Writer Michael Laser worries: “Without intending to, I’ve indoctrinated my kids.”
He continues:
Lately, I’ve found myself in the odd position of explaining and even justifying the conservative point of view on taxes, abortion, and regulation of private enterprise, just so my children will understand that people have reasons for their beliefs, even if we disagree.
Laser explains, “If you shut out the noise of talk radio and your own unshakable faith, you can find persuasive arguments on both sides of the divide.” Here’s one he came up with on taxes:
The liberal view
• We aren’t isolated individuals struggling for survival: We live together, in a society. And membership in a society that makes wealth possible comes with obligations. Those who benefit most from our freedoms must contribute their fair share to help support and protect our society.
The conservative view
• Private property means that what belongs to you is yours; if the government confiscates it, that’s tyranny. Our most productive citizens – the top 10 percent of earners – already pay 68 percent of taxes collected. These rates should be cut, not raised.
Laser concludes:
But these opposing viewpoints also suggest a different idea: Contradictory statements can both be true. Yes, the differences are significant and worth negotiating over, but what we’re really talking about is a few percentage points in tax rates, not a choice between socialism and the abolition of all taxes.
Michael Laser is a novelist and the creator of News-Basics.com, which provides concise overviews of major news topics. More notes on liberal and conservative values can be found there.
