Conservative vs. Liberal

Today a wise man (Lets call him Ventilator Baba) pointed out a major difference between the political use and the dictionary meaning of these 2 words.

Dictionary:
Conservative: A person who is reluctant to accept changes and new ideas
Liberal:Showing or characterized by broad-mindedness

Hence in Orkut/Facebook when the websites ask people about their political views most of my friends write Liberal. However they don’t realize that in the political science

CONSERVATIVES – believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional American values and a strong national defense. Believe the role of government should be to provide people the freedom necessary to pursue their own goals.
Conservative policies generally emphasize empowerment of the individual to solve problems.

LIBERALS – believe in governmental action to achieve equal opportunity and equality for all, and that it is the duty of the State to alleviate social ills and to protect civil liberties and individual and human rights. Believe the role of the government should be to guarantee that no one is in need. Believe that people are basically good.

Liberal policies generally emphasize the need for the government to solve people’s problems.

I hope this helps atleast some of us in sending out the right signals.