What is Conservatism?

[TheReal_ND]

When I think of the word "conservative" I think of the cowboy wearing hat dousche that invaded two countries in full out war to do..... what?

If you look up the word conservative on http://bing.com you will find the following definition

holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation, typically in relation to politics or religion.

Now that sounds good as an adjective but what do you get everytime a conservative is called a racist? Well he has no problems with gays. Who actually does have a problem with gays? Anyone? That's not a very "conservative" position to take is it then? If everytime you try to speak out about change and innovation, you get called a racist and declare that YOU ARE ONBOARD WITH 100/ of the.... culture of fags being permissible? You laugh but fags are literally writing news about how much he hates X and therefore Y.

The second part of the definition is in the noun sense

a person who is averse to change and holds to traditional values and attitudes, typically in relation to politics.

I only bring this up because to be conservative means absolutely nothing. They haven't "conserved" a fucking thing in our lives. Have they conserved my soil and my sweat?

[Smitty-48]

It's all relative, where I come, the adjective is more accurately; cautiously moderate, avoiding of novelty and/or showines, power and/or tendency to conserve and preserve.

[SuburbanFarmer]

I've always taken the political definition as "conservative in the application of laws". Ideally, someone who supports personal freedom.

Somehow, that's been shoved off onto Libertarians, and the term "Conservative" is now more useful as a synonym to Luddite. Which is fitting to the definition that you cited.

[C-Mag]

Many consider me a Conservative...... I don't.
I define Conservatism as, maintaining the Status Quo.

There's a lot of big government, central planning creep against our Freedoms I don't want to maintain. That's why I like Classic Liberal better.

Conservatism, to many may mean maintaining the current laws. But what happens when you go through a period where Freedoms are eroded legally, ie. The 4th Amendment is dead............................ why would I ever want to maintain that as the status quo.

[clubgop]

The dictionary definitions are unhelpful. What is "liberal" about anything in regards to free speech on a college campus? I think William Buckley's mission when he started National Review stated things nicely.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/2 ... buckley-jr

It stands athwart history, yelling Stop, at a time when no one is inclined to do so, or to have much patience with those who so urge it....
It is out of place because, in its maturity, literate America rejected conservatism in favor of radical social experimentation. Instead of covetously consolidating its premises, the United States seems tormented by its tradition of fixed postulates having to do with the meaning of existence, with the relationship of the state to the individual, of the individual to his neighbor, so clearly enunciated in the enabling documents of our Republic

Read the whole thing, written in 1955 it eerily and sadly still holds up today.

[Smitty-48]

The paradigm in America is not liberal vs conservative at this point in any case, it's liberal vs. illiberal.

The liberals long ago defeated the conservatives, the liberals defeated the socialists as well, but from the ashes, rose the illiberals you see now, on both the Right and the Left.

[Ex-California]

Its also a spectrum. A real Liberal is viewed as hard right in a place like Sweden

[TheReal_ND]

The dictionary definitions are unhelpful. What is "liberal" about anything in regards to free speech on a college campus? I think William Buckley's mission when he started National Review stated things nicely.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/2 ... buckley-jr

It stands athwart history, yelling Stop, at a time when no one is inclined to do so, or to have much patience with those who so urge it....
It is out of place because, in its maturity, literate America rejected conservatism in favor of radical social experimentation. Instead of covetously consolidating its premises, the United States seems tormented by its tradition of fixed postulates having to do with the meaning of existence, with the relationship of the state to the individual, of the individual to his neighbor, so clearly enunciated in the enabling documents of our Republic

Read the whole thing, written in 1955 it eerily and sadly still holds up today.

Only recently been turned on to NRO and only to taunt it. They run off Jews for being anti-semetic, like Murray Rothbard. They clean house every so often and get rid of anyone that has any balls. Buckley, from what I understand was a good dude for the most part but his Yankee brand of conservatism is dead and NRO is a joke.

[DBTrek]

The Ten Cannots by Rev. William J. H. Boetcker is a good place to start. They've been used so often, and referenced so widely by conservatives that they're usually misattributed to Lincoln:

• 1) You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
  2) You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
  3) You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.
  4) You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
  5) You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
  6) You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
  7) You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
  8) You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
  9) You cannot build character and courage by destroying men's initiative and independence.
  10) And you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.

[TheReal_ND]

Again, what has "conservatism" ever conserved? Name one thing please.