Sunday, May 31, 2009
Conservative Principles Compiled
Conservative Principles by Russell Kirk
First, the conservative believes that there exists an enduring moral order. That order is made for man, and man is made for it: human nature is a constant, and moral truths are permanent
Second, the conservative adheres to custom, convention, and continuity.
Third, conservatives believe in what may be called the principle of prescription.
Fourth, conservatives are guided by their principle of prudence.
Fifth, conservatives pay attention to the principle of variety.
Sixth, conservatives are chastened by their principle of imperfectability.
Seventh, conservatives are persuaded that freedom and property are closely linked.
Eighth, conservatives uphold voluntary community, quite as they oppose involuntary collectivism.
Ninth, the conservative perceives the need for prudent restraints upon power and upon human passions.
Tenth, the thinking conservative understands that permanence and change must be recognized and reconciled in a vigorous society.
Contemporary Burkean Conservativism
In western Europe conservatism is generally associated with the following views, as noted by the conservative author Russell Kirk in his 1953 book, The Conservative Mind, and (during the lat 18th century) by the British political philosopher Edmund Burke:
1. "Belief in a transcendent order, or body of natural law, which rules society as well as conscience."
2. "Affection for the proliferating variety and mystery of human existence, as opposed to the narrowing uniformity, egalitarianism, and utilitarian aims of most radical systems;"
3. "Persuasion that freedom and property are closely linked: separate property from private possession, and the Leviathan becomes master of all."
4. "Faith in prescription and distrust of 'sophisters, calculators, and economists' who would reconstruct society upon abstract designs."
5. "Recognition that change may not be salutary reform: hasty innovation may be a devouring conflagration, rather than a torch of progress
Thomas Jeffery’s conservatism
Great confusion seems to hamper the attempt to understand the term 'conservative.' In modern politics the term generally means those who adhere to the traditional understanding of the views of the Founding Fathers as encapsulated in the U.S. Constitution.
Thus, not everyone who refers to themselves as 'conservative' is a true conservative. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, R-SC, are cases in point.
In order to help clear up the confusion, I offer 10 basic conservative principles.
1. 'Government money' does not belong to government. It belongs to the taxpayers who worked hard for it, and who had funds deleted from their paychecks even before they got to see them.
2. The government that governs best governs LEAST.
3. Government normally does not solve problems. People do. Big government usually IS the problem.
4. Oppressive large governments are responsible for more murders of citizens than all of the wars in history.
5. The private sector is where the juice of society lies. There you will find ingenuity, creativity, and the creation of wealth--provided government gets out of the way.
6. Government social programs reward pathological dependency. True adults, unless hindered by debilitating physical impairment, seek independent living as free persons who are not stuck in an infantile dependency on the government nanny.
7. The one role of government mandated by the U.S. Constitution is to provide for the national defense.
8. Human rights are not granted by government. They are inherent and automatic. We are 'endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights.' Government can only choose to recognize and protect those inherent rights.
9. The right to self-defense, as encapsulated in the 2nd Amendment, is the key to all of the other rights described in the Bill of Rights. Free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and a free press are secured and kept secure by an armed citizenry.
10. Our form of government is NOT a 'pure democracy' or 'majority rule.' In a Constitutional Republic such as ours, the will of the majority is tempered and limited by the rights of the minority, which are always intact and unalienable regardless of the 'will of the majority.'
Mark Levin’s Ten Conservative Principles
America is guided by morality, having an origin in God.
The U.S. Constitution is not a “living and breathing document.”
The Free Market fosters creativity and inventiveness
The Welfare State must be dissolved.
Illegal immigration is against the law, and threatens our security, morality and traditions as a nation.
Enviro-statism is a threat to freedom and its citizens.
The Tenth Amendment should never be forgotten, keeping Federalism alive and well.
Self Preservation is the reason for public policy.
Conservative activism must be maintained at all times to keep Americans educated.
Americans have the right to keep the fruit of their own labors.
Mike Huckabee--Solid Conservative Principles
In his new book, “Do the Right Thing,” former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee lays out what he sees as basic conservative principles. The Republican Party needs to run back to, not continue to run away from, these very simple tenets of conservatism.
Lower taxes are better than higher taxes.
The purpose of government is to protect us, not to provide for us. We should provide for ourselves.
The best government is self-government.
If there must be a form of civil government, it should be as limited as possible and as local as possible. The most local government is ideal in that it is closer to those being governed and therefore more accountable to the governed.
Peace for a nation is best achieved by having a superior military capacity than those who pose a threat.
Government should facilitate and not complicate the free enterprise system.
Excessive taxation, regulation and unmitigated litigation lead to job migration.
Government intervention and regulation should be the court of last resort and not the first option in anything.
Mothers and fathers raise better children than governments do.
Government should undergird the basic family structure and not undermine it.
The Constitution and the Bill of rights were written to limit and restrict government from interfering with the rights of it citizens, not to keep citizens from exercising their rights.
Labels: Conservatism
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Cheney Makes us Proud
Dick Cheney, speaking at AEI, took the Obama administration to task for its stands on waterboarding and closing Gitmo. He explained in simple and direct language why we did what we did, and that the results were well worth it, even as Obama will not release the information dragged out of three terrorists to prove that worth.
