NOTE: This is a work in progress. I'm going to publish it from time to time as I complete parts of it; but as you can tell, I've been writing pieces of this for a long while now and I think this is as good of a time as any to start getting some feedback on it...
3/17 UPDATE: Additions to the last two major sections of the piece...Addional sections added to Conservatism is About We, the People (new sections are on Personal Responsibility, Moral Compass, and the American Dream) and America's Role in World Affairs (with a section on American Exceptionalism). I'm most intersted in comments on the new material, but would appreciate comments on any portion of the piece...
3/18 UPDATE: A version of this piece is also available over at Martin-Stewart presents The Conversation.
Back in August of 2007, I had a rather spirited discussion with a liberal fellow named John Springfield in the comments to this post. Rather than re-hash all of that here, we'll just take a couple of issues out of that thread and expound on them here in hopes of further defining what it takes to get the Matt Hurley Seal of Approval brand of conservatism.Conservatism is About Freedom and Liberty
More than anything else, conservatism is about freedom. The role of government is to establish laws that are for the good of the society, but government tends to grow out of control and assumes more power than what is required or desired. When that happens, government consumes freedom and liberty and the result is slavery of one form or another.
Government is a necessary evil. We need government to maintain our roads, provide law enforcement and fire protection services, dispose of the garbage, and a myriad other minor duties that should not be the responsibility of the average citizen. How do we make sure that we get just enough government to maintain the infrastructure and all the other constitutionally mandated missions of the federal government? That is what conservatism is all about...
Smaller, More Efficient Government
Most liberals think that conservatives hate government all together. This is not true. What conservatives such as myself would prefer is a small government that doesn't get carried away with mission creep and performs the functions assigned it with greater efficiency and quality of service.
Mission Creep. Big Government has put its nose into way too much of our business. And by business, I mean our daily lives. Gov. Ronald Reagan told a story on his radio show about having been asked by a college kid what he meant when he said that America was losing its freedoms to government every day. He said that back in his day, the government didn't issue a driver's license, your father did when he lent you the car (which was a rather hefty investment in those days). Now, is there some benefit to having government issued driver's licenses? Sure. But you can't deny that we have lost some amount of freedom in having the government decide this for us.
What does this story have to do with "mission creep"? Glad you asked... Show me in the Constitution where it is a right of the government to issue driver's licenses. There is an argument that the Constitution lays out the powers of the federal government and that all other powers shall be granted to the states. But we are talking about a new power that was created by the invention of the automobile. Did the framers intend for the states to manage this sort of power? We don't know. And that is mission creep.
Mission creep occurs any time an organization takes on something that is was not originally designed. Government is no exception. Sometimes mission creep can be a good thing and justified, often times it isn't.
Strong National Defense and Local Law Enforcement
The most important thing that government is supposed to do is keep us safe. The federal government is responsible for providing a strong national defense against all enemies foreign and domestic.
Locally, conservatives support law enforcement. Law and order are necessary for the stability of society. Note that I am saying that conservatives support the enforcement of law and not necessarily the laws themselves. Conservatives should fight the urge to legislate, especially at the local level. There is more government intrusion into our daily lives at the local level of government than any other level, including federal.
Infrastructure and Maintenance
Conservatives believe that government ought to provide the services for which they are responsible with the highest quality while making the least amount of impact into our daily lives as possible.
Government should be able to provide a functional trasportation infrastructure including roads, highways, and bridges and maintain said infrastructure at a reasonable level of quality. This is a good and responsible power of government.
Government out to make sure that we have clean air and water, sufficient green space, and appropriate city planning and management. Garbage collection and disposal is not a sexy issue, but it is one that conservatives support as a function of government.
However, I do belive that conservatives ought to support pay-for-usage "facilities" when possible and/or necessary. Mr. Springfield brought up the Minnesota bridge collapse and asked whether or not I would support a toll bridge to replace it. I think that sort of idea is one worth exploring if the local and state governments failed to plan for such an emergency and don't have the funding to replace the bridge in a timely manner. Privatization is a route that some governments ought to take a look at as the private sector is much more likely to provide a quality product as their profit motive is invested in consumers wanting to use the product.
