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Rescuing Conservatism
I
have been very critical of conservatism lately. Having heard Glenn
Beck on the radio has that effect on me. After a while, it all sounds
so maliciously insane that the instinctive response is just to castigate
it until it goes away. Unfortunately, it does not go away. Fighting back
only feeds conservative hysteria and makes things worse.
So, let's be serious.
I actually have great respect for much of conservatism's
original principles. People like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity,
in their media induced megalomania, have detracted from its central meaning,
turning into what it is today-anti-environment, anti-intellectual, anti-equal
rights, anti-poor, anti-science, nationalistic instead of idealistic,
catering to local biases and given to media rabble-rousers.
Edmund
Burke, the 18th century father of modern conservatism saw it very
differently.
Seeing
the destructive fanaticism caused by the French Revolution, Burke held
that it was important to preserve tradition and the accumulated wisdom
from the past, both of which offered solutions to problems that were tried
and true, forged in the fire of history.
He
acknowledged the necessity for change, but admonished the change should
not be forced, or sudden or radical, or much that is good would be lost.
The upheaval of the French Revolution, followed by Napoleon's militarism,
proved him right.
It
was not that he thought that things were perfect as they were, but that
the stability they enforced was better than the alternative, and could
be improved upon-slowly, cautiously, so to avoid mistakes and social trauma.
Change should come organically, coming from within. It should not be feared,
but embraced as a form of maturation.
Today's
conservatives have lost touch with this. They have drawn ideological battle
lines, some of them nonsensical, and declared anyone contrary to their
opinion to be the enemy. They have become a club where, instead of handshakes
and symbols, they use clichés, beyond which thinking stops.
After
the last two national elections, Republicans are looking for ways to garner
votes. I suggest that this is a wrong, short-sighted approach. They should
instead, be looking to redeem themselves by getting their philosophy back
on track.
Now
is not to resist change all cost to protect wisdom and traditions from
the past. I'm sure Edmund Burke, if were here today, would agree that
the world is changing too rapidly for that. Technology and globalization
have made slow maturation impossible. In order to keep pace, conservatives
have to take a proactive stance. Instead of resisting change in order
to preserve what is good, they should be shaping change to do the same
thing. Unfortunately, they have so mastered negativity, that positivity
seems beyond their capabilities. Ask them what they propose, and either
they fail to answer or say "cut taxes," even when that has nothing
to do with the problem. They complain, they subvert, they flounder, and
they want our votes.
Real
conservatives need to go back to find what intellectual conservatism really
is. They have lost their way through decades of political shenanigans.
Opening their angry fists, they find their hands empty.
This
is an invitation to real conservatives to examine their priorities with
intellectual honesty and return to a positive debate. Get rid of the old
cronies who have made their records on negativity, and bring new leaders
in. Forget those who say they love the constitution yet hate the government
it produces. Forget those so-called patriots who would deny some Americans
equal rights, as if that was the patriotic thing to do. Forget those politicians
who prefer engaging enemies in war rather than diplomacy. Well-meaning
conservatives deserve better than that. The United States needs better
as well. So does the world.
