Why are you a conservative?

[Wretched Excess]

I have a ton of others.  I was just wondering.

post your recommendations, and I will include them in the poll

[Eupher]

I have witnessed first hand the almost complete ineptness of the government. It is staggering in its unbelievable incompetence. And that incompetence is rewarded time after time with "tenure-like" job security that simply baffles the mind.

Job quotas based on race is another feature of gummint hackness that staggers the imagination.

I firmly believe that organizations - ALL ORGANIZATIONS - eventually serve themselves first. Take whatever kind of pretense or mission that an organization represents, it won't be long before the natural fallibility of man reduces that effort to a shadow of its former self. Ergo, the organization begins looking at ways to protect itself and give itself something to do, even when there is no mission anymore, or the mission's completed.

We've seen this stuff over and over again. It's relatively rare when a government program gets canceled.

It's far easier to simply throw money at problems and our esteemed politicians on both sides of the aisle continue to bring home the pork in ever-increasing amounts.

Our two-party political system is killing us. We are so disenfranchised with it, yet we can't seem to break it apart because to do so would result in yet another scumbag being elected to office because there's an even worse scumbag that's running against him or her.

But I digress.

Why am I a conservative?

Because I believe in the concept of self-determination. That means I am responsible for my own lot in life, not the government. I make my bed and I sleep in it. If I am in trouble, my church is there to help me if I ask for it. In turn, I work in and contribute to my church.

I do not believe in public welfare in any form. I have not once ever collected any sort of government assistance, though there were times when I qualified.

We have collectively lost sight of the 10th Amendment. It has been completely stomped on and eradicated by first, John Marshall, then other politicians and their ilk over the years to the point that we look to the federal government like the Great Messiah it isn't.

If it were competent, the idea might have some merit. But about the only thing the federal government does anymore is consume resources. And steal from me.

Sorry for the mini-rant, but the question touched a nerve.

[rich_t]

Excellent question.  I don't think I have ever been asked why I am a conservative.

For me I guess it's several things.  I have never really tried to quantify the why.

When I was a young adult, I paid very little attention to politics.  As I got older, and started paying at least some attention to politics, I found that the conservative ideology matched my own personal beliefs much more closely than the liberal ideology.

I believe the U.S. Constitution should be read as written, not "interpreted" based on changing public opinion.  I also believe that when reading the constitution one should keep in mind the definition of the words in that constitution as they existed when that constitution was written (ie. the National Guard is not the militia, as some would have us believe)  

I believe in working for and earning what I have, rather than being given that which was earned by the work of others.

I believe that I'm entitled to keep the fruits of my labor, rather than having it taken at political gunpoint and given to others who have not worked as hard as I have.

I believe in personal responsibility.

I believe in a small Federal government. (although let's be honest, neither major political party has done much in recent decades to keep the size of the government small)

It has been my experience that those of a conservative bent agree with the above more than those of a liberal tilt.

I am sure I could probably think of other reasons, but these are some of the ones that immediately come to mind.

[Wretched Excess]

wow. outstanding post.

[Wretched Excess]

for me, it came down to the philosophical fundamentals.

is it individual liberty, or is it enforced equality?

[Eupher]

for me, it came down to the philosophical fundamentals.

is it individual liberty, or is it enforced equality?

Short and sweet. I likey.

H5, WE.

[rich_t]

Eupher..

"A perfect democracy, a 'warm body' democracy in which every adult may vote and all votes count equally has no internal feedback for self correction. It depends solely on the wisdom and self-restraint of citizens...which is opposed by the folly and lack of self-restraint of other citizens. What is supposed to happen in a democracy is that each sovereign citizen will always vote in the public interest for the safety and welfare of all. But what does happen is that he votes his own self-interest as he sees it...which for the majority translates as 'Bread and Circuses'


"Bread and Circuses is the cancer of democracy, the fatal disease for which there is no cure. Democracy often works beautifully at first. But once a state extends the franchise to every warm body, be he producer or parasite, that day marks the beginning of the end of the state. For when the plebs discover that they can vote themselves bread and circuses without limit and that the productive members of the body politic cannot stop them, they will do so, until the state bleeds to death, or in its weakened condition the state succumbs to an invader--the barbarians enter Rome."

~~Heinlein.

I look at the US today and I see the "disease".

[Eupher]

Eupher..

