| Alive and kicking, conservatism is still very active |
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| Written by Colt Ables, The Shorthorn guest columnist | ||||
| Thursday, 04 February 2010 04:53 PM | ||||
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Many commentators and pundits on the left wing have pronounced the death of the conservative movement or proclaimed the rule of liberalism for the next generation. With the 2008 election, one could assume that conservatism was rejected with the nomination of then Sen. Barack Obama, a liberal, and Sen. John McCain, a man who was seen as independent and not a professed Conservative. To his credit, technology aided Obama’s rise in popularity. Utilizing the skills and technological capabilities of the under-30 crowd that enabled his campaign to excel as well as his appeal to the more apathetic. In the run-up to the election of 2008, conservatism was pushed to the wayside at times by President George W. Bush’s administration and also by many in Congress. It is a fair assessment that the eight years that President Bush held office should not be brandished as a full reflection of conservatism. There is a misconception of conservatism in society today that needs to be clarified by a clear statement of principles. From the days of Sen. Barry Goldwater, to the days of President Ronald Reagan, to the present, rifts have arisen regarding the extent of civil liberties and non-interventionist foreign policy that have caused many to breakaway from calling themselves conservative to calling themselves Libertarians. This is what poses a problem for the future of the conservative/libertarian movement when members of the same movement berate their own over conflicting views other than the substantive principles that make up who we are as conservatives. To the contrary, the formation of tea parties and “9/12” groups have sparked many who share common principles regarding our country, our founding and the purpose of our government, to rally together on matters of principle and not party. After Obama’s inauguration, people who went to the tea parties and the “9/12”ers began to use the tactics that the Democrats had mastered for years with the Democratic machine and their technological capacity achieved in the 2008 campaign. What will make the future of the conservative movement last will not be a certain figure like a Goldwater or a Reagan, rather the understanding that we may disagree in certain areas. But the principles that matter most, what our founders intended in the formation of the Bill of Rights and our Constitution, are kept and protected. A movement is only as strong as the people that comprise it, but it is also dependent on the medium of the message. Unity, community, common belief and common goals are what will propel the conservative movement on for generations to come. Some have made the claim that the Reagan revolution, or reign of conservatism, has long since ended. But it took until 2008 for the left wing to form a counter-revolution to the policies that helped make America prosperous for almost 30 years. One could assume that a failure of communicating those ideals, once touted by Reagan to younger generation in a means that they would understand, aided in that conservative decline. When America was fighting for independence, the British and the Spanish tried to undermine her unity by attempting to make deals with the different colonies. One advantage to some of the misdealing in those days was a lack of communication due to the long distance a message would have to literally travel before it could be received. Today the message takes moments to reach its destination. We should not fall prey to the same misgivings by failing to communicate. Views: 656 | E-mail
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 04 February 2010 09:04 PM ) | ||||
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