Are you a conservative?
If so, what do you mean by conservative? How do YOU define conservative?
One person told me that she must be a conservative because she was NOT a liberal! Everyone, every individual has their definition of what kind of political, social, cultural and moral person he or she is and how they define words which are almost undefinable like conservative and liberal.
There are many conservatives who disagree on specifics, ideas and concepts and of course moral and political values. And the same with liberals. Some quite liberal can be for abortion, but against partial birth abortion. Some conservatives can be against abortion but tolerate the brutal act in the case of rape, incest or the life of the mother. In so many cases, the definition of who you are and what you believe can only make sense when the individual deals with specific issues, understands them well and states a clear position and belief on the very issue.
There are, however, essential criteria, a common core in which the considerable majority of conservatives believe. I, as a conservative in virtually every aspect of life would propose the following criteria which in fact characterizes a conservative.
The first would be:
LIMITED GOVERNMENT
Governments federal, state and local should only be of the size, influence and control-power minimally necessary and no more. That would include the executive, legislative and judicial branches with agencies and administrators only as necessary, and again with limited powers and influence. Our federal government for example has become a monstrosity, with hundreds and hundreds of thousands of employees, and agencies, and committees, and special appointees, and with a payroll, control and influence far beyond the constitutional model and what our original founding fathers intended. The more government, the less freedom. We should not only follow the mantra of Ronald Reagan who so well said:
GET GOVERNMENT OFF PEOPLE’S BACKS
But we should limit that government, reduce its powers and numbers. When it comes to government, less is more says the conservative.
DEREGULATION. The conservative believes strongly in deregulation. There are tens of thousands regulations now in effect, controlling corporations and individuals, federal, state and local. They are wasteful, so many of them, time-consuming, controlling and horrendously expensive to implement. They should be eliminated wherever possible. Obama and company added hundreds and thousands of regulations to the federal government’s power and control. Trump has begun a cleansing, a removal process of so many regulations, many of which are useless and negative. Trump employs the conservative model for any legislation or regulations:
THE COST-BENEFIT
Determination as to value. If the cost significantly outlays the value, the regulation should be eliminated.
GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES AND BUREAUCRACIES. Again, for the conservative, LESS IS MORE. A socialistic approach to government would produce more agencies, more bureaucrats, more control and far less of the individual. The conservative strongly emphasizes the freedom of the individual with a willingness to put up with excess or opportunistic decision making. Better, says the conservative, to have the individual free, pursuing opportunity, growing the economy, changing all things no matter the mistakes made for they can always be corrected in the private economy or through judicial action. The less agencies and bureaucracies, the better.
RIGHTS AND DUTIES. Our Constitution and its Bill of Rights is the law of the land and the political bible of the conservative. Every possible right and freedom should be maximized, so says the Constitution and the conservative, while at the same time, corresponding duties are required so that the rights of others are protected. Nothing should prohibit any individual from pursuing the sacred rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, highly individual, highly Democratic, freedom at work in every way. Duties start where the rights of others begin.
THE CONSTITUTION AND THE BILL OF RIGHTS. What marvelous documents, fully expressing the best thinking of Democratic men and women, replete with rights and freedoms which the conservative demands, and protects and defends. That includes especially so the rights of the First Amendment including:
FREEDOM OF SPEECH (UNBRIDLED FREEDOM OF SPEECH)
FREEDOM OF PRESS (ALL PRINT AND INTERNET)
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
FREEDOM OF RELIGION
All of which can not be controlled or influenced by Congress or any other legislative body for they are UNABRIDGED, inalienable rights granted by THE CREATOR and can not be altered or amended by any man. They are today, however, and the socialists, the radical, the destroyer like George Soros would end the Democratic, freedom loving way of life of this country any way possible. The conservative protects and defends those rights in the Bill of Rights at all costs, living under the mantra of PATRICK HENRY who said:
GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH
THE RULE OF LAW. The law is the law, should not be broken and applies to all men and women equally, without preference or favoritism. Penalties apply to all, and to all fairly and equally if the law is broken for TO DO THE CRIME IS TO DO THE TIME. Laws today are broken with impunity and without fair and equal punishment or retribution. Many believe that there are different laws, especially one for the rich and powerful and yet another for the average and the poor. The powerful, the political, the rich and famous commit and get away with so much while an average citizen seldom does. Illegal immigrants break the law and enter our country. A powerful Hillary Clinton establishes a foundation and illegally raises money. There seems to be rampant disrespect for women in this new day and age of sexual harassment. So many men and here and there a few women get away with this harassment, at least until now, no matter the law. The law is the law and when broken, penalties should apply. If the law is wrong, change it, don’t break it!
