Redefining Conservatism?

Dave Macy  


A quick check of the definition of conservatism yields the following: conservatism - a political or theological orientation advocating the preservation of the best in society and opposing radical changes.

Let’s break that down a bit and see if the definition is in need of modification. Preservation of the best in society!  First we have to objectively agree on what is the ‘best’ in society. Since our society has morphed into a mess of monolithic cultural classes, we have to decide which of these divisions is truly worth preserving.

One problem we face is deciding who determines what is best. For that we should only have to look at history. Those who advocate socialism, anarchy, communism, Marxism, and any of the ‘Occupy’ ilks only have to be scrutinized with history as its judge to determine that none of those systems work. No need to experiment with failed ideologies if history shows us how horribly unworkable and enslaving these systems have been. But the allure of “spreading around the wealth” from people who have worked hard for it to those who would rather sit on their collective hineys and do nothing is so strong, that almost half of America is addicted to some form of entitlement. It’s killing us. It doesn’t work. And it’s definitely something not to be preserved.

On the other hand, capitalism, with all its problems, still exists in a form that allows anyone willing to work to rise above poverty and ignorance and reach new heights. 

History also tells us that a country with a weakened military will not prevail against stronger foes, especially if that military is morally impoverished and culturally degraded.  We celebrate a military that hails the first Navy lesbian kiss, allows homosexuals to openly serve, and goes out of its way to accommodate Muslim religious traditions while not allowing Chaplains to pray in the name of Jesus. By not preserving a military with guts, guns, and glory, we have instead championed a new look defense system heralding political correctness, gays, and amorality.  It will fail if the trend continues.
We have a public education system that has indoctrinated two generations of students into questioning the greatness of America. Heck, we have a president who also doesn’t agree with American Exceptionalism. Too many educational leaders from pre-school to grad school are anti-capitalist, socialist, commie loving Marxists at heart. Should we preserve a system that is destroying America by replacing time honored traditions with godless ideologies?

The real problem with Conservatism today is that those things we have valued so much and have been the backbone of America, have been steadily replaced by radical changes that offer no hope to the future of this great nation.

Some say it’s too late to turn back to that which made this country great. We’ve gone over the cliff already. But even if we are grasping at a solitary branch growing off the bedrock on the side of that cliff, there is still hope.

It starts with refuting the ideological changes that have become entrenched in society. It begins with freedom loving and God fearing Americans opening their mouths to speak against the failed course of history upon which this nation is embarked. It takes all of us who see the shredding of our constitution, who recognize (CINOs) conservatives in name only and refuse to support them. It will take a revolution not unlike the one which established the United States. It will be a long, hard, often grueling battle to return to the America we’ve let slip away. And it starts with all who love conserving those principles and freedoms that launched the greatest experiment the world ever witnessed.

We need not redefine conservatism. We need to defend it!