"A perfect democracy, a 'warm body' democracy in which every adult may vote and all votes count equally has no internal feedback for self correction. It depends solely on the wisdom and self-restraint of citizens...which is opposed by the folly and lack of self-restraint of other citizens. What is supposed to happen in a democracy is that each sovereign citizen will always vote in the public interest for the safety and welfare of all. But what does happen is that he votes his own self-interest as he sees it...which for the majority translates as 'Bread and Circuses'


"Bread and Circuses is the cancer of democracy, the fatal disease for which there is no cure. Democracy often works beautifully at first. But once a state extends the franchise to every warm body, be he producer or parasite, that day marks the beginning of the end of the state. For when the plebs discover that they can vote themselves bread and circuses without limit and that the productive members of the body politic cannot stop them, they will do so, until the state bleeds to death, or in its weakened condition the state succumbs to an invader--the barbarians enter Rome."

~~Heinlein.

I look at the US today and I see the "disease".

Heinlein was a very astute observer and quite right. And I suspect you're right also - we see the disease that is us.

BUT THAT SAID....

Hope springs eternal. We have been down many paths that others have said spell ruin. I am cautiously hopeful that we can stave off the barbarians for at least another few generations. Because there is a new generation, a wiser generation, that is poised to rise up. This is a new generation that has all the iPods and all the Xboxes, but also realizes that there is much more at stake than a bunch of electrons floating around in a box.

I mean, hell, after all - I remember my elders lamenting, "The country is goin' down the tubes. In fact, it's there already."

Nah. There's some life in the girl after all.

[rich_t]

Heinlein was a very astute observer and quite right. And I suspect you're right also - we see the disease that is us.

BUT THAT SAID....

Hope springs eternal. We have been down many paths that others have said spell ruin. I am cautiously hopeful that we can stave off the barbarians for at least another few generations. Because there is a new generation, a wiser generation, that is poised to rise up. This is a new generation that has all the iPods and all the Xboxes, but also realizes that there is much more at stake than a bunch of electrons floating around in a box.

I mean, hell, after all - I remember my elders lamenting, "The country is goin' down the tubes. In fact, it's there already."

Nah. There's some life in the girl after all.

I hear what you're saying, and by all means hope does spring eternal.  But I'm not so sure I agree with you about the next generation being wiser.  You're talking but a generation that has been subjected to liberal propaganda in public schools and by what they see, read and hear from the modern media. 

I do not share your optimism that they are prepared to rise up and defend that which so many fought and died to establish and defend.

It has been my experience that most young adults do not have a clue of what the constitution states nor what it means.  Hell, for that matter there a lot of people my own age that don't either. 

I remain hopeful, yet pessimistic.

By the way, from one veteran to another I thank you for your service to this country

[Eupher]

I hear what you're saying, and by all means hope does spring eternal.  But I'm not so sure I agree with you about the next generation being wiser.  You're talking but a generation that has been subjected to liberal propaganda in public schools and by what they see, read and hear from the modern media. 

I do not share your optimism that they are prepared to rise up and defend that which so many fought and died to establish and defend.

It has been my experience that most young adults do not have a clue of what the constitution states nor what it means.  Hell, for that matter there a lot of people my own age that don't either. 

I remain hopeful, yet pessimistic.

By the way, from one veteran to another I thank you for your service to this country

I understand the source of your pessimism. Since I retired from the Army 14 years ago and went to work in civilian-run companies, I also have seen plenty of examples of what you're talking about. Lots of youngsters with no clue and big mouths - and more often than not, they get what they're after.

But for those that survive (I think the Darwin Award candidates come from younger generations more often than not), they grow up and they begin to see the world as you and I see it. They are no longer slaves to the thoughts and policies that have been jammed down their throats with the inevitable teaspoon of honey.

Eventually, though, all civilizations morph into something else. Rome became a shadow of its former self when it was sacked in 410 AD. How are we going to change? That's the question.

[Woody]

I am a conservative because I believe in a free market economy, a strong and proactive military, and as small a government as possible. 

Note that only one of these views is apparently shared by the current occupant of the White House, although I bear him no ill will. 

[rich_t]

I understand the source of your pessimism. Since I retired from the Army 14 years ago and went to work in civilian-run companies, I also have seen plenty of examples of what you're talking about. Lots of youngsters with no clue and big mouths - and more often than not, they get what they're after.

