Mwether,

Your definitions of liberal and conservative are great examples of dictionary terms that do not apply at all to real life. Conservatives do not resist change. They simply want change to occur in a different direction. In politics, liberalism is less a philosophy and more a sign that you stand on a particular side of issues. For instance, liberals believe the government is better at determining most aspects of your life than you are. They want government control of everything, ie, education, welfare, health, morals, etc,. You and I are not able to make smart decisions, so they must make them for us. Conservatives believe the government should have limited functions. It should provide a national defensive, an infrastructure and little else. Conservative believe life is worth a few risks to enjoy great freedoms. Liberals believe they must protect everyone from all evils with laws that restrict and control everyone.

I'll stop now with the politics debate, but I wanted to make it clear the dictionary definitions of those terms simply do not apply to the political use of those labels.