What It Means To Be A Conservative

I am sitting at my desk on Friday thinking about being a Conservative.  Here are some of my thoughts on why someone would be a Conservative.

First, what does it mean to be a Conservative? 

Listening to the press, it is hard to recognize myself in their descriptions.  First thing, I believe the Founding Fathers were truly guided by divine inspiration.  It is hard to believe people were any different in the 1700’s than they are today.   There must have been a number of points of view.  There were a large number of people who did not want to break with England and who would remain loyal to the crown no matter the arguments for freedom.  From that chaos they crafted a document which has served to create a country where people break the law to get in, not risk their lives to get out. 

As I look at history, it is amazing how this happened.  All along there were those who wanted to be like Europe.  The Wilson Presidency at the start of the 20th century created the Federal Reserve and pushed for government as the answer to a greater America.  Regardless of this, Americans continued to fight for freedom in the world while maintaining the basic rights guaranteed by the Constitution.  America became a beacon of light showing the way to freedom for the world.

Being a Conservative means we teach people to fish, not give them handouts.  The reason people risk their lives to get here is they know their individual efforts will guarantee their future.  Each wave of immigration brought us people willing to do the jobs nobody else wanted, for the promise of success.  The immigrants' hard work was reflected in their children who benefited by the sacrifices their parents made. 

Each wave of immigration made us stronger, more diverse and wiser.  This all worked to make us a part of something greater than any one individual.  People who took handouts were watched carefully.  Those who made it a habit to slack off and feed off the majority were known to the community.  We did not celebrate useless people.  Those who needed temporary help got a hand up, not a handout.  The people starting at the bottom became a part of our history in Horatio Alger Jr. novels.  Read his book Ragged Dick to understand the narrative during the Gilded Age of America.

A Conservative understands big government leads to fewer rights and privileges for individuals and more power to bureaucrats.  We Conservatives understand there is a place for government.  As Constitutionalists we believe in limited, but effective government.  We are for interstate roads, nationalized air traffic control, a well-armed military and protection of our borders.  We understand why a DMV may be necessary. 

But when we get away from the basics, we become fearful.  I could expand on this idea, but just look at what is happening today: the government took away an elementary school student's lunch because it did not meet government lunch requirements;  a government agent spotted renegade 12-year-olds operating a lemonade stand and shut them down because they did not have a business license.  

Our kids are not allowed to make dumb mistakes without it becoming a crime.  We have replaced common sense with laws.  Conservatives place our trust in God, Country and each other.  We don’t need a government telling us how to live our lives.  There are places where this happens and these countries allow immigration.  If you want the government running your life, try North Korea, Russia or China. These are great countries that relieve their citizens of the stress of making everyday decisions.  There are rules to cover every event.  In the U.S., you have a chance to fail.  In those countries you don't even get a chance to try.

Being a Conservative means you believe in low taxes.  With our National Debt now equal to our Gross National Product, it means trillions of dollars will go to serving a debt with dollars that could have been invested in money making enterprises.

Under our current tax system only certain people pay taxes.  Why do we place the burden on people by telling them we understand they cannot afford to take part in our society?  Wouldn’t it be fairer to have a flat tax where everybody paid something and everybody could have pride in helping the country prosper?   

Why did we get away from this idea of being self-sufficient, each person responsible for their own families?   We got away from it because we wanted to help people, we wanted to be part of the answer, we bought into the idea we could hire the government to do the down-in-the-dirt work of taking care of the less fortunate.  This way you didn't have to personally take responsibility, you had hired the government to do your dirty work.  The only problem is that government is designed to grow, to increase its power, to increase its customer base and to add employees to their agency.  What sounded good goes against the grain of logical thinking.   

When was the last time you heard of government shrinking?  When was the last time anyone asked you what you would be willing to pay for government? Big government should not take away our responsibility as a community to give a hand to those needing help and to avoid the people who refuse to work.  In our communities we can tell the difference, but a big government cannot tell the difference between those trying and those drifting.

So there you have it.  I believe Democrats want to save the world using someone else’s money because they really do care.  You should not attack the liberals just because their ideas are hurting the majority of the people. I believe you should understand they have excellent goals; they just lack belief in self-sufficiency.  Liberals want to be led.  

I believe Conservatives want to save the world by teaching the world to fish.  It is easy to attack Conservatives because they seem self-centered.   

I hate to use the words of tough love, but sometimes you have to say no, even when it hurts.  It is what happens in the long run that makes the most difference.  There are a lot of ways to make it more complicated, but I’m going with this.