Column: When liberal and conservative thinking collide

"Life is like playing a violin solo in public and learning the instrument as one goes on...."

Samuel Butler

While in church on Sunday, my mind wandered during the sermon (homily), which happens once in awhile. I'm very attentive during the solemn parts of the Mass. But sermons sometimes fail to move me because at my age it's rare that a priest says anything I haven't heard before in one form or another.

It must be tough for a priest or minister to come up with an inspirational sermon week after week, a lot harder than writing this column. Of course, I'm not inspirational very often, either.

But for some weird reason, I got to thinking about the words "liberal" and "conservative; " that is, in the modern concept of the two words, which is anything but traditional. The more I thought about it, the more I was bugged by the idea that probably all of us are both at various times and under various conditions.

For example, I know lots of people who are always fiscally conservative but socially quite liberal, and the other way around. Religion certainly plays a big part. Most Catholics I know are very liberal except in specific areas of their religion. Also, some Catholics think you can't be wealthy and be a Catholic.

While Republicans tend to be more fiscally conservative than Democrats, once in awhile I meet a Democrat who doesn't like taxation any more than I do, especially what is usually done with our money. These, however, tend more to be blue collar or manual labor types than say, government employees.

Government workers are in essence tax takers because they make their livings from tax dollars while paying back a small percentage of their earnings in taxes. General tax increases usually mean more money for government employees. This is considered to be fiscally liberal but many government workers I know are socially conservative.

I also know many women who are fiscally and socially conservative except in the area of abortion. On this issue they are considered liberal, that is to say, they believe that a woman has the right to do with her body whatever she pleases. Of course, that puts her willingly or unwillingly in the same camp with pro abortionists who believe in abortion for birth control. The latter group is classified as extremely liberal, but I'll be darned if I can see why.

I wonder, though, if the women who staunchly defend their "right" to do with their bodies whatever they please also think they have the same right to do whatever they want with someone else's body? What do they think happens from the moment of conception? Another body begins living in the womb of the female sponsor, that's what happens.

Does this sponsor have the "moral" right to do whatever she wants with this beginning body which would one day be a live person if allowed? Personally, I think not! But I admit that today she has the "legal" right.

Obviously on the issue of abortion, I'm an unabashed conservative. But thinking it over, as staunchly conservative as I am on fiscal and moral issues, I'm really a liberal in the area of religion.

For example: While I'm a church-going Catholic, I don't for one minute believe that the Catholic Church is the only road to salvation. I accept Billy Graham's crusades with his teachings about how to receive Jesus Christ in our lives as a legitimate way to salvation. And I also encourage many other Bible churches who teach and live by our holy scriptures.

Also, the liberal side of me doesn't hold with any one Bible translation. While our Catholic Latin Vulgate is the principal Bible which I use, I fully recognize that other New Testament translations directly from Greek (the original New Testament language) to English, rather than from Greek to Latin to English may be more accurate in some areas. But these differences are nit-picking in my opinion and aren't worthy of taking a rock-headed "conservative" stance. If all Christians are striving for the same goal of salvation and can agree on the basic essence of accepting Jesus Christ as our salvation, that's good enough for me.

But the biggest paradox with liberal vs. conservative thinking as far as I am concerned is with the Jews. Most consider themselves social liberals but orthodox Judaism is about as conservative as religion can get. I rely heavily on the Old Testament both in a religious and historical sense. It is the fountainhead of moral law. Without the prophesies of the Old Testament there wouldn't be a New Testament.

Bob Thomas is a Carson City businessman, local curmudgeon and former member of the Carson City School Board and Nevada State Assembly.