My War against Conservatism

I consider myself a strict anti-partisan, neither liberal nor conservative. I would never limit myself to either ideology. If you are familiar with Seeds for Thought, no doubt you have noticed how this web site focuses its critique against conservatism alone. I wish to explain why.
    While some people find both political parties equally abhorrent, I find conservatism infinitely worse in comparison. It is not their resistance to change in a changing world that frightens me so much, or their love of tradition. These tendencies are very human and fine up to a point. In fact, I wish liberalism would do more in those regards.
    What bothers me most is the hypocrisy in saying that conservatism better represents true American ideals when they certainly do not.
    Wishing for peace and cooperation between the opposing parties, I began studying conservatism some years ago, hoping to build bridges between them. If both extremes were rooted in Americanism, as I originally supposed, surely we could find common ground for cooperation.
    So I thought.
    I read books written by respected conservatives, including Russell Kirk (eloquently written), Ayn Rand, William F. Buckley, Mickey Edwards (whom I greatly respect), Andrew J. Bacevich, Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam. I even went to far as to listen to a 36 lecture series by Professor Patrick N. Allitt called The Conservative Tradition. In this way I became familiar with their reasoning, what the were afraid of, and what they hoped to achieve.
    Without this familiarity, the poor liberal really has no idea what he or she is dealing with. They keep hoping that conservatism will fade away as the population becomes more educated and conservative ideas continue to lead to war, inequality and terrible economic recessions. In light of all these repeated failings, liberals are perplexed by the appeal of conservatism. Where does it come from? The power of clichés? Charismatic media propagandists? Regional biases? A dozen well supported think tanks that churn out effectively misleading strategies? One ridiculous false claim after another? Surely at some point the people would wake up and reject conservatism entirely. But its perennial momentum continues, waiting one or two more election cycles to resurrect even stronger and more off-center than before.
    It defies common sense. At least liberal common sense. Conservatism constantly re-invents its own rationality, and that appeal to the irrational, that twisting of logic, that denial of scientific knowledge itself, is what makes it so dangerous.
    After much research and politics watching, I came to the conclusion that conservatism is completely unrelated to the revolutionary spirit that the United States was built upon, despite claims to the contrary.
    Liberalism, based on Enlightenment ideals, freedom of religion, and the strong intellect of our founders, can trace its lineage from that original philosophy. Conservatism, on the other hand, finds its roots in the concerns of those who never really bought into that, people who were so comfortable with their prejudices that they distrusted even reasonable change. They would say and do anything to protect them, which would eventually lead to the Civil War.
    George Washington had to contend with this problem. In his farewell address to the military establishment, he said the following in no uncertain terms:

"We shall have our follies without doubt. Some one or more of them will always be afloat. But ours will be the follies of enthusiasm, not of bigotry. Bigotry is the disease of ignorance, of morbid minds; enthusiasm of the free and buoyant. Education and free discussion are the antidotes of both. We are destined to be a barrier against the returns of ignorance and barbarism. The preservation of the holy fire is confined to us by the world, and the sparks which will emanate from it will ever serve to rekindle it in other quarters of the globe."

In these words, Washington pointed out the distinction between liberalism and conservatism, and showed how one reflected the new American spirit that would excite others around the world, while the other did not. The "holy fire" he spoke of was not stagnation, or each man for himself, or glorifying wealth above simple humanity. It especially was not a distrust of reason. Education and free discussion are the antidotes of both, he said. Which ideology disdains higher education as elitism? Which purposely disrupts Town Hall meetings so that free discussion is curtailed by angry shouting?
    George Washington is known as the Father of our Country. What would he say about purposely dividing the nation for political ends, or the disruptive antics of so-called Tea Party politics?

"In order to effect this desirable purpose, and to remove the prejudices which may have taken possession of the minds of any of the good people of the States, it is earnestly recommended to all the troops that with strong attachment to the Union, they should carry with them in civil society the most conciliating disposition; and that they should prove themselves not less virtuous and useful as citizens, than they have been persevering and victorious as soldiers."

Americanism is based on the common humanity of all its citizens, not the greedy fanning of regional differences that manufactures ridiculous discontent. He saw what a difference that common humanity made upon his troops.

