Conservative intelect; what is your thought?

[Daniel Stafford]

In a work titled "Prejudice and Abstract Political Theory in Edmund Burke's Reflections on the French Revolution", Nick Russo observes:

'He explains that English philosophers, or, "men of speculation, instead of exploding general prejudices, employ their sagacity to discover the latent wisdom which prevails in them," essentially serving as a confirming and stabilizing force on political thought. This model for healthy political thought can be understood through an evolutionary scenario. Biological systems, such as ecosystems and individuals, remain the same, in a state of equilibrium, until something goes wrong, causing the system to evolve or adapt to ensure its survival. Similarly, Burke finds nothing wrong with the status quo political system if it is providing a better environment than its lack could provide.'

It seems that, for some reason, many people have a prejudicial idea on what conservative is. In our own "state of equilibrium," everything, as we see it, seems calm and unprovoked. Now that our "something [has] gone wrong," many are left learning to swim, in an infested pool, without ever having a true understanding, not only of where we have been, but where we are headed.

So, that brings us to know, as your own understanding, what is Conservative?

Cross posted at:
Conservative Badlands and The Stafford Voice

[Julie Oubre Fell]

I am glad that you and others are trying to define conservatism for those who are not familiar, however my point was that it doesnt have to sound so complex (especially for the people that are new).

Thanks!

Daniel Stafford said:

Julie Oubre Fell said:

I hate to say this and please dont take offense to what I am about to write.

I think that people are making all of this way too complicated. We are turning simple core beliefs and standards into instructions to assemble an electronic device.

How is it that when Reagan spoke of his conservative values/ beliefs, that it was crystal clear? Now it is so filled with unnecessary terms and ridiculously lengthy analysis that it would even give a lawyer a headache!

We are making something really complicated out of a simple set of instructions given to us by great conservatives in the past.

Everytime I go to a website that promotes conservatism, I feel like I am opening a huge box that has a small item in it and rest is that styrophone popcorn crap.

BRIAN! Wow! Thank you for your comments. Look at it...simple and he even numbered them!

I am not talking about dumbing it down for people. All I am saying is the less time we spend disecting ourselves to death, the more time we have to move forward. I just think that if we reinvent ourselves too much, we will lose the basics.

This is not a "re-invention" of "ourselves"; but it is an understanding of what "conservative" is, rather that is why it is being "disected", for those who don't understand.

[Priscilla]

Thanks Michael, I do try..I felt like that was what i wanted to say, and there it was already well put for me.

[J.W. Foxx]

A conservative generally is one who wishes to maintain the status quo. In a political sense, a conservative wishes to maintain the current political structure, current laws, and current relationship between the government and the people. In the US, a political conservative who is someone who declares the US Constitution as the status quo and that other political forces are deviating away from that document.

The US Constitution was one of balance between the three branches, a federalist system of shared powers between the national government and the state, enumerated civil rights, and a deliberate political process allowing for slow and steady changes to the system. Thomas Jefferson (the progeniteur of the Democratic Party) installed his ideals into the document allowing them to steadily grow and reach fruition with the Emancipation Proclamation, Civil Rights Act, and Women's Suffrage.

Alexander Hamilton (origin of the Republican Party) focused on a strong central government (in comparison to the Articles of Confederation), a free market economy, a standing army, national bank, etc., etc. These ideas would be cemented into our political system as well.

An American political conservative in the modern context I think preserves most of these ideals including: (1) balance in the power of the three federal branches, (2) federal system of sharing between national and state governments, (3) free market economic system, (4) a country built on essential civil rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights and subsequent Amendments, (5) the rule of law, and (6) the ability to change with the passage of time.

Contemporary issues seems to follow this. Conservatives tend to want balance but at times focus too much on the Executive, conservatives ought to push for state's rights and federalism, conservatives tend to be capitalists, conservatives protect existing civil rights, conservatives adhere to the rule of law, and conservatives believe there is a process by which one changes the US Constitution. It is not through activist judges or short-sighted legislation. It is through Constitutional Amendment. Social Conservatives endeavor to protect the Judeo-Christian foundation of this country, but that does at times come into conflict with the First Amendment.

