Conservatism is a state of being

JD Rucker:

Those of us who listen to Mark Levin know two things for sure: (1) He’s a conservative, and (2) He’s pragmatic in the way that he approaches true conservatism. This second reality may sound contrary to popular belief since he’s often accused of being impractical with the application of some of his ideals, but in truth his pragmatism is pure when applied to a society that embraces conservatism. In other words, his ideas are only impractical if you accept that liberalism cannot be defeated. If you assume that conservatism is right and, if allowed to flourish, would yield a better circumstance for everyone, then the only practical approach is to acknowledge the primacy of conservatism as the future of a prosperous America.

One topic with which I disagreed with Levin initially is his premise that conservatism is not an ideology. I recall first hearing about the idea in a comment on one of my articles. Someone said something to the effect of, “I agree with everything you’re saying, but don’t call conservatism an ideology. It’s not.” That led me to explore the concept which brought me to Levin’s perspective. Yesterday, it was reiterated at CR:

It’s an impassioned way of making the point and it worked. Liberalism, socialism, Republicanism… they’re all ideologies. The challenge with an ideology is that it focuses on the governance of a land and/or people that follows certain tenets laid out by pundits and wonks, philosophers and academics, manipulators and power-brokers. They are substitutes for and barriers around the driving forces of humanity. They go against our God-given rights by imposing man-made restrictions. They take us from our higher revelations and bring us down to our baser natures.

Let’s look at these three prominent ideologies growing in America today with examples of how they contradict the intended and righteous nature of this country.

Liberal ideology

A liberal ideology works against the people by making freedom a weapon to be wielded against itself. It distorts freedoms by finding other “freedoms” to impose ahead of them. It isn’t just in laws and government. In the policies of institutions such as universities and sporting leagues, liberalism is entrenched. Some examples:

• A baker’s freedom to practice her religion is superseded by a gay couple’s freedom to not be “discriminated” against.
• A college student’s right to not be close to someone that might offend them supersedes another college student’s right to listen to a conservative speaker.
• A woman’s right to use the restroom with other women is superseded by a transgender’s right to select which bathroom suits them at that moment.

For liberals, rights must be inclusive to a fault. Feelings are more important than realities and any sensible rights, whether given by God or declared by the Constitution, are subject to revisions based upon the knee-jerk reactions of the moment. The greatest danger that liberalism imposes on us all is the threat of destroying the things that have made this country great for the sake of promoting a fleeting opportunity to feel good for the moment. They thrive on temporary fixes and instant gratification, foundation be damned.

Socialist ideology

There’s no need to delve too deeply into this one. If you’re reading this article, chances are very strong that you’re well-aware of the dangers of a socialist ideology. What’s mine is not really just mine. Laziness is rewarded while industrialism and hard work are condemned. It’s the essence of the dystopian end to Atlas Shrugged, though what was written as hyperbole back then is sadly not far from the reality that socialists want to impose today.

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