer medical centers.  If conservatives want to go out and police the world, they should network together to organize transportation and weapons and go be the heroes they think they are. 

I realize that not every issue is this simple, but all that need be done to balance the budget and reduce tensions is to make things voluntary.  What has been bankrupting the people in this land mass named the united states is the bailouts, wars, and domestic welfare programs.  Well, if you think these big banks should stay operational despite what they have done, cut them a check.  If you want to give people money who are struggling, cut them a check.  If you want to pay some group of people to attack the government of some foreign country because  you see the injustices being committed by them, cut them a check. 

But recognize that 1) you have no right spending other people's money, and supporting the state doing it does not mean that you are not guilty of a form of theft and 2) if you want to get along with the people in this country, you have to let them decide for themselves what they support and what they don't, rather than supporting the state's "legitimacy" in making decisions for all of us, with our lives and with our money. 

If we do not defuse the tension between these two major groups of people, we just may end up with a civil war like situation on our hands...

(Liberals and Conservatives are not the only political groups who feel tensions and get upset, but they are the most prevalent.  This has not been intended to suggest that they are the only ones alienated by the state... as an anarchist, I'm sure you can appreciate my sincerity in that)