TAG: Conservatism.

At its core, Conservatism is about personal responsibility, taking account for one’s actions and accepting the blame if one has periodic failure (which are life’s lessons). Progressives paint a false picture of Conservatives, as if they are Hitler-like simpletons who want to erase gay people, make Blacks and Brown’s slaves, want to restrict a woman’s […]

An Argument for Conservatism — SPEAKING OUT AMERICA

Reblogged on kommonsentsjane/blogkommonsents.

3/01/2023

The scales of justice are teetering because of the stolen election

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At its core, Conservatism is about personal responsibility, taking account for one’s actions and accepting the blame if one has periodic failure (which are life’s lessons).

Progressives paint a false picture of Conservatives, as if they are Hitler-like simpletons who want to erase gay people, make Blacks and Brown’s slaves, want to restrict a woman’s right to choose to abort a fetus, nor do they seem to care they are killing the planet.

Such a simple straw-man stereotype.

In other words, Progressives see Conservatives as dangerous, and Conservatives see Progressives as demanding, selfish and pushy.

Conservatives I know are sometimes religious, sometimes not so much. They most assuredly believe in moral conduct and being fair to all.

While Conservatives believe people should be responsible for their actions, Progressives tend to believe people are victims of life’s cruelty, are mostly decent and deserve a chance.

A Conservative may also hold similar views, with the exception of “all people are decent.” The reality is all people are not decent. Most people are selfish, self-serving and do not care about other people. If this were untrue we would not have police officers, or courts, or lawyers. Thomas Jefferson said humans are not angels, therefore we need government to keep the peace.

Progressives believe in diversity. Conservatives understand diversity is baked in to each of us because, while we are all unique, we also share the same desires, hopes and dreams. We all hope to have a decent and safe life, and we all fear having our rights taken away because, at our core, we are free-will beings by nature.

Dr. Jordan Peterson rightly stated “there are more differences within groups than there are of groups themselves.” For example, we can have two political parties, but are all member of each party exactly alike? Of course not. No two people are alike, therefore no two opinions are the same. Conservatives say diversity lie in our own individuality. Progressives believe diversity is uniformity of belief – exactly the opposite of what the word diversity means.

In essence, Progressives are feelings-driven, life is about how we feel about ourselves and who we are, including our physical appearance as well as sexual proclivities, whereas a Conservative says character is the only thing that defines a person. And good character is earned through effort.

SOCIAL EXPERIMENTATION

In the 1990’s public schools began handing out special achievement awards, because teachers, mostly younger females who have proclivity bond emotionally with young children, felt those who don’t get awards might suffer in some way because of it or feeled shamed, or less “special,” than those who won awards by merit. What followed was the en masse medio-critization of academic achievement, or what former President George Bush called the “No child left behind Act.” Emphasis was put on those who fell behind instead of those who leaped ahead.

As a result, the lowering of academic standards has taken place out of concern for the feelings or self-esteem for the student. Most recently, public schools in many progressive cities like Los Angeles, and Chicago have asserted grades as discriminatory, even racist, because black people overall statistically underperform in K-12 more than other racial groups in these cities. Progressives put the blame on the system, and so they seek to change or modify it with the students self-esteem in mind. In this case even the student is not expected to take responsibility; he or she is allowed to fail because it is the system’s imperfection that needs to be corrected.

The real truth is poor people typically underperform as a result of bad or insufficient parenting. Study after study shows a better, or more stable home environment usually results in higher academic performance. Even common sense tells us this would be true. But progressive ideology releases the individual parent’s responsibility (out of fear of offending the parent) while blaming the system or group, instead

And this is why four out of ten students in Chicago graduate without the ability to properly read, write, or even speak proper English. They are almost unemployable at the age of 18.

Progressives tend to believe “it takes a village,” whereas Conservatives look at this problem and might be more prone to say, “It takes a family BECAUSE THE VILLAGE CAUSED THE PROBLEM.”

Progressives believe society must provide a safety net for people who fall through the cracks. Conservatives might argue that people who come from strong, loving families are much less likely to fall through the cracks, and if they do, it is the family’s responsibility, not society, to help an ailing member. It is not the job, says the Conservative, for government to be “my brother’s keeper.”

It appears, at least to this observer, the overwhelming difference between the two philosophies of Progressivism and Conservatism is the Conservative asks, “what can I do for the country of my OWN free will?” Whereas the Progressive might ask, “what can my country and my fellow citizen do for me?”

Another example. NPR is free because it is publicly funded or supported. Because of this, NPR is also commercial-free. A decade ago, Air America was launched as the first progressive syndicated radio talk network. And It failed.

Why?

Because it wasn’t commercial-free and progressives didn’t tune it to support it. Because of low ratings, advertisers didn’t support it either.

And to be reminded, Rachel Maddouxs’ salary while hosting at Air America was much higher than almost every other syndicated host in the country. This is, however, an unsustainable model because if hosts are being paid and advertisers don’t support it, the money dries up very quickly. Meanwhile, over at NPR, where everything is “free,” the taxpayer is paying for it without his consent.

This is a clear example of the difference between the two ideologies at the center of our discussion. Progressives prove their disdain for accountability by calling something free that is not free, but the result of forced coercion of others to “foot the bill.”

Meanwhile, typical Conservatives would argue the individual must be held accountable, As a result over the long term society will benefit because each member acts responsibly.

As for an argument for Conservatism, my bet is on the horse that has proven itself resilient in the shifting sands of time. Rock-solid principles based on freedom, faith, family, and effort, these are the enduring principles of conservatism.

I ask you to consider joining us. We are far less judgemental than you think, and much more generous than you might expect.

kommonsentsjane