One of the sources of our great country divide is that conservatives understand socialism, but liberals don’t know conservatism.

Leftists have been branding conservatives as racist, bigoted, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, sexists for the last 50 years, and with the reinforcement of a leftist media and no push back at all from the Republican Party, the label has stuck.

As a result, many conservatives consider themselves leftists because they think they’re not any of those things, and they don’t really know or understand what conservatism is all about. Everyone knows people like this. They live their lives according to conservative principles, but then vote for Democrats because they’ve been told conservatives are hateful.

The problem is, they’ve never looked into it. They’ve never listened to conservatives or researched what they’re really all about. They just hear a steady stream of anti-conservative vitriol from the media and never questioned it. These people don’t even realize that most conservatives are not Republicans.

Meanwhile, conservatives can tell you everything you need to know about leftists. By taking in a steady diet of liberal talking points with every exposure to corporate media or cultural icon of the day, conservatives have had a steady encounter to the counter culture. And because conservatives are more likely to do their research – partly because they must to counter popular narratives – they have a better understanding of the left than the left does of the right.

One of the things conservatives understand about leftists is that the Democrat leadership doesn’t necessarily reflect the people who support and vote for them. As mentioned above, many vote for Democrats because the Democrats are constantly talking about victims and those who need help. Then they portray the Republican Party as the Party that not only put them there, but did it on purpose.

Democrats never reveal the socialist roots of their policies or plans. They speak like conservatives to try and attract middle American voters. But once in power, you can watch their voting records support collectivist policies. Unfortunately, most people don’t watch their politicians after voting them in.

Until voters truly understand the underlying philosophies of not only the political candidates, but also the other voters in this country, we’re always going to be divided. Because Democrat supporters think Republicans hate everyone, they don’t listen to or consider conservative points of view. Because Republican voters know Democrat supporters are going to be what enables communism and erases our Constitution, they view Democrats as a serious threat.

The solution is for Democrat supporters to stop and consider the opposing view and understand the path conservatives are seeing toward the end of this country.

There’s much more room for a united populace than people understand. But before we can unite, everyone has to understand each other, what motivates their voting, and the inevitable result of pursuing capitalism versus socialism.