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Submitted By : George LukoseSubmitted Date : August 9, 2010, 3:53 pm

Topic :

Conservative Social Worker--Is it okay?
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Description :

The purpose of this topic is to discuss the politics of helping professionals. A few questions to consider: Is there a place for conservatives in the helping professions? If you are a conservative, do you feel like an outcast in your profession? If you are not a conservative, do you feel there is room for conservatives, or do you feel their values come in conflict with a "good" social worker's values? I have not seen a place to discuss this topic and hope it could be done here to increase understanding and broaden knowledge.
If you have an opinion, even if it is a strong one, please share it, but please be respectful of others, even when you disagree with them.
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Submitted By : George Lukose
Submitted Date : September 1, 2010, 4:22 am
Sure it's ok. My beliefs are a mix of liberal and conservative ideas. Social Workers try to be accepting of everyone's views, they just may not be our own. Everyone has a right to consider the facts and information and make decisions based on them. It is our responsibility as human beings and Social workers to find those facts and get that information to make an informed decision about anything. I do not have to agree with anyone--social workers or not.
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Submitted By : George1 Lukose
Submitted Date : September 1, 2010, 6:43 pm
Great question but I find it so sad that we even have to ask this question. As social workers we need to understand that everyone has a point of view and context and belief system. We need to see where we can bridge our differences rather than deride others for their differences and we seem to be getting further and further from that as we try to become more "understanding". Of course people are entitled to conservative and religious beliefs!. That doesn't make them stupid, bad or unable to make an excellent, understanding empathic therapist. I think this profession would benefit from not only thinking one way, which makes it very uncomfortable for colleagues who are more conservative in their thinking so they too can feel comfortable expressing themselves. I find this a rather sad state of affairs.
As an Independent, I find that when I move away from any one ideology I can better see the point of view of both sides; however I don't think as a profession we do that nearly enough. Every conference makes political jokes, in an effort to "assume" we all need to believe alike. We are alienating wonderful people who are bright, caring, compassionate people and that just seems wrong. We are the profession of being understanding, yet we are not practicing this if we are assuming we must all think and believe alike.
Thank you for posing the question.
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Submitted By : George Lukose
Submitted Date : October 23, 2015, 10:49 pm
What about the core social work value of social justice and serving the disenfranchised? "Conservative" in the political sense does not acknowledge structural oppression. How can systems work be congruent with this view?
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