Why Conservatism Makes Sense

It’s only fair that I let you know where I’m coming from. I’m a right-wing whacko. I’m a Christian fundamentalist. I’m a Scriptural literalist, a Creationist, and an unabashed traditionalist. I think America is the greatest country in the world, Ronald Reagan was our greatest president, the founding fathers were divinely inspired, and the Supreme Court just made Roe v. Wade up out of thin air. I still think we were right to invade Iraq, I think man-made global warming is a farce, and I thank God daily that John Kerry isn’t the president.

In fact, I think conservatism is the best political philosophy. Not a perfect philosophy, mind you (any good conservative can tell you that no philosophy is perfect) but the best one. Traditional conservatism is a coherent, ordered view of the world that understands the flawed nature of mankind, looks grimly at the evil in the world, and still turns away with a hope that it doesn’t always have to be this way. Conservatism treasures the good in humanity because it doesn’t ignore our capacity for evil.

I am a conservative because I am a traditionalist at heart. I think there’s great wisdom to be found in history, and that it’s often neglected in this day of rapid shifting. There are immutable moral laws, principles that transcend the spirit of the age, and it is dangerous to neglect them at their first sign of wear. I believe in absolute truth, and that we can find some of it, at least, if we know where to look. As a conservative, I see in our culture an alarming propensity to pick and choose our truths, draw, discard, and draw again our ideals until the very concept of truth loses all meaning. Perhaps conservatives are fighting “the rearguard action” of history, as we have often been accused, and the tide has already turned, but I still think the wisdom of centuries of Western thought is worth the fighting for. Conservatism makes sense because it respects and values the traditions that led to this dream we call America, instead of seeking a new and more ‘enlightened” morality for each passing generation. Conservatism looks critically at change, not from fear or ignorance, but out of a deep respect for the wisdom of tradition.

I am a conservative because conservatism understands the proper relation of government to the individual. A conservative believes that government doesn’t exist to be a genie or a daddy, giving rights and privileges, granting wishes to the people. A conservative believes that government’s main function is to keep us safe and stay out of our way, so that we can make something good of our lives, not to involve itself in every decision, so that it can make something of our lives for us. Conservatism makes sense because it allows us to forge our own path in life. It recognizes that government can’t spend our money better than us, do our jobs for us, or love our children more than us. Conservatism sees government as a moral neutral, not a moral good.

I am a conservative because conservatism recognizes the inherent worth of every human life. Winston Churchill is famously thought to have said “To be a conservative at 20 is heartless and to be a liberal at 60 is plain idiocy.” This view, I think, sells both conservatism and liberalism short. There are reasonable arguments to be made for liberalism (whether they are persuasive is another matter) and conservatism’s reputation for heartlessness is not fully deserved. I would argue that conservatism is in fact the philosophy that does have the best interests of every citizen at heart. Yes, we’ve been awful at showing it, but there is a compassion inherent in conservatism, a compassion that stems from our belief in the essential worth of each human life. This belief prompts conservatives to give to the poor, not because government makes us, but because we want to help people realize their God-given potential. It prompts conservatives to marry and have children, and to value the lives of our neighbor’s children, and even our enemy’s children as highly as we do the lives of our own.

Finally, I am a conservative because I am an optimist. Despite all the evil in the world, all the pain and all the turmoil that is part of the human condition, I still am hopeful. As a conservative I believe that any obstacle can be overcome with faith, hope, and hard work. I believe that no situation is our master; no circumstance can hold us back. This is, after all, America, and I am a conservative because I still believe in America. What’s so wrong about that?