On Conservatism

Whether or not we like it, political labels are important. In today’s culture, a person’s identity, social status, and often personality, are determined by their political label. Judging a person by their character is a thing of the past; a person’s voting records are more important. I call myself conservative. But in all of this name-calling and party assigning, I have gotten lost. Why am I a conservative? What does it mean? Why do I believe conservatism is the right political worldview? The first explanation of my conservatism is that I don’t want to be a leftist. I don’t support abortion, gay marriage, or big government. I believe immigration is a good thing, but it should happen legally. Government spending creates more problems than it solves. I support the second amendment and believe it was created to keep the government in check. So, I’m a conservative because I don’t agree with liberals. Is that the only reason I’m a conservative? Is my political identity just simply that everything a liberal believes, I believe the opposite? That seems shallow and spiteful: that view isn’t based on truth or reality. If I’m not a conservative simply for disagreeing with the left, maybe I am a conservative because I agree with mainstream conservatives; those in media, politics, or entertainment. However, if I try to classify my politics based off of a conservative figure, that still leaves nothing solid and real to base my worldview off of. If I was a Thomas Massie conservative, my biggest priority would be national debt. If I was a Ben Shapiro conservative, Israel would be my top international priority. If I choose Donald Trump as my voice of wisdom, then in two years, he finishes his term as president and I don’t have a leader anymore. If I don’t like any of those options, I could follow Tucker Carlson or Candace Owens or Rand Paul or Matt Walsh. Yet in each of these choices, I find something I disagree with. Basing my beliefs off of one person makes for a shaky worldview, subject to change and not based on anything reliable. Paul talked about this in 1 Corinthians 3 when early Christians were splitting into factions of belief. Some were with Paul, some were with Apollos, some were with Cephas. Like he said 2000 years ago, what are Paul or Apollos except servants of the Most High? In the same way, what are conservative leaders except representatives of a bigger movement and worldview? So then what’s left? A conservative, by definition, is someone looking to conserve something. So what am I conserving? It’s often been said that conservatism is the conservation of traditional values. But whose traditional values? Is it modern day values, being free to do whatever you want, with whoever you want, however you want? Is it the traditional values of the 1950s, where men went to work and women were perfect little housewives? Maybe it was the values of the 1800s, of a hard day’s work, a small farmhouse, and a strong woman by your side, along with a dash of adventure moving West, being the only things required to make a man happy. When looking through all of the variations of modern conservatism, I find that none of them truly capture the political ideology correctly. Conservatism isn’t a political party or specific set of policies; it is the true essence of patriotism. Being a conservative means conserving the values that this country was founded upon. It is defined by sacrificing our time, money, and even lives for the American idea of freedom and liberty. This country was founded upon the idea that men are created in God’s image and, of right ought to be, free and independent. Mankind does not thrive under strict government supervision. Endless taxation, law-making, and changes in government based on the whims of a spoiled king or corrupt parliament are not conducive to a free and thriving society. If we wish to be free, in any form of the word, then our government needs to be small and uninvolved in the daily lives of its citizens. Our government was also founded by men who had faith in Jesus Christ. Our country was designed by moral men for moral men, to uphold the truth and beauty of Scripture, living in the freedom men ought to have. The United States of America was formed because of the Founding Fathers’ beliefs that their faith was worth the fight, their families were worth protecting, and their freedom was worth dying for. This is the true definition of conservatism. It is not simply strict border control or lower taxes or a stronger military. It is protecting the spirit of Americanism in the 21st century. The American spirit is one that I cannot seem to find anywhere today. Liberals hate America and lost any sense of patriotism years ago. Conservatives maintain a facade of the American spirit, but many push for more government control and less freedom, buying into the lie that those things will provide us with security. Everyone else, who doesn’t see themselves as either conservative or liberal, is often confused and unsure of who to believe about anything. The reality is this: the American spirit is built on a belief in God Almighty, a longing for freedom, and a bit of rebellion. The American spirit cannot be bridled or tamed: it seeks justice, liberty, and living life to the fullest potential. It cannot co-exist with a government that controls or babies its citizens and it withers and dies when it is not set aflame from time to time. It cannot thrive when its leaders exalt what God hates and legalize what God abhors. The American spirit is the backbone of our country. It’s the spirit that declared independence from Great Britain, settled the West, defeated the Nazis in World War 2, and built the greatest country in the world. This attitude, this American spirit, is what it truly means to be a conservative. It’s not just a political party, or a person, or a label. Conservatism is refusing to be told what to do, working hard to get what you want out of life, and being willing to die for your faith, your family, and your freedom. Put simply, conservatism is God, family, country, in that order.