While politics today feel more divided than ever, plenty of people don’t align with every stance their party takes — and some hold views that run counter to what their peers might expect. So when u/AxieGamer69 asked liberals, “What’s your most conservative belief?” many got honest. Here’s what they had to say.
1. “Better border control is not unreasonable. Rhetoric that excludes or attacks dominant groups does very little to encourage coalition with minority groups.”
Bloomberg / Getty Images
2. “I become a raging libertarian about city laws — zoning laws cause most of today’s housing issues. How dare you make me pay the city just to update my own house? Property taxes in many areas are oppressively high, and we need serious reform in city governments, starting with slashing the wages of high-level officials and stopping them from spending money on unnecessary items. I live in Chicago, so…yeah.”
3. “I think there are quite a few things the private sector does well, and it would not make much sense to try to get the public sector to take them over. I also think economic growth is really important, and we should be willing to compromise on some other values to ensure it continues.”
4. “I think there’s space for capitalistic ventures in the economy — as long as there are proper safeguards and regulations protecting workers and consumers. Consumer goods especially, but maybe other sectors, too, where a for-profit model could work.”
5. “I think drinking and smoking — including weed — are pretty bad for people’s health and probably should not be so normalized. I wouldn’t ban them, but we need to recognize that these substances are harmful to those who use them and stop encouraging their use so much, especially alcohol.”
Nurphoto / Getty Images
6. “I think the death penalty is a reasonable punishment for some crimes.”
“I’m not anti-death penalty because I think every person is redeemable — I’m anti-death penalty because we get it wrong. That said, some people are simply incapable of living in society. If we could guarantee it only applied to those cases, I wouldn’t object to it morally.”
Advertisement
Advertisement
Related: Everyone Is Acting Like An A-Hole Lately, So Here Are 50 Photos Of Absolutely Infuriating People
7. “I believe in stricter school discipline. If your kid is in a gang, they shouldn’t be in a conventional school. If your kid is a violent bully, they shouldn’t be in a conventional school. I know it’s not considered ‘trauma-informed’ to remand those kids to high-security alternative schools, but it’s also not trauma-informed to make the well-behaved kids deal with violent classmates.”
8. “I don’t think I hold any conservative beliefs, but I understand the passion behind pro-life stances, concerns about illegal immigration, and support for the Second Amendment. Those are issues worth debating — even though I usually land on the liberal side.”
9. “US race-privilege rhetoric doesn’t really work outside of the US.”
10. “Poor people shouldn’t pay income tax. This is slightly undercut by my belief that rich people should pay all of it.”
Michael Bocchieri / Getty Images
11. “I’m a huge supporter of gun ownership. I think mental health is the core issue — if we could actually address that, gun crime would go down drastically, and people could still defend themselves.”
12. “I’m against polygamy and polyamory. If it stays niche, fine — but I think if it became more common, then many people would be coerced into it. In practice, I think it would lead to a small number of men having relationships with many women, which would leave a lot of people out and increase societal instability.”
13. “I think declining birthrates are a much bigger issue than people realize, and if we do nothing about it, we are going to face serious problems.”
14. “I’m anti-porn and critical of sex work overall. I’m also critical of kinks and polyamory. That’s considered pretty controversial in my far-left feminist circles.”
15. “I don’t want socialized health care unless there’s a private option. I have family in Canada and the UK who’ve had so many issues getting in to see doctors and getting necessary treatments in a timely manner. I want everyone to have free health care as an option, but I also want to be able to pay for faster care and more treatment choices — especially as someone with multiple autoimmune diseases.”
Reza Estakhrian / Getty Images
16. “I kind of think we should bring back state asylums and compulsory institutionalization for people who truly cannot take care of themselves and have no one else to help. I’m torn on this, because I worry about abuse, but leaving them to fend for themselves is not great either.”
17. “I believe religious belief can be good for society. When it’s rooted in actual values and not controlled by a rigid hierarchy, it can give people a shared moral and philosophical framework. That could actually help promote human rights and mutual aid.”
18. “Patriotic rituals and symbols — like saying the Pledge of Allegiance and flying the flag — aren’t always harmful and can help bind the nation together. The pledge should continue to be recited in public schools, but it should be optional. The state has a legitimate interest in fostering national unity, as long as each individual’s right to dissent is preserved.”
Trongnguyen / Getty Images
Politics is rarely all-or-nothing, and as this thread shows, even people who mostly lean one way have views that break from the party line. What about you? Drop your “unexpected” political belief in the comments below.
Also in Internet Finds: Women Took Twitter By Storm This Week, And My Sides Still Hurt From These Hilarious Gems
Also in Internet Finds: I Hate To Say It, But I’m Pretty Sure 50% Of Americans Won’t Be Able To Pass This Extremely Easy Citizenship Test
Also in Internet Finds: “She Died F—ing Terrified She Was Going To Hell” — 24 Of The Hands-Down Worst-Ever Things People Have Said When Someone Was Struggling
