http://darwen.us/southcon: Being A Conservative Means...

Thursday, May 12, 2005

Being A Conservative Means...

The Gun Toting Liberal posted an interesting item about what it means, in his opinion, to be liberal. His opinions were interesting to me because it’s clear that he doesn’t fit any template. Some of his ideas are exactly like mine, others are polar opposites. The thing I liked about the post was that it gave me a nutshell look at where the guy stands on a number of issues, and posting it in “laundry list” form made it fun to read. I couldn’t resist throwing a list together of my own.

Ever since the presidential campaign season ended, I’ve posted fewer and fewer blatantly political items…. And I’ve worried that I shouldn’t have titled this blog “Southern Conservative,” for fear that casual readers might think that I’m a one-topic ranter… but since I did title the blog that, and since it is what I consider myself, it can’t hurt to put a little finer point on it.

These are my opinions and mine alone, and I don’t see myself as an authority on anything other than what my opinions are… so, with no further ado, I present:

What It Means To Be A Conservative,
According To Darrell:

Being conservative means that you realize that a person’s political opinions are shaped by his or her morals, and that morals are usually shaped by religious beliefs. You believe that to be natural, and don’t think that there is anything wrong with that.

Being conservative means that you realize that “separation of church and state” is a phrase that is uttered nowhere in the Constitution, and that it is NOT the same thing as the First Amendment, which simply prohibits the creation of a national religion or the ban of any religion.

Being conservative means that you realize that, guns don’t kill people, people kill people, and people with guns kill people efficiently… But you also realize that making more laws is not the solution to gun related violence. Murder is already illegal. We won’t make it go away by making it illegaler. If Joe Blow wants to kill a guy with a rock and I take the rock away, he’ll just pick up a stick.

Being conservative means that you realize that nothing is better for an economy, a nation, or a world than unimpeded capitalism.

Being conservative means that you want to make sure that governmental aid programs are available to those who need them, and unavailable to those who want to abuse them.

Being conservative means that you want to keep illegal aliens out of this country under all circumstances… and that you welcome legal immigrants with open arms and an enthusiasm about their desire to live in the greatest country in the world.

Being conservative means that you are opposed to murder in all forms, including abortion, euthanasia, and the death penalty.

Being conservative means that you realize that deaths during wartime are different than murder, because the primary goal of a just war is not to kill as many people as possible, but rather to defend freedom from aggressors, to help people oppressed by brutality, and to remove murderous madmen from power.

Being conservative means that you see NOTHING WRONG with pre-emptive war against any nation or group that declares you it’s enemy and makes it clear that it wants to do violence against you.

Being conservative means that you realize that extinction is part of the natural process, and you don’t turn into a weeping snotball every time some species is announced to be on the verge of extinction. If every species that ever existed was still around, after all, we’d be up to our armpits in dinosaur poop.

Being conservative also means that you carefully study the environmental impact of any kind of project before you proceed… and if the positives of the project outweigh the negatives of the environmental impact, you DO PROCEED. The real needs of humanity are more important than the ecosystems of bugs.

Being conservative also means being a conservationist. You do not consciously waste resources or money just because you have the right to. You have better sense than that.

Being conservative means that you know legislating from the bench when you see it, and dammit, you’ve been seeing a lot of it lately.

Being conservative means that you don’t think that the solution to every problem in the world can be solved by a government program.

Being conservative means that you know that the government doesn’t have one red cent of it’s own money. It’s OUR money that the government spends, and you have as much say in how it’s spent as ANYONE.

Being conservative means that you know that the government’s job is to make, enforce, and interpret law, and THAT IS ALL. You realize that any law that IS NOT based on the prevention of murder, theft, or endangerment of other people is probably a SUPERFLUOUS LAW.

Being conservative means loving your country and being proud of it rather than looking for any possible way to blame America first.

Being conservative means recognizing the validity of lots of liberal ideas… but realizing that today’s America bashing, politically correct leftwingers are NOT liberals. They are, instead, fascists, exclusionists, and elitists.

Being conservative means that you knew that CBS news was biased before documentgate.

Being conservative means that you have enough common sense to realize that a crucifix in a bottle of urine or a postage stamp with a picture of a gun aimed at the president ARE NOT ART, and you’re not stupid enough to let some moron convince you that they are. That particular emperor has no clothes.

Being conservative means that you are opposed to all forms of racism… both the kind of the past that discriminated against people based on their race, and the kind of the present that tells minorities that they aren’t good enough to succeed on their own, and therefore, they can only do well in life if the government helps them.

Being conservative means that you realize that rapper "50 Cent" is an idiot and you aren’t willing to pander to him and his ilk just because they are black. An idiot yelling about murder, drugs and rape over a pre-recorded music track is just an idiot, plain and simple, regardless of what color he is.

Being conservative means that you realize that Bill Gates doesn’t owe you a damn thing.

Being conservative means you support and are proud of the armed forces.

Being conservative means that you investigate claims against the government, businesses, and people BEFORE you believe them. Just because some jackass tells you something bad about the president and you like the way it sounds doesn’t mean that there’s a grain of truth in it (you hear me, Michael Moore?).

Being conservative means that you don’t think that gays are a minority and shouldn’t be treated like one.

Being conservative means you don’t give a damn what Sheryl Crow thinks about the war, what Barbra Streisand thinks about the president, or what Eddie Vedder thinks about anything. Why should you? What are their credentials?

