Rightwords... Prudent Conservatism

Let us reaffirm our beliefs---Rev IV

We Conservatives must look into ourselves to reaffirm our beliefs and our programs for the future. Realistic self-examination is never a pleasant act, but it is absolutely necessary to be able to proceed with the faith and confidence in our cause from here on out.

So what are our beliefs? Within Conservatism there are five orders: spiritual, social, economic, political, and cultural. A complete conservative blends each of these orders into his belief system. I will give my relatively short version here of these beliefs, which will need further clarification and amplification later on to bring out each of these orders more fully. We believe that dividing Conservatism into social versus fiscal or economic groups is not productive: there must be one consistent Conservatism.

Within each order we must apply the following credos to the appropriate degree: realism, skepticism, federalism, evolutionism, and capitalism. Here is my listing:

1. Spiritual: We believe in God and have faith in the essence of His word in the Bible as interpreted by Biblical scholars and men of the cloth. We follow its logical and moral precepts as best we can, especially the Golden Rule. We know that man is fallible, and capable of great good, but he is also capable of great evil. This fact has not changed significantly in thousands of years.

We believe in the infinite value of life, and its protection from murderers. We also believe in the sanctity of traditional marriage. We further believe that the movement to greater secularism in the nation is wrong, and it must be defeated. We believe in the Protestant work ethic and in pride in our workmanship.

We also believe that men of good character and moral strength, although not believers in God, can be rightly in the fold of Conservatism, if they strongly support most of the tenets given below.

2. Political: We believe in the precepts of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. We believe in our constitutional republic form of government. We believe in the original interpretation of the intent of their words. We believe the words can be improved to reflect the original intent more accurately, especially in the 1st, 2nd, and 16th Amendments.

For example, we believe that the 2nd Amendment gives every citizen the right to keep, bear, and use arms and ammunition, and to be able to defend his family and his home against intruders. We do not believe in parsing the words to distort their meaning to fit new and progressive agendas. In fact, we totally reject all forms of liberalism, progressivism, socialism and communism.

3. Political: We believe that whoever rules least, rules best. Small but effective governance over the essentials for our security is the right way. The 1,177 existing government boards, committees, agencies, foundations, and commissions must be significantly reduced, along with a simplification and synthesis of rules and regulations that have proliferated to a ridiculous extent.

This tenet extends to the resurgence of states rights, as opposed to ever-increasing federal government dominance, as is called for in our Constitution. We believe in subsidiarity: that is, placing decisions at the lowest level of governance possible. It is also apparent that federal government may be forced to grow to some extent in some areas because of the growth of our population, but it should be held to a workable percentage of the population.

4. Social: We believe in self-reliance and individual responsibility, not government handouts at every hint of a “need” or entitlement. Government must not be the provider that everyone looks to in all cases. There must also be charity, by that name and not by the euphemism of welfare, to care for those who cannot care for themselves.

5. Cultural: We believe that government must be color, race, and origin blind, and must ensure equal opportunity for all, while definitively rejecting the concept of equal outcomes for all as being an anathema to democracy. This extends to equality of treatment of all citizens and not to special treatment of some minorities. We believe in assimilation of immigrants, for example, and we believe that English must be the official language of the nation. We also believe that our multicultural society must be urged in the direction of a composite American Culture over time, and that protected cultural diversity is divisive and dangerous if it hinders cultural assimilation.

6. Political: We believe that the principal duty of government is to provide the security and defense of our nation against all forms of aggression coming from either within or without our sovereign borders. To preserve and protect is the motto. This includes the security of our borders from illegal entry, and the deportation of illegal entrants once found.

To this end, we must have a strong military and a strong internal police force that is given the mission of policing land, sea, air, and space. We must also recognize the threats we face from fanatics of many types, whether in or out of the country, and be prepared to deal with them effectively wherever necessary, even if it means preemptive action on our part. We believe in the concept of just war.

7. Social: Our freedoms and liberties depend upon protection by the government of our rights to private property--both material and intellectual.

8. Social: We believe that our children must have a full and complete American education, devoid of bias and cant, and that well-formed curricula must be presented to them in the depth and breadth that they deserve. Further, this direction must be carried forward through higher education as well. We abhor the idea of our children being brainwashed by teachers and professors force-feeding our children a liberal ideology, while denying them the understanding of American government, laws, and history.

9. Economic: We believe in tempering our mixed economy with greater freedoms as we go forward, since the operation of a free market is proven best for our economy. It is necessary, however, to have some minimal market regulation to thwart the ever-present human vices of greed and avarice, as we are currently being shown to exist.

10. Political: We believe that experimentation with new government structures, institutions, and customs must be severely constrained, since such experimentation with what has been successful and traditional for over 230 years may ultimately redound to our detriment due to unforeseen negative consequences. There is a well-proven path for changes to our Constitution; any other path must be stopped---in particular, legislation from the bench.

This tenet extends to the arena of international government, where we must not allow our sovereignty to be compromised by the UN or any other organization. Too many of the nations of the world are today far too hostile, amoral, or immoral to permit real democratic worldwide governance. However, it is apparent that we must assume a positive, proactive role in foreign relations in concert with other truly democratic nations.

11. Political: We believe that any person or group, any religion, or even nation that vows to overthrow our government or to harm our people has cast themselves out from our civil society and the protection of its laws, as well as the protection of accepted international treaties. We must therefore do what is necessary against these enemies of the state to ensure our nation from harm. America comes first. There can be peace through strength, and we must have the resolve to use that strength!

12. Economic: We believe in caring for our environment in a responsible and economic manner, but not in rushing to erect some fantastic approach to mitigate what has been termed Global Warming or Climate Change. We believe that proper scientific investigations must be completed in a timely manner by objective scientists, and properly peer reviewed, before spending billions of our taxpayer dollars for a chimera. That the current fantasy approach is not accepted science has been demonstrated by over 30,000 scientists, doctors and competent academics around the world signing up for dissent.

13. Economic: We believe in fair and moderate taxation that every citizen must participate in as a percentage of their purchases or consumption, not income. The Fair Tax is the right approach. The idea of progressive taxation and releasing a majority of citizens from their tax obligations, largely to redistribute wealth, is both undemocratic and toxic to our economy.

14. Economic: We believe in fiscal responsibility and balanced budgets, which is not easily done now, but we must begin to regain control of our financial house immediately. We must disabuse Congress and the President of the notion that money collected from the taxpayer is their money to spend as they see fit, such as in pork, or special entitlements or "stimulus" that are in reality disguised favorite democratic programs. The will of the people must be taken into account in all issues.We need to elect representatives that will further this objective.

15. Political: We need to elect competent citizens to public office that will further all of the above Conservative objectives.

Labels: Conservatism

Labels: Conservatism

# posted by Mannning @ 3:59 PM