Why Today's Conservatives Are Yesterday's Liberals - Part I

Part I - Definitions

Today's modern conservative moment has become an empty shell of what used to be a powerful movement.

By definition, the term 'conserve' seeks to preserve something that currently exists. For instance, if I have $50 and seek to be conservative, I would spend as little of it as possible. Or if I am conservative with my car, I would seek to prevent damage to the systems that make my automobile what it is.

There was a time and place in this country where conservatism in this country meant a strict adherence to the law enumerated in the Constitution of the united States and the legal laws that were enacted after. Today, it has come to mean little more than 'not liberal', a severe bastardization of the true intent of conservatism.

It takes little reading of supposed bastions of conservative thought to realize that they have far less in common with conservative ideals than a monkey has with a Honda Accord. Juggernauts of thought 'dance with the devil' and betray their motives to their base as they consistently excuse and even times encourage the bureaucrats to steal their liberty to defeat those who merely appear more dangerous today. Common sense is thrown down the drain as today's movement seeks to out-Clintonize William Jefferson Clinton.

But in order to understand this, first we must understand what it is that we are conserving.

Despite the incessant rhetoric, our country is NOT a Democracy. It never was and prayerfully, never will be. It is a Constitutional Republic. Put simply, this means several things:

1. You and I possess all rights that are inherent in being human.
2. We PAY servants (not officials) to represent us in the making of laws. We GRANT our representatives the right to officiate on our behalf. We reserve the right to remove them if need be, by vote or other methods if necessary.
3. These servants make the laws that govern our land with our input.
4. They are constrained by the chief law, the Constitution, which they are legally bound to obey.

So, by definition, a conservative would seek to conserve what is already in place, the very things that has allowed our country to become great. When one seeks to change it into something it is not, that person leaves behind the definition of conservative.

For instance, President Bush passed a law which would provide prescription drug care coverage to senior citizens on Medicare. Nowhere in the law (Constitution) does the Congress or the President possess this authority to enact this type of law, yet it is done anyhow.

By definition, this act in itself is unconstitutional(against the law) and should be viewed as a crime. No servant (especially the Federal government) has the right to grant itself rights.

Let's explore this idea for a second.

If I go through a drive-thru at my local restaurant and order some food, when I give my cashier my credit card, there are strict rules which govern the transaction. Despite the cashiers pay status, he cannot grant himself a raise at my expense. Nor does he have the right to confiscate my food and give it to the homeless. We have a word for that. Theft.

We rightfully jail people for doing that and yet every day legislation is debated and passed which is against the law and is little more than coercive theft. Congress cannot (legally) decide that suddenly it has a vested interest in producing carpet and decide that they need to regulate the industry as it been granted no rights to do so by it's constituents, namely you and I.

The Real Effect
So in truth, what we have in Washington is a group of professional sham-men that continue to tell us that the best course of action for our lives is that we let them run it. They have done this on many levels, some albeit minutely legally and the vast majority, illegally.

Here are just a few: Education, Welfare, Agriculture, and Transportation.

Just because we are used to the stench of bureaucratic filth does not mean it is good. I for one, no longer tolerate being told what to do by my paid servants. I suggest you do the same. Because if you fail, you are no more conservative than many were in 1930's Germany.

Edited for spelling, appearance and labels on 3/19/2010.