But for those that survive (I think the Darwin Award candidates come from younger generations more often than not), they grow up and they begin to see the world as you and I see it. They are no longer slaves to the thoughts and policies that have been jammed down their throats with the inevitable teaspoon of honey.

Eventually, though, all civilizations morph into something else. Rome became a shadow of its former self when it was sacked in 410 AD. How are we going to change? That's the question.

You ask how are we going to change.  Just take a look at how we have changed since you were a young adult.  

We have slowly but surely been drifting more and more into socialist territory.  That is a trend that I would dearly love to see not only stopped but reversed.

To me the question is; can it be stopped or reversed? Hienlien had it right IMO and we do currently live in a bread and circuses society where people vote in their own self-interest rather than the public interest.

It seems to me in this day and age that the people have a tendency to vote for the candidate that promises them the most.  All too often they don't stop to consider that somebody other than themselves will have to pay for what they get.  

Perhaps it is merely human nature to be selfish and to desire that which has not been earned; to be jealous of those that have more than you do.

I can only speak for myself.  I do not want any handouts.  I do not want to be given that which I have not earned.  Nor do I want that which I have earned to be taken from me and given to others.

But in recent decades that is exactly what the government has done, it has taken from those that have earned and given it to those that have not.  To me this is not acceptable.  

[MrsSmith]

I am a conservative because 99% of "progressive" causes are going the wrong direction.  I give them 1% correct just because they aren't perfect.  I can't think of one single progressive cause with which I agree.

[RightCoast]

Strong military, limited govt, personal accountability

[CharlesD]

What started it for me was the right to life.  I fell in line with the other tenets of conservatism as I gold older and studied other issues.  I was a child when Roe was passed and my parents were rather upset about it.  I wondered what it was all about and my father let me go through a pro life exhibit at the county fair that year that had pictures of the aftermath of abortions.  That made quite an impression on my young mind and I became essentially pro life at that point.  When I reached voting age, that was the primary reason I voted for someone, but then as I became more politically active and looked at other core conservative beliefs, they just made sense.  It only makes sense that someone who supports the right to life of the unborn would also support individual liberty and personal responsibility.

[NHSparky]

When a government tries to be all things to all people, it robs them of their wealth, freedom, and security, and fails to provide anything to anyone.

[Jim]

all of the above and more would best explain it but I think I was just as able to boil it down to the "limited government" choice I picked.

just as simple a choice is that I firmly believe in the Constitution.  not the mockery its been made but the opne that was written and approved by the several states all those years ago.

[Crazy Horse]

Personally for me it was Schade, Dixie, BEG, ACC........etc.

I just figured if all conservative women look like that....................well hell i should become a conservative.

Oh and the fact that when in third grade and we did a class vote..............I voted for Ford instead of Carter. The fact I've seen the mighty MO fire her guns on a defensless San Clemente Island. Prior to being in the Navy stationed in San Dog..............I couldn't care less about illegal immigration. After being flipped off by some runners on I-5 my opinion changed 180 degrees. 

Having bricks thrown through my parents windows as I was growing up by Union people...............that really turned me against the Unions and saw them for what they were...............not to even mention the death threats that were on our answering machine.

Yep I gotta say that it was the hot conservative women.....................and really the whole PC movement. I hate when people are criticized for saying what they mean and meaning what they say

[franksolich]

I dunno.

There's no choice of "I was just born this way."

[djones520]

I dunno.

There's no choice of "I was just born this way."

I've several times tried making a post that got the point across you just did in one sentence.

[Chris_]

I dunno.

There's no choice of "I was just born this way."

Ah -- WITH a brain. :)

[Duke Nukum]

Mostly I am a conservative because it is the only viable political philosophy for both the individual and the nation but limited government is a good summation.

Liberalism isn't a political philosophy at all.

[Atomic Lib Smasher]

I became more interested in politics after 9/11 and liked it when Bush came through saying "we're gonna get the motherf**kers who did this" and then seeing the Left's attacks on not just Bush, but America in general saying that we got our "just desserts" and all.
 I was pretty much always for the death penalty, didn't like the way judges gave criminals slaps on the wrists for heinous crimes, against abortion, and I was proud of our history and knew America needed a strong military. It wasn't until I started browsing conservative sites in early 02 I started identifying myself as a conservative, but I've always leaned right, just didn't care about politics too much then.