What is a conservative? Is it not the adherence to the old and tried against the new and untried?
—Abraham Lincoln
THERE WAS A TIME IN AMERICA—WITHIN THE MEMORY OF SOME—when we encouraged the things we wanted more of and discouraged those things we wanted less of. Somehow, that has been reversed with disastrous results. We now get more of what we want less of, and less of what we want more of. And yet, in too many cases, we won’t stop doing the things that produce what we want less of. Does this make sense?
When I was growing up, I never envied the rich, but I did want to know how they became rich so I could do what they did. Today, we are told that if you are rich, or have enough money to care for yourself, you are evil and “owe” government much of the money you’ve earned so it can be distributed (often badly) to people who haven’t earned it. This attitude has created an “entitlement” mentality that serves neither the nation nor those on the receiving end of someone else’s money. It also contributes to a permanent underclass because there is little incentive to climb out of poverty when you are getting a check that subsidizes you “in poverty.”
I’m a conservative because I believe in principles that work: low taxes, small government (yes, it once existed); self-control and character as primary virtues that must be taught and cannot be caught; hard work as the best ticket to success so you don’t rely on government or others to take care of you; a good education that really educates and not the propaganda that is so often taught in too many government schools (this is why I favor school choice, which would especially liberate the poor from this failed monopoly, giving them the chance to escape poverty); strong marriages and responsible mothers and fathers to rear a new generation properly; love of country; love of God; a responsibility and privilege to share freedom (when possible) with others who do not have it because of totalitarian dictators who won’t allow it; protecting human life, born and unborn.
These virtues and beliefs were once so prevalent in America that they hardly needed saying. Today, many of these things are in short supply, or they no longer exist, because if someone teaches them, he or she might face the high priests of political correctness who label any appeal to objective truth as a threat to the “inclusive” society they are trying to build. It is inclusive for them, but excludes those who do not accept their doctrines.
I’m a conservative precisely because I want to conserve those things that have a track record of working. We know what they are because generations before us practiced them in greater numbers. We have abandoned so many of them that our society now suffers from multiple dysfunctions, and yet the left wants to push on in error rather than return to the root principles that made us great and sustained us through world wars and the Great Depression.
I once thought that politics held the answer—or at least part of the answer—to “binding up the nation’s wounds,” to use Lincoln’s profound phrase. That’s why in August 1980, shortly before Ronald Reagan was elected president, I took the only nonjournalism job I’ve ever held. I went to work as vice president of the Moral Majority, where I stayed until 1985 before leaving to write my syndicated newspaper column.
Among the problems with the Moral Majority and other religious-political movements was—and is—that while they might identify the symptoms of cultural contamination, their proposed solution, politics, falls far short of being a successful treatment. In addition, setting oneself up as more “moral” than people who don’t agree with you politically may be great for fund-raising, but it can never contribute to common ground and a commitment to making the grand American experiment work for as many people as possible. It also closely resembles the first and worst sin: Pride.
Yes, I’m a conservative, but I am under no illusions that government—even one dominated by conservatives—will be able to fix the individual and collective problems we face. That’s because the source of our problems doesn’t begin or end in Washington. It is to be found in our lower nature. If electing conservatives were enough, twelve years of Republican dominance of the Congress would have turned the country around. But as the nation witnessed, many of these “conservatives” became as corrupt as the liberal Democrats they replaced.
A liberal thinks improvements can be made by tinkering with the current system and putting liberals in control. A conservative wants to replace the current system with constitutional government, less federal control and more self-control, less blame and more shame for wrong behavior, less dependency on government and more individual opportunity.
My purpose in joining with my liberal friend Bob Beckel is not to water down what I believe or ask him to dilute his beliefs. Rather, we both look to an objective of far greater importance than which side wins the next election, as important as that may be. At a time when the United States is faced with serious and threatening forces from without and within, we can’t afford the “luxury” (if that’s what it is) of tearing out one another’s hearts in defense of political ideologies. There is too much at stake. Someone has to take the lead by saying “enough” to the old formula of name-calling, to the “take-no-prisoners” mentality.
We want to point to a better way. A way that does not deny that politics is a contact sport, but doesn’t require that the combatants feel their opponents are un-American or love country less, a way that used to let us move the ball forward, despite our differences.
It cannot be denied that the “other side” does occasionally come up with some good ideas. Failure to acknowledge that and to benefit from this exchange of ideas makes us all worse off. Moreover, when we call one another names, impugn others’ patriotism, and dismiss any ideas but those coming from our own side as idiotic and unpatriotic, we lose what makes us uniquely American.
Compromise is not an ugly word if it promotes the general welfare. The problem is that too many are intent on their own welfare, and that can never lead to common ground, which we believe promotes the best interests of the country and most of its people.
Some might not consider this a “conservative” position, but it is one that can make America stronger. As the sign on Ronald Reagan’s desk said, “It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit.” Not many would challenge Reagan’s conservative credentials.