"Who that was not a witness could imagine, that the most violent local prejudices would cease so soon, and that men who came from the different parts of the continent, strongly disposed by the habits of education, to despise and quarrel with each other, would instantly become but one patriotic band of brothers?"

Washington was a visionary. His vision was not based on a dream, however. It was based on what he saw first hand as Commander-in-Chief. No doubt it would break his heart to see angry citizens purposely making reasonable discourse impossible, or representatives plotting falsehoods to steer opinions against the public interest, or leading the greatest military power in the world into unjust wars. These are not the elements of the liberal democracy that he envisioned. It is its most potent enemy.
    Tea Party fanatics are not demonstrating against a foreign power guilty of imposing tax burdens without representation. They are protesting the government of the people that our Constitution provided. They are protesting the United States of America and majority rule, and feel that they are "patriots" in doing so. If liberals had done the same during the abuses of the Bush administration (which they probably should have, considering its lies and offenses against the Constitution and the killing of thousands), conservatives would have labeled them traitors. Instead, President Obama lowers their taxes and is accused of raising them. He is likened to Hitler for respecting the government's balance of power and seeking bipartisanship. He carefully introduces healthcare reform that avoids single payer, and is accused of socialism. Does any of this make sense?
    The simple truth is plain: conservatism never bought into the American/ Enlightenment ideals of equality, democracy, civil rights for all, and the importance of reasonable discourse to the integrity of human nature which defines the American spirit. While they benefitted from the movement that arose all around them, they felt no ownership or personal investment. This allows them to say and do just about anything to subvert the system in the name of… what? Fear of change? Paranoia? Preserving a status quo in which the few benefit, while the rest are herded into mute compliance? Or is it lowering taxes to the point where the nation goes bankrupt?
    Make no mistake about it. When the ideal of equality threatened their dependency on slavery, they plunged this great nation into a Civil War with the same self-righteous gusto we hear on conservative talk radio today.
    Moderate conservatives who just want smaller government and lower taxes might balk at the charge that they subverting the system. Their tunnel vision disregards what their allies are supporting.
    What else can it be other than subversive when conservative political strategy so readily contradicts truth, without which democracy cannot survive? Or encourages the mob mentality that our founders abhorred? Or deceives the nation for the sake of special interests that itch for war? When the majority of people want healthcare reform, take note of how conservatives support a propaganda campaign based on outright lies, hoping to change people's hearts and minds, not by the use of reason, but by stirring irrational fears. This shows blatant disdain for our entire system.
    As we face the future horrors of global warming, terrorism, expanding population, porous borders, the mass exportation of American jobs overseas, and whatever else awaits us, the thought of conservatism hamstringing policies that might save us frightens me to death. They will go to any extreme to push their ideology, as the Civil War reminds us. We have to fight this the only way we can, by speaking out, by confronting lies with verifiable truth, by honoring American ideals in fact, and rejecting conservative fantasies for what they are—completely inappropriate and even dangerous for a modern society.
    Those of us who appreciate the true vision of our founders, and the Enlightenment thinkers before them, have to reacquaint ourselves with the importance of what we believe, and how all of western civilization crumbles without it. Inconvenient as it may be, we are the last defenders of equality, civil rights, democratic-republicanism, and the division between church and state that protects us from the oppressive theocracies of the Middle-East and pre-modern Europe. Conservatism has proved itself time and time again to be the enemy in this struggle. The only tools we have are education, living justly, speaking out for liberal democracy, resisting the encroachments of the religious right, insisting on truth in politics, and loudly boycotting any media outlets that cater to falsehoods and subversive propaganda.
    Do not be afraid to speak directly. When conservatives are subversive, point it out. Openly declare the ideals that America was built on. Never, ever, presume that conservatism represents anything patriotic just because they wave flags and think monolithically. We have seen fascists and communists do the same thing. America, in contrast, was built on freedom of thought and a progression of humanity into the public and private spheres.
    If we are to save our liberal democracy, we need your voice and unwavering resolve among millions more to face down the growing wave of irrational conservatism.

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