The link is to a short summary in the UK Telegraph that highlights the key points of the speech.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/toby_harnden/blog/2009/05/21/the_10_punches_dick_cheney_landed_on_barack_obamas_jaw
5/22/09: further comments from the NY Post.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05222009/postopinion/editorials/cheneys_wise_words_170443.htm
Labels: Iraq, Islam, Islamofascists, Terrorists
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Conservative Credo III
Revised: Conservative Credo III May 20, 2009, update: 11 June 2009
Let us reaffirm and extend our beliefs
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 main 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. Within each order we must apply the following credos to the appropriate degree: realism; skepticism; federalism; evolutionism; and capitalism. Here is my listing:
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. He is 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 from inception onwards, and in 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 the main tenets below.
Social
We believe in self-reliance and individual responsibility and do not believe in 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.
Our freedoms and liberties depend upon protection by the government of our rights to private property--whether material or intellectual.
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.
Political
We believe in the precepts of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, and believe in 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. We also believe in the intent of the Constitution, as clarified by the 10th Amendment, to limit the federal government strictly to those functions called out in the Constitution, and that the States have jurisdiction over other functions, or else the people do themselves.
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. We grant that many of these rules and regulations are actually necessary, but they should be drastically simplified and streamlined. We do not believe in statism, collectivism, socialism, or communism.
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.
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 this mission covering 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.
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 for our freedoms. There is a well-proven path for changes to our Constitution; any other path must be stopped---in particular, legislation from the bench.
To this end, we believe that the federal government should have no fiscal, management or directive role in the provision of health care beyond Medicare and Medicaid, but it may have a regulatory role to ensure uniform quality of care.
We also believe that the federal government should have no management, or directive role in education, that being the role of States. However, the federal government, through the Congress, may give no-strings-attached grants to States for the purpose of improving state education.
The federal government is currently violating the rights of individuals, in particular, their property rights by a number of means: 1) takings or eminent domain; 2) freezing of accounts without proper cause; and 3) the plans and legislation to force redistribution of wealth. This is a blatant violation of our Constitution. Legal maneuvers by the Supreme Court have allowed the broadening of the eminent domain provision. The Administration has acted to freeze the accounts of online gamblers. We are in serious trouble.
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, and 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. No UN law should be recognized in the US without full debate and passage by the Congress, and signed by the President. UN Laws that violate the Constitution should not be recognized.
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.
We need to elect representatives that will further these objectives.
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 regulation to thwart the ever-present human vices of greed and avarice, well-known now to exist in a formerly disguised or hidden manner.
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 American 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 qualified scientists, doctors and competent academics around the world signing up in dissent.
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 both our economy and governance.
We believe in fiscal responsibility and balanced budgets, which is not easily initiated 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 earmarks, or special entitlements or "stimulus" that are in reality disguised favorite democratic programs.
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 legal 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 for its own sake is divisive and dangerous. We do not believe in dual citizenship.
The many small and large customs and traditions that make up our local and national worldview must be preserved, since they represent the institutional memory of many cultural decisions made by our ancestors. It is often difficult to trace the origins of a custom or a tradition and to understand the reasoning behind it. Thus, until such background is understood, and the impact of any changes also understood, we believe that our customs and traditions must be preserved intact, and not be altered or dropped without our full understanding and agreement to the consequences.
Labels: American Culture, Christianity, Citizenship USA, Conservatism
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Conservative Credo II
May 3, 2009
Let us reaffirm our beliefs
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 main 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. Within each order we must apply the following credos to the appropriate degree: realism, skepticism, federalism, evolutionism, and capitalism. Here is my listing:
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. He is 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 starting at inception, and in 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, as they strongly support the main tenets below.
Social
We believe in self-reliance and individual responsibility and 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.
Our freedoms and liberties depend upon protection by the government of our rights to private property--whether material or intellectual.
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.
Political
We believe in the precepts of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, and believe in 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.
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.
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 this mission covering 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.
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 for our freedoms. 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, and 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.
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.
We need to elect representatives that will further these objectives.
To this end, we must seek a wider coalition with groups that may hold some challengingly different views, but are in the main, conservative in their outlook. We must not, therefore, use litmus tests---such as pro-life, anti-gay marriage, or anti-amnesty for illegals in the nation---for these conservatives, and perhaps a few independents, to be welcomed into the movement. Their votes will have no marks of ownership or beliefs on them, and they are needed real soon now!
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 regulation to thwart the ever-present human vices of greed and avarice that are well-known to exist.
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.
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.
We believe in fiscal responsibility and balanced budgets, which is not easily initiated 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.
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 legal 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 for its own sake is divisive and dangerous. We do not believe in dual citizenship.
The many small and large customs and traditions that make up our local and national worldview must be preserved, since they represent the institutional memory of many cultural decisions made by our ancestors. It is often difficult to trace the origins of a custom or a tradition and to understand the reasoning behind it. Thus, until such background is understood, and the impact of any changes also understood, we believe that our customs and traditions must be preserved intact, and not be altered without our full understanding and agreement to the consequences.
Labels: American Culture, Citizenship USA, Conservatism, Democracy
Friday, May 01, 2009
Democracy: Bought and Paid for
Democracy is in terrible trouble in the US!
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage."
--Lord Alexander Tytler on the fall of the Athenian republic
Labels: Democracy
