Anatomy of a conservative

Anatomy of a conservative

EDITOR:

The elections, the airwaves and the Republicans have been struggling with a fundamental question: What does it mean to be a conservative? The answer is really quite simple. A conservative is someone who thinks and then acts according to those thoughts, even if their thoughtful conclusions are contrary to their immediate self-interest.

The reason most pundits can’t grasp that fundamental definition is because they define conservatism by its results rather than its genesis. They are like doctors who define a disease in terms of its symptoms. The symptoms of conservatism are limited government, individual responsibility, lower taxes, increased prosperity, freedom and consistency. But these results (or symptoms) are not the “why” of conservatism. The why is in the definition above: thoughtfulness, reasoned actions and unselfishness.

Liberalism and conservatism exist on opposite ends of the human spectrum. This is because they are driven by two separate human traits: emotion and intellect. As long as there are humans, there will be liberals and conservatives, because we contain both emotional and thinking traits. Yet, there is no denying that it is our emotions rather than our logic that tend to get us into trouble. This is not to say that liberalism is bad and conservatism is good. Emotions can be a positive force in the world, but you can’t let them run rampant. Even the good ones like love, generosity and loyalty need boundaries. Emotions, unbounded by intellect, lead to self-destruction, tyranny, mob rule, decadence, intolerance, holocausts and myriad of other human ills. Conservatism, unchecked by emotion, leads to the Scrooge effect. Scrooge was a man of means who relied on government to care for the less fortunate. He paid his taxes, and to him, that was his only obligation to society.

Therein lies an irony. Today, many liberals have adopted the worst of both worlds. They have succumbed to the Scrooge effect. They act like unchecked conservatives. They pay their taxes and expect government to solve society’s problems. Beyond that they have no responsibilities. Thus, you have liberals like John Kerry and Ted Kennedy and John Edwards who live in luxury while claiming to be champions of the poor. They see no disconnect. To spot that irony would require an intelligent assessment and a horizon beyond themselves. But, by definition, those are in short supply among liberals.

The war between conservatives and liberals is waged on many fronts. Consider the U.S. Constitution. It is a conservative document. What makes it conservative? It was constructed by a group of intellectuals, who, at great personal sacrifice, acted in the interests of a nascent nation. It was not written to keep them in power. Instead, it devolved power to the people through the Bill of Rights and the amendment process. It’s the amendment process that makes the Constitution a living document. Through the amendments, it can be modernized via reasoned discourse involving all the people. Conservatism honors that discourse, but liberalism does not. Liberalism seeks to have the U. S. Constitution interpreted by a few judges rather than amended by the people. But a nation ruled by the few is tyranny, one of the legacies of liberalism.

So who are the real conservatives? You will find them in both political parties, but you’ll have to look. Look for the candidate who makes sense rather than noise. Look for the candidate who spouts knowledge rather than slogans. Look for the candidate who educates rather than incites. Look for the candidate who promotes reason rather than rhymes. And finally, look for the candidate who doesn’t claim to speak for the American people, but rather speaks for himself with reasoned discourse.

THOMAS MASKELL

Poland