I believe many people confuse being selfish, and uncompassionate, with being conservative. Many people that call themselves “conservative” don’t even know the actual political denotation of the word. So for their benefaction I've included the definition.
con·serv·a·tive
[kuh
n-sur-vuh-tiv]
n-sur-vuh-tiv] adjective
1. disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
Now, after reading that, who in their right mind, would want to call themself this? It's the opposite of progress. In fact, this is the opposite of the American Dream. Add to that the modern Conservative party is basically an anti-intellectual, self-serving version of their opposition. Both parties, Democrats and Republicans, have a track record of big government, gross spending, and war. It's only the matter of what programs each group favors, and which social / economic strata is benefited that separates the two party's initiatives.
Knowing that, I would think the average person would rather err on side that favors social responsibility, intellectualism, truth, and equality. I mean, that would make sense... unless you're an asshole. In which case, you're probably a modern day Conservative.
