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| Home Front: Culture Wars |
| "Conservative" defined |
| 2008-01-21 |
| John Hood, National Review The conservative movement constitutes an alliance of those who accept unchangeable facts rather than trying to wish fantasy into reality, remake human nature, or avoid economic tradeoffs. Traditionalists embrace timeless morals, even when they deny one immediate gratification. Libertarians embrace the sovereignty of consumer demand and the sometimes-disorienting effects of technological change, even when the result isnÂ’t to oneÂ’s personal liking. And hawks embrace the reality that America lives in a dangerous neighborhood, one full of bullies, pirates, and fanatics who respond to gestures of good will with contempt, larceny, and brutality. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #2 Sad thing is there used to be a party where Conservatives were welcomed and listened to. I have not left the Repbulcian party, it has left me. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-01-21 19:32 |
| #1 A few other characteristics that might be relevant: Dismisses the notion that new ideas are always better than old ones. Believes in the concept of honor, moral absolutes and personal responsibility, and that they are not relative, situational or easily redeemed. Applies judgement constantly, and rejects the PC notion that all cultures, political systems, religions or belief systems can be equivocated. Believes that evil is real, and that it must be confronted, not accommodated. Believes that the framers of the Constitution were brilliant and gifted men, whose world view established a contract between man and state that acknowledged both rights of the individual and limits of governance as the key to a successful society. Understands that the guarantee of America is opportunity, not an income redistribution system. Many more things, but most tellingly, that if we fail to assert the superiority of our culture, our values and our people, accepting our heritage from all the sources that created it, but NOT "celebrating diversity" at the cost of abandonment of our unique character, we are doomed to fracture the last, best hope of humankind. Our people have become so slothful, so sated and uninformed, so poorly educated, that they cannot see the perils around them. My hope is that the returning veterans will reignite an awareness of how the rest of the world really is, and how much we have to protect and how much we have to lose. |
| Posted by: No More BS 2008-01-21 15:48 |