A true conservative conserves natural resources for future generations.
A true conservative conserves violence, preferring affordable win-win solutions to conflict over costly devastation, loss of human life, and destruction of natural resources.
A true conservative balances budgets — cutting spending when necessary, yes, but also taxing as much as necessary to make budgetary ends meet and to leave no debt for future generations.
A true conservative conserves religion by practicing rather than preaching, respecting freedom rather than violating the values and equality of other people.
A true conservative conserves freedom and democracy by protecting individual rights and opposing control of communication, information, and the electoral process by big money.
A true conservative conserves material truth by repudiating superstition, presumption, half-truth, deception, and blind faith.
A true conservative conserves values by not pre-emptively attacking and mischaracterizing the values of others.
A true conservative conserves the rights of all — not just the rights of a majority or of a privileged group.
A true conservative conserves prosperity for the future, not immediate selfish indulgence.
A true conservative conserves.
Problem is, this type of “conservatism” has been absorbed into centrist liberal parties, thus depriving the tradition of its roots. Therefore, all they have left is social conservativism which panders to fear and anxiety; in a post 9/11, recession type environment, these sorts of policies have plenty of leeway. The frightened and ambivalent youth of today do not offer much hope in this regard either, they are a pretty uptight non-risk taking generation (helicopter parents partly to blame for that too). Be prepared for the dawning of a conservative century, or at least the first 50 years (much like the 17th and 19th centuries, patterns ebb and flow). Good news is, the flow of time in terms of ideology never flows in just one direction.
Except for Roosevelt, I think the 20th century was, for the most part, about as conservative as you can get. God forbid we have another 100 years of that.
I don’t think so Gary. There were a lot of changes between 1900 and 2000 that were all of a liberal kind.
I refuse to label present-day so-called conservatives as “conservatives.” I’m thinking that “controlatives” is a much more accurate label, as in Christian Controlatives, or Social Controlatives.
Okay, so I made up a word, but somebody has to do it.