Friday, July 29, 2005
I Am A Conservative
Written in the December 2000
I am a conservative.
Much has been said about me (as a conservative) overthe past few years. I have read where I am a racist homophobic woman hating Neanderthal bigot marching in lockstep with the "leaders" of conservatismand the Republican party.
I want to poison the water, destroy the environment, favor the rich and disfavor the poor. I want to starve children, deprive the elderly and balance the budget on the backs of the disenfranchised in our country.
These things are not true.
One of the disadvantages of being conservativeis that you often need more room than can be found on a bumper sticker toexpress your arguments. Conservative arguments are often burdened with things such as truth, justice and empathy; where liberal positions often substitute the cheaper lighter weight imitations of populism, "fairness" and pity. Often the ability of liberal leaders to effectively practice rabble-rousing and divisiveness drowns out, for a time, the steady, balanced positions that are conservatism. Cries of "Keep Hope Alive" often mask the fact that the blood trail left by many liberal programs is steeped in hopelessness. Pleas to allow a woman to do as she pleases with her body ignore the fact that half of aborted babies would have grown up to be women if they had had the opportunity do what they wanted to do with their bodies-simply be born.
As a conservative, I believe in personal responsibility for actions. This is the underlying tenet of conservatism in my opinion. From this point hang many of conservatism's positions.
- Healthy able bodied individuals should work when able.
- With few exceptions, power is better denied to a centralized federalgovernment and left to the states. There are several reasons for this but the two most important are these:
1. The US Constitution says so
2. State and local officials are more directly responsible (and recallable) than are federal officials, and therefore more likely to do the will of thepeople.
- Ending a life is not a valid form of birth control, or lifestyle management.
- Ending a life is a valid form of punishment for crimes that strike at thevery fabric of society.
As a conservative, I believe some things are black and white. Not everything is a closet gray area crying out to be discovered by the next great liberal rationalist.
- There is such a thing as truth; and it will always be the truth whether you choose to believe it or not.
- There is such a thing as right and wrong and no amount of trial attorneys can change that.
- A person's inability to always live up to a standard is not an excuse to quit trying. It is better to fail at trying to do something right than to succeed at achieving a lower standard.
- Self esteem is a poor substitute for self respect. Self esteem, if not based on reality is nothing more than self-delusion.
- Everyone won't be good at everything. This is not a valid reason to believe that you are being unfairly singled out to fail at things your are not good at. It is also not a valid reason to believe the achievements of others must have come at the expense of someone else.
- The economy is not a zero sum game. If one person makes a dollar, it does not mean he took it from someone else. Money can be "made", otherwise we would still be trading the original amount of money our forefathers used when they started this economy.
- Even if the economy was a zero sum game, it is unlikely that people who wanted to get rich would do so by trying to take money from the poor. That's like looking for water in the desert.
- "Populism" and "Wisdom" rarely come near each other, and never stay together long.
Many will say that conservatives are heartless and mean spirited. This is not true. The underlying assumption of conservatism is that there is absolute good, and man will never be successful in achieving it. We understand that anyone who tries things will eventually fail at least once. We recognize that there must be a safety net to under gird people during these times. But we also understand that in practice, far too many people have confused a safety net with a hammock. The purpose of a safety net isto provide a safe landing, not a place to sleep. I realize my statements don't share the rhyme and alliteration of a Jesse Jackson sound byte. I understand that these positions will not likely bequoted by a high priced defense attorney on Court TV. I am aware that my assertions do not have the novelty of asking for a definition of "is". I recognize that I do believe in an ultimate controlling legal authority. I know I leave myself open to charges of hypocrisy because I cannot achieve that to which I aspire. But I take comfort in this; these positions are wise, these positions are just, these positions are true. I am a conservative, but not the one described on TV. ¶ 7:13 PM
Written in the December 2000
I am a conservative.
Much has been said about me (as a conservative) overthe past few years. I have read where I am a racist homophobic woman hating Neanderthal bigot marching in lockstep with the "leaders" of conservatismand the Republican party.
I want to poison the water, destroy the environment, favor the rich and disfavor the poor. I want to starve children, deprive the elderly and balance the budget on the backs of the disenfranchised in our country.
These things are not true.
One of the disadvantages of being conservativeis that you often need more room than can be found on a bumper sticker toexpress your arguments. Conservative arguments are often burdened with things such as truth, justice and empathy; where liberal positions often substitute the cheaper lighter weight imitations of populism, "fairness" and pity. Often the ability of liberal leaders to effectively practice rabble-rousing and divisiveness drowns out, for a time, the steady, balanced positions that are conservatism. Cries of "Keep Hope Alive" often mask the fact that the blood trail left by many liberal programs is steeped in hopelessness. Pleas to allow a woman to do as she pleases with her body ignore the fact that half of aborted babies would have grown up to be women if they had had the opportunity do what they wanted to do with their bodies-simply be born.
As a conservative, I believe in personal responsibility for actions. This is the underlying tenet of conservatism in my opinion. From this point hang many of conservatism's positions.
- Healthy able bodied individuals should work when able.
- With few exceptions, power is better denied to a centralized federalgovernment and left to the states. There are several reasons for this but the two most important are these:
1. The US Constitution says so
2. State and local officials are more directly responsible (and recallable) than are federal officials, and therefore more likely to do the will of thepeople.
- Ending a life is not a valid form of birth control, or lifestyle management.
- Ending a life is a valid form of punishment for crimes that strike at thevery fabric of society.
As a conservative, I believe some things are black and white. Not everything is a closet gray area crying out to be discovered by the next great liberal rationalist.
- There is such a thing as truth; and it will always be the truth whether you choose to believe it or not.
- There is such a thing as right and wrong and no amount of trial attorneys can change that.
- A person's inability to always live up to a standard is not an excuse to quit trying. It is better to fail at trying to do something right than to succeed at achieving a lower standard.
- Self esteem is a poor substitute for self respect. Self esteem, if not based on reality is nothing more than self-delusion.
- Everyone won't be good at everything. This is not a valid reason to believe that you are being unfairly singled out to fail at things your are not good at. It is also not a valid reason to believe the achievements of others must have come at the expense of someone else.
- The economy is not a zero sum game. If one person makes a dollar, it does not mean he took it from someone else. Money can be "made", otherwise we would still be trading the original amount of money our forefathers used when they started this economy.
- Even if the economy was a zero sum game, it is unlikely that people who wanted to get rich would do so by trying to take money from the poor. That's like looking for water in the desert.
- "Populism" and "Wisdom" rarely come near each other, and never stay together long.
Many will say that conservatives are heartless and mean spirited. This is not true. The underlying assumption of conservatism is that there is absolute good, and man will never be successful in achieving it. We understand that anyone who tries things will eventually fail at least once. We recognize that there must be a safety net to under gird people during these times. But we also understand that in practice, far too many people have confused a safety net with a hammock. The purpose of a safety net isto provide a safe landing, not a place to sleep. I realize my statements don't share the rhyme and alliteration of a Jesse Jackson sound byte. I understand that these positions will not likely bequoted by a high priced defense attorney on Court TV. I am aware that my assertions do not have the novelty of asking for a definition of "is". I recognize that I do believe in an ultimate controlling legal authority. I know I leave myself open to charges of hypocrisy because I cannot achieve that to which I aspire. But I take comfort in this; these positions are wise, these positions are just, these positions are true. I am a conservative, but not the one described on TV. ¶ 7:13 PM
