"Liberal" or "Conservative"?

I’ve been accused of being a “liberal” more than once, but I think I’m one of the most conservative “liberals” I know. 

Consider the fact that I’ve been married to the same woman for 29 years straight and am a regular church goer; including choir and council member. Never gambled, or even purchased one lousy lottery ticket.  I pay off my credit cards before having to pay interest on them.

I agree with President Eisenhower of the dangers of the vast Military-industrial complex that has developed since he left office in 1961. 

I do my best to conserve the planet, with small acts, such as riding a bike, turning down the thermostat, gardening and drying laundry outside. I hate wasting things, and even ride a bike to reduce my use of fuel. I buy used cars when needed, and even purchased used goods at the thrift store. Reduce, reuse and recycle!

I also believe in the value of nutritional food and exercise, and agree that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of intervention.

I strongly believe in personal and corporate responsibility.

Quite frankly I’m not sure why I'm often labeled with the proud title of “liberal”… Perhaps I'm identified as such because of the indoctrination I had during my impressionable years from a Liberal Arts college, which that encouraged me to think "outside of the box"?  Maybe it because I like to give liberally of my time to strengthen the community? Or could it be because I like to zig when I'm told to zag?

Seems much of this "liberal" versus "conservative" talk that is polarizing our nation is simply a false dichotomy.  If we actually took time to know one another we might well discover we're all much more alike than we have been lead to believe.