Lett. to San Diego Times:Right-wing isn't conservative, it's authoritarian

[question everything]

(it is really the North San Diego County Times)

Right-wing isn't conservative, it's authoritarian

After reading the letters to the NCT for many years I have noticed that there seems to be a corruption of the terms "liberal" and "conservative."

From Webster's New Word Dictionary -- Liberal: 5. Tolerant of views differing from one's own; broad-minded, specifically not orthodox or conventional. 7. Favoring reform or progress. as in religion, education, etc.; specifically favoring political reforms tending toward democracy and personal freedom for the individual; progressive.

Conservative: 2. Tending to preserve established tradition or institutions and to resist or oppose any changes in these.

In the letters, conservative seems to mean the government -- state and federal -- not meddling in the affairs of the individual. However, when you have a party (Republican) that is against a woman's right to choose, wanting to force religious teachings into the schools, refuses to accept gay marriage as a civil rights issue and against stem cell research (again a religious issue), then you have a government that is foisting itself upon the individual and society in general.

How about coming up with a new moniker for the right-wing Republicans: authoritarian.

JOSEPH W. KRAATZ
Oceanside

From http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/06/15/opinion/letters/6_14_0520_02_08.txt

[Cha]

1. And this is coming from

a rw bastion in San Diego County. Where Camp Pendelton is.


"Authoritarian" works for me. It's nicer than what I call them.