Anyway that is my answer

[Christina Dillon]

I agree with JW Foxx. A conservative is a traditionalist who respects the customs, laws and beliefs of years gone by; we do not wish to destroy and start anew in government or society. One of the most important things about conversatives that makes us different from liberals is that we do not believe in the perfectablibliy of man through human institutions. We believe man is imperfect and must have God to make him behave (so to speak). Liberals believe that government should fix all things broken, conservatives know that isn't possible, only Gods Son can do that. Conservatives acknowlege the importance of religion and morals in governing society. Without moral guidance, no amount of laws will control the bad in society. I got this ideas from the book The Conservative Mind: Burke to Eliot, by Russell Kirk. He explains it way better than i ever could.

[Matt McIrvin]

Your post reminded me of something Russell Kirk wrote: Being neither a religion nor an ideology, the body of opinion termed conservatism possesses no Holy Writ and no Das Kapital to provide dogmata.
I had just posted "Ten Conservative Principles" on my website (goodsenseandsolidreasoning.com -shameless plug) I found the article on the site for the Russell Kirk Center (kirkcenter.org) He covers almost every principle talked about here. And articulates it much better that I am capable of doing.

[Artemio Temo Muniz]

I want to add another dimension to the conversation which so far has been very insightful. The word conservative in English has a negative sort of feeling about it due to the media's image construction of it. But in Spanish, "Conservador" is very positive, with a sense of protecting something special, like one's family. The word gives a sense of a father sacrificing himself for the better of loved ones. I am using this angle with some success in the hispanic community versus saying Republican.
In the end conservatism is protecting the framework that protects us.
Conservatism needs to leave the idea of protecting the status quo alone, and focus more on protecting our way of life. Somtimes this means calling out our own social institutions. Infrastructure rebuilding such as calling out televangelists for screwing people, churches who ony re-invest in properties versus actaully doing community work-- these are just some symbolic examples that will give the impression that we really want to protect our families versus protecting interests that to many seem out of date for today's rational world. We know that morals are needed to guide the new scientific world but it has been deconstructed through shame and bad leaders examlpes of our own/

[Christina Dillon]

i didn't chime in here to give an exactness of what Cconversative means :) I believe we all value beliefs, ideas and morals differently and that is the beauty of humanitiy - we are all different! That is what i am some times suspicious of dotrines and philosophies that will make "everyone" happy and equal; and also why majority rule occasionally rings alarm bells in the back of my mind. I believe Liberals try to take away our humanity and individuality and turn us into collectivist. I do no believe there is a platform for being Cconservative. So yes john, i would be your friend.

[Greg Knytych]

I feel that conservatism is a simple concept, limited government, individual rights and responsability, low taxes through low spending, free and open markets and strong moral values.
The problem as I see it is that Republican is closely tied to Conservative without looking at the moderate and liberal republicans. I do feel that conservative is the core of the party but when republicans have shown themselves to be either too liberal or ignoring the Republican Core Values and Principles without any clear rebuke from the party the media plays it up so the message is "this is the Republican Party at Work", thus giving all of us a black eye.
There are also too many people that confuse policy with principles, thus trying to create a definition for conservative that requires a doctorate to read. It is plain and simple, stick to the principles.
President Reagan was an orator that was able to make the conservative principles very concise and easy to understand. He was also very vocal when issues or actions violated those principles. Not everyone is a great orator but the responsability is on each of us to understand what the principles are and to relate them in stories using analagies of our own life experiences.
If you understand and believe in these principles you can speak from your heart. People will feel your emotion and listen to the words you are saying, instead of dismissing them. We don't need to make this complicated. That will only confuse you and the people you talk to. Short, clear, concise and to the point will get the message through.
We also need not be afraid to speak up when an individual's actions violate our principles, regardless who they are. We need to take the lead and let everyone know who we are and what we believe. The next step is to clearly define policies that will cure our nations ills and protect our beliefs.
As we follow this path there will be individuals coming out of the group that we can support as leaders who are willing to take this message to political office.
The perception of our party has hurt us and can not be cured overnight. We need to stick with this fight for the long haul if we hope to change the blue tide to red.

