6 Conservative priciples.....

[poltr1]

I recently moved cubicles at work, so that my teammates would be more close together. In my new cubicle was a magnet from the conservative think-tank The Heritage Foundation, on which were printed these six conservative principles. Presumably this was left behind by the previous tenant.

• Less government. Reduce government regulations or the size of government, eliminate entitlements, or cut out necessary programs.


• Lower taxes. Promote individual responsibility in spending, or reduce taxes or fees.


• Personal responsibility. Encorage responsible behavior by individuals and families, and encourage them to provide for their own health, safety, education, moral fortitude, and general welfare.


• Individual freedom. Increase opportunities for individuals or families to decide, without hindrance or coercion from government, how to conduct their lives and make personal choices.


• Stronger families. Enhance the traditional American family and its power to rear children without excessive interference from the government.


• Domestic tranquility and national defense. Enhance American security without unduly burdening civil liberty.

I don't have a problem with these per se. If this is what it means to be a conservative, I'd be one. But somewhere along the line, I think these ideals were hijacked by well-meaning but self-serving and misguided individuals and parties. People who valued conformity over diversity. People who valued their religion as more valid than others. And people who used classism to isolate themselves from others.

There are those who still believe these principles, but reject the claptrap of the Religious Reich. I think they call themselves Libertarians. :-)

I believe Ambrose Bierce said it best: "A conservative is one who is enamored with existing evils, as opposed to the liberal, who wants to replace them with others."

Comments

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

I could write a long and grumpy comment agreeing with you, or I could just say I agree with you. :)

Also, I like the Ambrose Bierce quotation. He was such a lovely snarker.

[poltr1]

I'll take the long and grumpy comment. Maybe tomorrow.

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

Here, let me get you started:

Individual freedom. Increase opportunities for individuals or families to decide, without hindrance or coercion from government, how to conduct their lives and make personal choices.

Except, of course, where it concerns reproductive freedom, whom to marry, or what substances to put into your own body.

"Republicans want to regulate sex and drugs; Democrats want to leave those alone and regulate everything else."

[tigertoy.livejournal.com]

Those sound like nice principles, but I'll just quickly run through them and comment on how I see conservative noisemakers like the Heritage Foundation actually acting on them (based on the reports I hear in the media):

Less government This means two things: less regulation on corporations, and not making (or honoring) commitments to spend money to help people.

Lower taxes This is 90% of their agenda, really. And by "lower taxes", they mean on corporations and rich people; they don't complain nearly as much about the social security tax rate as they do about the capital gains rate.

Personal responsibility This means that rich people shouldn't have to pay taxes to support people who are less fortunate. It never seems to mean that rich people who screw up other people's lives should actually be held personally responsible.

Individual freedom This means the freedom to make a buck in any way you can come up with, but not the freedom for me to ignore your religion's rules.

Stronger familes I can't think of any way conservatives actually support this. They oppose family planning, preferring people to be stuck with kids they didn't want and can't support. They oppose anything that helps people at the bottom of the heap earn enough money to actually support a family (higher minimum wage, unions, good public education, affordable higher education), and they also oppose any social spending to make up for what they can't earn.

Domestic tranquility I think that means they don't like it when poor people protest, or have the temerity to actually try to vote.

National defense This means having enough military power that they don't have to care what anyone else in the world thinks about the behavior of our corporations.