Posted by
Josh Todd on Friday, December 12, 2008 11:15:21 PM
I haven't written in quite some time, more or less out of a sense of political melancholy. Yes, this time, too, will pass, but that assurance in no way removes all gloom, for the future is uncertain. Of course, that the future has uncertainty is also a source of great hope and optimism.
Since the electoral debacles of 2006 and 2008 for the Republican Party (not necessarily conservatism), I've thought a lot about why the GOP lost, but the point here is not to diagnose (again) and try and convict the guilty parties. Instead, I aim to offer an understanding of conservatism and why it is the better way for the United States moving forward. Perhaps persuasion based on advantage as opposed to deconstructing the liberal's terrible ideas would do conservative Republicans some good on the campaign trail.
So, the operative question, henceforth, is: Why does conservatism make for a better country than liberalism?
I pondered many logical starting points and have realized that such a task is daunting, for wherever I begin the web ultimately spins too quickly to make for detailed but concise explanation. Thus, I will begin with the roots of my understanding.
First and foremost--and this shall be the lone subject here--conservatism offers the individual a greater sense of accomplishment, and, thus, freedom.
Take, for example, the young man who, as a teen, was gifted a car. Sure, the car was great because it offered some limited freedom, yet there was still Mom and Dad, curfews, and other limits. Likewise was the absence of any sense of accomplishment. The car was a gift--the young man did nothing to earn the car. Over time, the car ages and wears, and when it is damaged by the cart in the grocery parking lot, that stinks, he says, but, "Oh well. I didn't pay for the car."
Several years later, after college, the young man applies for a loan to buy a new car. This time, it's different. A tiny scratch created by a dumb college kid's book bag as he walked by the new car in the university parking lot is now a bigger deal. "I paid for this car," proclaims the young man. After a few years, he owns the car outright, and all is more personal. He waxes the car and drives it, glimmering in the summer sun, with pride. This is freedom for he has done it: he owns something.
So it goes with government. When "they" (government) provide us with certain services we can otherwise do for ourselves, we may feel relieved to have such a service, but we did nothing to earn it. On the other hand, when we work hard for what we have and for the freedoms we enjoy, there is great pride, a sense of accomplishment, and a certain resilience of character.
The liberal way--that is, government passing out the goodies--robs a person of self worth. Ownership, not just of material goods but also of accomplishments, is freedom. With it there is also wisdom, for now, "I know how to do it," whatever "it" may be. This, it seems to me, is better than saying, "I have because department X gave."
Ultimately, this means that conservatism builds character and talent, which make for a more complete individual, capable of self-sufficiency and advancement that make democratic societies work.