About

About the Founder

Carpe Notio was founded by a Brown University student from Marblehead, Massachusetts. She created the site during high school after noticing the limited ideological diversity present in her student body, an environment that spurred many students to respond to alternative viewpoints with malice rather than curiosity. Through Carpe Notio, she hopes to open more people’s eyes to the different viewpoints surrounding the many prevalent political topics in the world today. In this way, readers will not only better understand the other side of a given argument, but they will learn how to more clearly articulate their own points of view as well.

Behind “Carpe Notio”

One of the most common Latin phrases used today is “carpe diem,” or “seize the day.” Varying slightly, carpe notio translates to “seize the idea.” The purpose of this site is not to change our readers’ minds. Rather, we hope to change our readers’ mindsets. The fact that many people across the world are entirely oblivious and staunchly against any belief that differs from their own is extraordinarily detrimental to society as a whole. In the world today, people with opposing opinions do not talk to each other. We are all divided into groups, whether it be Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal, and even “good” or “bad.” There is no question that this polarized environment can improve. However, right now, very few people in the world are willing to rationally discuss their beliefs with those who disagree with them. Through Carpe Notio, we hope to encourage our readers to accept the validity, not necessarily of other ideas, but of the fact that the people with these ideas deserve to have a say in the changing fate of the world. Ignorance and hostility will get us nowhere. Rather, open discussion, honesty, and compromise are simple, yet powerful ideas. And we would like our readers to seize them.

Behind “Redefining Diversity”

The word diversity has several different connotations. In the modern world, it is most often used in relation to race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and a variety of other identity-related categories. Carpe Notio is invested in focusing on diversity in a different light. Instead of concentrating on diversity regarding outward appearance, we urge readers to seek environments that are intellectually diverse. We strongly support the broadening of knowledge, and we hope to encourage readers to learn about opposing viewpoints and seek out others who think differently than they do. With Carpe Notio, we are redefining diversity to apply not just to skin color, religion, or ethnicity, but more importantly to thoughts, opinions, and each individual’s unique way of viewing the world.

Why “For Conservatives” and “For Liberals”

Carpe Notio is intended to give both conservative and liberal readers information about the opposite point of view on a variety of important issues. As a result, we title our liberal arguments “For Conservatives” and our conservative arguments “For Liberals” in an effort to guide readers toward opinions that challenge their own. In this way, we hope to broaden our readers’ knowledge and encourage them to learn about the reasoning behind viewpoints they may not yet have explored. We acknowledge that beliefs vary not just between the sides but among the members of each side. However, because it is impossible to concisely describe each and every opinion that every individual claims to hold, we attempt to provide the most widespread and general view held by each group for a variety of contested topics.

Relation to “Republican” and “Democrat”

In the United States today, many casual listeners to the news would recognize the terms “Republican” and “Democrat” over “conservative” and “liberal.” It would not be wrong to say that conservatives are most often Republicans and that liberals are usually members of the Democratic Party. Still, it is important to first recognize the defining factors of conservatism and liberalism before automatically painting the groups red or blue.

***These definitions hold true in the United States, not necessarily the rest of the world

The original liberal ideology, or classical liberalism, was associated with individual freedom, limited government, and a free market. Classical liberalism developed in the early 19th century. At that time, its members advocated new ideas, departing from the older conservative idea of society as a family rather than a group of individuals. They believed that the individual superseded the government. Today, nearly every aspect of liberalism has changed except for its progressive nature. The philosophy of modern American liberalism (known elsewhere as social liberalism) supports strong central government involvement and public spending on programs such as education and healthcare. Liberals today are also known as “left-leaning” or members of the Left. In general, they believe that there are numerous problems that individuals cannot possibly amend themselves, many of which are social (racial injustice, wealth inequality, homophobia, transphobia, etc). According to them, the most effective way to fix these issues and achieve social justice is through federal government legislation. An idea that is very prevalent in the world today is political correctness. To be politically correct, a person ideally does not express viewpoints which could be construed as offensive or discriminatory, a standard that some liberals would like to be enforced by law. Liberals believe that the flawed society in which we live can and should be improved, often through governmental action.

Like liberalism, conservative thought has changed over time, while certain core characteristics have remained the same. Conservatives are generally averse to rapid change and are supporters of the social norms of a time period. They are known as “right-leaning,” or members of the Right, and they believe that in significant ways, society was better in the past. Today, many of the values of conservatism are similar to those of classical liberalism. Conservatives are often opposed to federal government intervention on given policy issues. They believe that topics such as education and medical care should be handled at the state level rather than at the federal level. Regarding social issues, conservatives are often opposed to movements that challenge their traditional or religious mindsets (for example, the campaign for LGBTQ+ rights). While liberals often push for the adoption of new legislation and standards, conservatives prefer to maintain the traditions of past generations.

The Importance of Understanding

The current world is perhaps as politically polarized as it has ever been before. We believe that this is largely due to the fact that members of different groups do not understand where the other side is coming from, often because they have never been compelled to try. Instead, members of opposing parties automatically assume the worst of each other, drifting away from progress rather than toward. The vast majority of people all along the political spectrum share the same goal: to achieve the best possible outcome for the greatest number of people. They simply differ in their beliefs about how this might be accomplished. With Carpe Notio, we hope to inspire people to understand why others might think differently than them, such that they no longer respond to political differences with hostility. We are working toward a world in which people of diverse views have civil discussions in order to learn about each other. If we continue demonizing each other and adamantly refusing to work together, progress will be and will remain unattainable.