[William Bolton]

I got this email on a conservative yahoo newsgroup, it is attributed to Lyn Nofziger. I did not write it but it seemed to hit the nail on the head for me, simple and to the point:

MUTH'S TRUTHS
What Is a Conservative?
About four years ago, the late, great Reagan adviser Lyn Nofziger emailed me what he thought it meant to be a conservative. I lost it…and then Lyn passed away. Been looking for it ever since, but couldn’t find it until, by accident, I stumbled upon it in an old file this morning.
“Allowing for differences I would define a conservative, first as one who believes in the Constitution as it is written. That takes care of free speech, freedom of religion, the right to petition the government, the right to keep and bear arms and, in the words of William O. Douglas in one of his saner moments, ‘the right to be let alone.’
“Second, a conservative believes in small, limited government at every level. Along with thi s he believes strongly in individual responsibility. That is, a person or a family should take care of itself and turn for help to government only when all other means have been exhausted. It also means that society, before government, has a duty to take care of its own. Government should be a resource of last resort.
“Third, a conservative believes taxes should be levied for the purpose of financing the limited responsibilities of government such as providing for the common defense, catching and incarcerating criminals, minting money and filling potholes. Taxes should not be levied for the purpose of redistributing wealth.

“That’s about it.
“I know there are those who say a conservative should be pro-life, which I am, but I’m not sure a person has to be that to qualify as a conservative. Nor am I sure that a person must be opposed to pornography, which I am. In both cases there are questions of individual rights and responsibilities which are arguable.
“One other thing I think a conservative believes is that the parents, not government, are and should be responsible for the upbringing and behavior of their children.”
If you can find a better definition for what it means to be a “conservative,” I’d love to see it. Not a bad definition of a “libertarian,” either.

[Leslie Loftis]

Despite some comments below, reconnecting with our core ideas is very important at this juncture, not only to help us set goals, but also because so many conservatives, especially young ones, don't know. They weren't taught. Furthermore, not knowing our core ideas is one of the main reasons we are losing the young in elections. There is no principled opposition to conservatives-are-an-assortment-of-ogers in popular culture. Our difficulty in defining ourselves--and our culture’s capitalization of this fact--lies in us not knowing our intellectual history

I'm not alone is this thought. All over the web people are posting lists defining a true conservative. Some lists are more detailed; most I’ve seen are accurate. But these lists are basically tenants of modern, American conservatism. For this brief moment, we need more abstraction. We don't want to get bogged down in these abstractions (or metaphysiks, as Burke would say) and do so much navel gazing that we fail to do anything pratical, but a little navel gazing might help.

Conservatism is, and I am lifing right from Kirk, a set of beliefs we have about life, a prism through which we see everything. As a group conservatives tend to believe the following 6 things:
1. We believe in an overriding moral law, a Natural Law as it used to be called (though I don’t recommend reviving that specific term—too much historical baggage). We strive to bring society in line with this law. For many conservatives, that is God's law. (This is one of the main reasons that the religious tend to be conservative, and incidentally why talk of jettisoning the religious right is a false choice.) But you can get there without being religious. Plenty of non-religious people, including more than a few of the Founding Fathers, believe in a higher law and use plain reason to find the same principles. (Some of us really like that we can get their both ways, religion and reason.).
2. We usually “prefer the devil we know to the devil we don’t know” often, but not always, preferring order and stability to blind change.
3. We believe in precedent, in sticking with things that worked in the past. We value history and the opinions and trials of our ancestors and elders. This is similar to point two, but point 2 is more about sticking with what works right now. This point is more about the respect we hold for how our elders did things, learning from how they tried things. Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.
4. We worry about the Law of Unintended Consequences. Historically we often express concern for Prudence. Change should be well considered before moving. One never knows if you will create a worse problem than the one that needed fixing in the first place, say, for instance, with an $800 billion stimulus package.
5. We value equality in two places: on deathbeds and before the law. We recognize that there will be other inequalities in society—think Ben Franklin’s intellectual aristocracy--and to wish otherwise is naïve and foolish. A truly egalitarian society is unattainable (see 6, below) and anyway would be overrun with opportunists or die of boredom.
6. We believe that man is fallible. Therefore it is a struggle to balance all of the above but we must try, otherwise we descend into Lord of the Flies.

Now, as a whole, we also don't like to get bogged down in such abstractions, witness this thread. We quickly move to what these beliefs lead us to do. So.....

I must interrupt here to go outside in the snow because if I type one more line my children will revolt.

[D]

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