Conservatism is About We, The People
The power of the individual is astounding and conservatives like me believe that government ought to get out of the way as much as possible and encourage the individual to achieve their dreams on their own.
However, as Spiderman's mantra goes, with great power comes great responsibility; so conservatism must address that as well.
Self-Reliance and Wealth
Nobody says this better than Rush Limbaugh does (via The Corner):
RUSH: No, no, no. Let me tell you something about this wealth business. I've been broke twice in my life. When I was 31 years old, I was making $17,000 a year. I have been fired I forgot how many times. Seven times! So I've been there. This constant refrain that I'm "out of touch," is just bogus. That's another thing that really bugs me: this movement within the Republican Party to claim that the middle class is in great suffering and pain. I understand if you own a house, and your value of your equity in your house is plummeting, that you're worried, and I understand that totally. What you need to hear is the truth of why it happened, so that you can make plans in the future. These are cycles, and everybody in every country and every society goes through them, and ours are not nearly as bad as people around the rest of the world are. I know health care is expensive. That's why I'm focused not on making it more expensive, but on making it cheaper, and how you do that? You do it with conservatism! I'm by no means out of touch on this. If the health care industry were priced like every other industry is on the patient's ability to pay, then we'd fix the problem, and that's the direction we have to head in."I don't depend on anybody else."
But if we're going to keep this notion that everybody's entitled to have whatever they want medically paid for by their neighbors, then we are finished. We are finished as a country; we are finished as a society. You can talk about my wealth, but let me tell you something, sir. I don't depend on anybody else for anything, and it was one of my objectives when I grew up. I didn't want to be obligated. I didn't want to be dependent. I didn't want to owe anybody. I don't buy into insurance plans because it's a hassle! Now, I know a lot of people don't have that freedom. I used to not have that freedom, either. But I do now because I worked for it — and if I can do it, a lot more people can do it than think they can, and that's conservatism again. People are much better than they know. They have much more potential than they know. But when you've got a Democrat Party and a movement telling them they suck, telling them they can't get anywhere because the deck is stacked against them and the people stacking the deck are Republicans and so forth, then you are diminishing the country; you're diminishing the future, and you're destroying people's lives.
"I didn't want to be obligated."
"I didn't want to be dependent."
These are phrases used be self-reliant people and while this trait was common two generations ago, it has all but left the American culture today. Read a little Emerson if you want the intellectual rundown on self-reliance, but suffice it to say that our culture used to be focused differently and I don't think that was a bad thing.
Personal Responsibility
Acceptance of responsibility for one’s behavior is a conservative trait. No conservative expects to lay blame on anyone other than himself for personal misconduct. And it is incumbent upon the conservative to learn as much as possible in order to combat ignorance. Conservatives believe that if you work hard and work smart, America will provide you with plenty of opportunities to provide for yourself and your family.
Moral Compass
Conservatism supports law and order and thus also recognizes the importance of right and wrong. It is vital, then, to the conservative that he possess a moral compass to guide him on the true path. A conservative will be influenced by many mentors: his parents, relatives, spiritual leaders, public figures, and personal heroes. Personal integrity is vital to the conservative and will chaperone him through difficult decisions and troubling times. Developing that sense of direction is crucial to the development of a conservative.
The American Dream
The American Dream is really nothing more than belief that, in America, if you work hard, work smart, and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves, you will be able to provide a better life for the next generation. It is the possibility inherent in the accumulation of wealth that may be passed on that is the foundation of the American Dream.
America's Role in World Affairs
America is the lone superpower left in the world and such has a responsibility to assume a lead role in world affairs. She must do so with finesse and class, but also with a certain level of firmness. America, as a symbol of freedom and liberty, ought to defend those who face tyranny and oppression while spreading democracy and sovereignty across the globe. America should defend those who are not capable of defending themselves and should always support our allies who believe in self-determination as we do.
Conservatism is About American Exceptionalism
Conservatives believe that the United States of America represents the world’s best hope for lasting peace and freedom. It is America’s strength that makes her the greatest nation on the face of the Earth and she is that Shining City on the Hill for all nations. Conservatives aspire for America to achieve whatever she sets her mind towards accomplishing. It is that spirit that took men to the Moon, invents fantastic gadgets, cure terrible diseases, and liberate millions of people all over the world.
