I mean, I'm a leftie, but I understand the sentiment of the conservative point of view. Or, at least, the American conservative.

What it comes down to are two different definitions of 'freedom.'

The right believes that 'freedom' means freedom from government; the ability to control your life; the ability to control your property; the ability to make decisions for yourself; the ability to live by your own moral code and not one foisted upon you. They don't want to be forced into anything. They want to be autonomous; islands unto themselves, so to speak.

The conservative/Christian right believes in conserving their traditions and culture

And to a large degree I completely understand that. I have a very different view for my life than what the government has deemed acceptable for me. I do believe we need more freedom in terms of personal autonomy and what we can do in the privacy of our own property. There are completely valid views there.

I also really understand the impulse to conserve your culture and the fear involved in seeing that disappear quite quickly (historically speaking). It's conflicting for me, because on one hand, I would absolutely staunchly defend, say, a tribe in the Amazon defending their traditions and land from outsiders, but my own countrymen participating in the same behaviours makes me squirm (to be fair, there's a big power differential going on, but the basic human nature is the same).

So from that perspective, the left is very threatening. They see the tradition and culture they know and love disappearing, they view government programs and systems as dominating their lives, decisions and property with zero way of opting out, and feel as though they no longer have personal autonomy - that's the absolute crux of it.

They feel forced into a way of life they completely disagree with and have zero say in. They feel they are being treated as children who are unable to make responsible decisions about their lives. That's an extremely frustrating, threatening, and patronizing feeling. And, quite frankly, they are correct - they do have less autonomy, and their culture is disappearing.

Like I said, I'm a (fairly socialist) leftie, but I do genuinely understand the yearning for personal freedom. From my own perspective, I don't genuinely believe any one human has any particular right to make decisions for another human, regardless of what their 'rank' is; however, life doesn't exist in a vacuum, and when this many people must coexist in close quarters, a system of some kind is necessary to ensure all hell doesn't break loose and the majority of people still remain relatively comfortable and happy.