Being conservative means that you think PETA is almost as stupid as people who abuse or mistreat animals.

Being conservative means that you realize that boycotts are rarely a good idea and hardly ever work.

Being conservative means that you care less about the rights of criminals than you do about the rights of their victims.

Being conservative means that you are willing to work for every dime you receive and don't think that the world owes you anything.

Being conservative means you want to raise your kids yourself, actively, and as well as you know how. You don’t want a nanny raising them. You don’t rely on any program that puts ratings stickers on CDs and video games because you plan to check out what your kids listen to and play YOURSELF. You don’t want your kids taught political ideology in school instead of basic reading, writing, and arithmetic… but you don’t want to ban books or classes because you realize you can’t control everything your child sees and hears for his and her whole life, and therefore you plan to make SURE you know what your kids taught in school and counter ideas that you dislike with HANDS ON PARENTING AND PERSONAL INVOLVEMENT. And, by the way, being conservative means you want your kid to both hear about evolution AND to learn the Pledge of Allegiance, because you plan to discuss BOTH of them with your child yourself.

That about sums it up. Remember, those are just my opinions and shouldn’t be any more threatening or insulting than anyone else’s. Your opinions are welcome, and I’d like to read them.

For a humorous take on this, check out Kill Righty's "You Might Be A Liberal" list.

Permalink -- Posted by Darrell at 16:03

Comments:

"... but realizing that today’s America bashing, politically correct leftwingers are NOT liberals. They are, instead, fascists, exclusionists, and elitists."

Wow, isn't that the TRUTH!

Hey man, thanks for the link and the blogroll. I've definitely returned the favor and recipped ya. Good article. I actually agreed with a fair amount of your views, as well - ESPECIALLY when it comes to guns and unnecessary laws. Thanks again :-)

# posted by

Gun-Toting Liberal : 5:16 PM

Good post. I think everyone should figure out where they stand on issues. I have no qualm with that but I disagree entirely with certain features you mentioned.

While separation of Church and State is not guaranteed, it is the right thing to do. The Constitution says that the government can’t enforce a certain religious view and that is as it should be. That also means that it is improper for government leaders to decide how to run the nation based on what they think their religion says. They have to judge for the good of the nation, not by their prejudices.

I disagree regarding unimpeded capitalism. If you look at history, every period of unregulated capitalism has destroyed the middle class and wrecked havoc on human rights. If you look at the human rights abuses of the Middle Ages that led to slavery, the cattle-treatment of employees during the industrial revolution and the way companies are slipping into dictator mode on employees today, you can see why companies must be regulated.

I have no qualm with pre-emptive strike except this: one should attack one's enemies only when there is a true threat and not under false pretenses as this President has done.

Extinction is natural, yes. But not the way it happens when we deliberately ruin the environment. Excessive logging, excessive farming and pollution are not the proper way to care for the world. God made us caretakers but did not say we could abuse as we wish.

As to your ecosystem, those “bugs” make everything happen. Nature works from the bottom up. If you damage the bottom, it affects everything all the way up to the top of the food chain.

I have no qualm with the biased media thing except to say that there is at least as much pro-right as pro-left media bias

As to Michael Moore, there is truth in his accusations. I agree he blew some things out or proportion but Bush is not a good guy and never has been. The reason I think his movie angered so many was because while there were obvious stretches of truth, there were also things that they could not disprove.

Overall, good post my friend. I agree on most of it. I think most Democrats and Republicans are not so far apart. You took the time to write what you think so I felt that any response should be at least as in depth. Cheers!

# posted by

Unadulterated Underdog : 6:11 PM

Thanks, fellas, for your comments... Too often on the internet, real debate and dialogue fall by the wayside in favor of good ol' newsgroup-type flamewars. That ain't no good. It's nice to see that people can still consider what the other guy is saying and disagree adamantly but in a friendly way. I'm getting all misty eyed here. God bless the USA! I'm glad to read your opinions and happy to have you both on my blogroll.

# posted by

Darrell : 8:36 AM

I helped bring your list into better standing with the official party platform.

http://www.dolphinsdock.com/blog/archives/05-01-2005_05-31-2005.html#6175

# posted by

dolphin : 4:58 PM

Nice blog. Good post.

I've noticed at least one or two people have created not-so-nice parodies based on your Being a Conservative Means list.

Will you respond to any of them?

# posted by

Voracious Reader : 11:37 PM

I object to my list being called "not-so-nice." I understand not everyone shares my cynical sense of humor but that doesn't indicate that my list is intended to be "not-so-nice." Granted I'm a liberal so my views may be different than the average conservative, but what's the point of living if you can't laugh and have fun?

For the record, I can laugh at "You might be a liberal..."

# posted by

dolphin : 12:47 AM

Voracious Reader wrote: I've noticed at least one or two people have created not-so-nice parodies based on your Being a Conservative Means list. Will you respond to any of them?

The only response I've seen is Dolphin's, where he customized the list to fit his perception of the GOP, and I posted a comment there. I thought his list was pretty angry, but he has a right to his opinions. I think for the most part, this particular exchange has been friendly and constructive, at least as far as I've seen... if there are not-so-nice parodies of my post out there, I've not seen them.

# posted by

Darrell : 12:44 PM