CAPITALISM VERSUS SOCIALISM. The conservative believes in free enterprise, free and open markets, with no favoritism (tariffs) within our own country and globally as well. A robust economy is built by men and women with vision, risk-taking and competitive. Fair competition is the rule of thumb for conservatives. Men and women should be free to take risks and seek rewards. THE RISK-REWARD CONCEPT drives, motivates and inspires people to grow, change and improve the culture, lifestyle and lives of all men and women. The socialist believes otherwise. That all things economic should be controlled by government, government, its bureaucrats and bureaucracies should control monies, economic rewards, profits, even compensation, A LEVELING OFF process which stifles opportunity, innovation and motivation. The conservative resists, fights against this destructive socialistic approach to a free economy, to CAPITALISM and the pioneering, entrepreneurial spirit of mankind. Freedom of opportunity, freedom to profit, freedom to pursue a better life and to reap the rewards of an aggressive work ethic should be available to everyone, says the conservative. Socialism, or in its extreme form communism, are the enemy and should be put aside at every turn, so says the conservative.
JUDEO-CHRISTIAN VALUES. They are the bedrock, the common core of America 1776 and all years since. The commandments, ten of them and the fundamental, core Christian values which built the character of our country and in so many ways direct and indirect formed the thinking behind our Constitution and Bill of Rights is fundamental to the continuation of the United States, so says the God Creator who provided us with our inalienable rights and our unique way of life. Those values should not be removed from public life, the marketplace or in any way eliminated from the public square. In fact, they, says the conservative, should be more prominent and influential now more than ever.
TAXATION. There was no right in the Constitution for the government to tax income. In fact, any taxing powers were extremely limited by the Constitution itself, until the Constitution was amended to allow taxation. And, there has been nothing but trouble since. The tax laws are complicated, and even though now changed, still often inequitable, preferential providing considerable opportunities for the federal government (IRS) to turn taxation political and unfair.
The debt rises. The Congress taxes and spends virtually without limitation. The American economy grows more complex and abuses abound. There is virtually no limitation on the power of government’s federal, state and local to tax, and of course to spend. Our founding fathers and our original unamended Constitution never intended any such thing. We pay now for these excesses, but we will pay even more, much more in the future, our children and grandchildren will.
TRUST AND TRANSPARENCY. The conservative believes strongly in trust as an operating principle in all things government. Less than 10% of the American people trust the government and the politicians who run it. The conservative stands up against unethical conduct, failure to fulfill promises, miscarriage of justice and malfeasance in office. In a day often described as the era of post-truth, the conservative demands truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And fact. Clear facts uninterpreted without skin and trustworthy. The true conservative demands transparency, nothing hidden, no secret societies, no OBAMA DEEP STATES, an open society and an open government. The conservative stand for truth and fact is now more necessary than ever. The demand for integrity never greater.
These, in my view are the characteristics, the hallmarks, THE COMMON CORE of conservatives of all kinds. All such are how right-thinking men and women, essentially American traditionalists, believing full well that in fact America was, is and must be in the future EXCEPTIONAL and will stand to protect and defend these rights and this way of life. It is a proud thing, I do believe, to be a conservative. With all of those core principles and values at work, I am indeed proud to be a conservative.
I do hope and pray that if you are conservative, you believe in those values, those core characteristics and that you will do your civic duty and protect and defend them with all of your might.
May God bless you as you do so.