Breaking down the barriers between everything.
Noel Wilson, a writer for the Cass County Conservative, defines what a conservative is in the Nov/Dec 2006 article 'What is a Conservative?' I'll go through his article point by point.
1. A conservative believes in less government, not more.
There is truth to this statement: a true conservative does believe in a small government. Unfortunately, this batch of conservatives has allowed the government's powers to grow exponentially in size, with the creation of Homeland Security and the Patriot Act. They have also increased our spending beyond any government before.
2. Conservatives believe that America's strength comes not from our government, but from the guarantee of individual rights.
This statement covers both parties really. The rights written in the Bill of Rights are upheld by both parties. However in recent years, there has been an erosion to our rights in the name of safety. This can be seen on many fronts: from the Patriot Act, the spying on American citizens by the NSA, and by the Worldwide Press Freedom Index which has begun to lower our rankings for freedom in the press.
3. Conservatives believe that, in principle, big government is bad government.
This is a reiteration of point number one. So, see point one.
4. Conservatives believe in less taxation, not more.
Truth. Alas, they believe in lowering the income tax, estate tax, and business taxes. Overall, this has no effect on the poor population who usually don't pay any of the aforementioned taxes.
5. Conservatives believe strongly in the free-enterprise system.
Once again, this actually applies wholesale to both parties. America is founded on the principle of free-enterprise. Real world application of the free-enterprise system is sparse, however. For example, the US still places tariffs on sugar cane from Brazil (to give local ethanol makers a chance in the market), or allow a US citizen to trade with Cuba for political reasons. The US steel industry was wholly supported by subsidies. I'm sure you can find more examples of these types of practices through Google.
6. Conservatives believe in a strong national defense.
Again, this particular bullet applies to both Conservatives and Liberals. The argument between the two groups is what defines a strong defense and how the defense is applied.
7. Conservatives are proud to be Americans and are proud to show our patriotism.
Conservatives and liberals have a different definition of patriotism. Liberals define patriotism by pointing out our governments faults whereas conservatives tend to blindly support whatever the administration thinks is best.
8. A conservative believes in the fair and just treatment of all peoples, guided by a set of morals governing our treatment of our fellow man.
This is probably the most laughable of Noel's points. First, one only has to point to the conservative stance its alright to torture prisoners, imprisonment without representation, and denying human rights groups from entering or even knowing about the prisons. There are many cases where the US has wrongly picked up a Muslim, sent him of to be tortured, determined he wasn't a terrorist, and dumped him back in his country with no apology or compensation for his trials. Conservatives then defend this action by saying they'd willingly do it again. Laughable.
9. Conservatives believe that marriage is between a man and woman and has been from the beginning of time.
Which seems hypocritical to his small government idea, because the only way to enforce such a belief is through laws. Liberals tend to believe in the choice to live your personal life as you see fit.
10. We believe in a power higher than ourselves... in a Divine Source... that all freedom ultimately comes from our Creator...
Noel is back peddling from one of his first sentence, which claims a conservative can be of any religious practice or non-practice. I think point ten is the correct one: it is stereotypical of conservatives to be religious and believe in a higher power. It is rare for non-believers to also be conservative.
And thats the end of his article.
Don't die.
1. A conservative believes in less government, not more.
There is truth to this statement: a true conservative does believe in a small government. Unfortunately, this batch of conservatives has allowed the government's powers to grow exponentially in size, with the creation of Homeland Security and the Patriot Act. They have also increased our spending beyond any government before.
2. Conservatives believe that America's strength comes not from our government, but from the guarantee of individual rights.
This statement covers both parties really. The rights written in the Bill of Rights are upheld by both parties. However in recent years, there has been an erosion to our rights in the name of safety. This can be seen on many fronts: from the Patriot Act, the spying on American citizens by the NSA, and by the Worldwide Press Freedom Index which has begun to lower our rankings for freedom in the press.
3. Conservatives believe that, in principle, big government is bad government.
This is a reiteration of point number one. So, see point one.
4. Conservatives believe in less taxation, not more.
Truth. Alas, they believe in lowering the income tax, estate tax, and business taxes. Overall, this has no effect on the poor population who usually don't pay any of the aforementioned taxes.
5. Conservatives believe strongly in the free-enterprise system.
Once again, this actually applies wholesale to both parties. America is founded on the principle of free-enterprise. Real world application of the free-enterprise system is sparse, however. For example, the US still places tariffs on sugar cane from Brazil (to give local ethanol makers a chance in the market), or allow a US citizen to trade with Cuba for political reasons. The US steel industry was wholly supported by subsidies. I'm sure you can find more examples of these types of practices through Google.
6. Conservatives believe in a strong national defense.
Again, this particular bullet applies to both Conservatives and Liberals. The argument between the two groups is what defines a strong defense and how the defense is applied.
7. Conservatives are proud to be Americans and are proud to show our patriotism.
Conservatives and liberals have a different definition of patriotism. Liberals define patriotism by pointing out our governments faults whereas conservatives tend to blindly support whatever the administration thinks is best.
8. A conservative believes in the fair and just treatment of all peoples, guided by a set of morals governing our treatment of our fellow man.
This is probably the most laughable of Noel's points. First, one only has to point to the conservative stance its alright to torture prisoners, imprisonment without representation, and denying human rights groups from entering or even knowing about the prisons. There are many cases where the US has wrongly picked up a Muslim, sent him of to be tortured, determined he wasn't a terrorist, and dumped him back in his country with no apology or compensation for his trials. Conservatives then defend this action by saying they'd willingly do it again. Laughable.
9. Conservatives believe that marriage is between a man and woman and has been from the beginning of time.
Which seems hypocritical to his small government idea, because the only way to enforce such a belief is through laws. Liberals tend to believe in the choice to live your personal life as you see fit.
10. We believe in a power higher than ourselves... in a Divine Source... that all freedom ultimately comes from our Creator...
Noel is back peddling from one of his first sentence, which claims a conservative can be of any religious practice or non-practice. I think point ten is the correct one: it is stereotypical of conservatives to be religious and believe in a higher power. It is rare for non-believers to also be conservative.
And thats the end of his article.
Don't die.
Labels: Politics
posted by illmunkeys at 9:10 PM
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