Are You a Conservative?

As a Conservative, here are a few things I believe in:
A balanced budget
A strong military
A strong State Department
A strong international presence
Strong and just borders
Human rights and America’s moral authority
Equal opportunity, not equal outcomes
The Constitution
The law
A three branch government
Decent and moral leaders
Facts and truth
All American’s right to vote
NATO
Strong alliances and partnerships
America as first among equals
Our system of government
America

 

I am unclear how the stated positions above demonstrate your conservatism. The list seems, well, more designed to invoke contention than not, and seems less conservative than expeditionary. For example, budgets can be balanced, but not also including a component of least possible seems lacking from the list. "strong military, and federal agency" support seems unlikely to be the desire of those who also yearn for lean government.

You suggest that decency and truth are important, and yet you've packaged a list that is essentially dishonest on it's face.

 

It's nice to see y'all discussing what being a Conservative means again...post DJT.

Its been a white fog the past couple of years.

 

Your reply shows you have a difference with my beliefs. The "lean government" lust is nonsense. Define a "lean government." I prefer an effective government in meeting my conservative beliefs. Not some ideological government scaled by some universal cookie cutter.cookie cutter. List your objections and beliefs.

 

I would suggest that "being conservative" is an approach. The approach doesn't have "meaning", it has goals. It's a function of how you live in relation to what you believe in. For me, being conservative is continuing to advance the ideas, the agreements, that allowed our nation to deliver on the promise of respect and support for the people and individual liberty. The beauty of our country is our willingness to tolerate, our willingness to overcome. To me, that isn't a list of policy options, or professions of catechism or orthodoxy. It's a style, a pattern of accepting and promoting liberty and fighting to preserve it.

 

A balanced budget: Definitely, more so in that we need to pay down the debt.
A strong military: Yes, but only inside America, get rid of the overseas bases.
A strong State Department: Meh, better handled at state and local levels.
A strong international presence: No, let other countries deal with their neighbors
Strong and just borders: Yes, open borders for trade. Allow people to immigrate on a merit basis.
Human rights and America’s moral authority: Only in America based on the constitution.
Equal opportunity, not equal outcomes: Definitely, based on merit
The Constitution: Yes, and the amendments that come along with the constitution.
The law: Applied equally to everyone.
A three branch government: Yes
Decent and moral leaders: This is subjective.
Facts and truth: Yes
All American’s right to vote: No, there must be restrictions. Although the current form of what the constitution says is law, it should go back to property owners.
NATO: NO
Strong alliances and partnerships: With America's interest first.
America as first among equals: No, "America" second to the states.
Our system of government: Yes
America: subjective.

 

I think everyone defines labels around their own beliefs, but I can agree with most of these.
I think what is not there is the importance of personal responsibility and integrity- strong people with just values. Those are the characteristics that empower individuals, and if one could imagine a nation composed of such people, you would not have the kind of political horseplay that has kept us in trouble for decades. We need to figure out how to inspire people to strive for higher values, to raise stronger children to build stronger, more independent population. Weak or strong- they both vote, but not the same way.

 

Define integrity-strong and personal responsibilty please.

 

It is obvious to me and others here that you are trying to compartmentalize YOUR definition of conservatism.

Frankly, it is relative. When I was young and considered myself a moderate, my friends thought I was conservative. That's because they were far left. As I've grown older, I have moved further to the right as I have gotten WISER.

Of course the dem party and the lying liberal media have contributed to those changes and being WISER.

Steve

 

If you're fat and you think it's genetics then you have no personal responsibility and you vote Democrat, free medicare whoopee.

If you're fat and accept that it's because you ate that 3rd cake today then you vote GOP.

I'm sure there are some diabetic chunky's on here who will disagree.

 

Thank you for demonstrating you knowledge of biology and genetics.

 

I can completely understand the 'America First' slogan and mindset. There is a reason that, when on an airplane, we are told to put our own oxygen mask first, then help others. But, as with that example, the focus is about helping others. International partners are important, and they should be respected. Negotiation is not about getting everything you want and leaving the other guy with nothing. It is about ensuring that both come away from the table having gotten what was most important to them.

America, throughout history, has come to the aid of those in desperate need. To walk away from that role isolates the country. And isolation is a position of extreme weakness.

 

Of course, that shouldn't and wouldn't be necessary to any real adult, but obviously you ask for a reason.

Integrity-
The quality of being honest, having strong moral principles and values you believe in and live by; moral uprightness.

Personal responsibility-
Understanding that you choose your own path and make your own decisions, that you alone are responsible for what you say, what you think, what you feel and what you do... for carrying your own weight in life, handling the consequences of your own choices. You step up to the plate, not pass the buck in regard to those actions and consequences.

I realize you will now be saying- What the hell is he talking about???? Say whut?

Imagine that everyone you knew told you the truth rather than what you wanted to hear at the moment, kept their word, and were exactly what they said they were, and what life would be like in such company.
If you have ever met someone like that, you have met a person with integrity and personal responsibility. I have no doubt that if you have met such a person, it would have been a brief encounter.

 

In other words you are the Older version of conservative and NOT Trumpist. Unfortunately this New GOP does not support any of this beyond saying they do...they in fact act in opposition to most if it.

 

Did you know 28 million type 2 diabetes sufferers in the US gave it themselves of course you do your doctor told you that when you were diagnosed.

You're giving type 1 diabetics a bad name, I would sugarcoat it for you but you'd eat that too.

My mum is 17 stone, my dad is 20 stone, my sister over 20 stone, one brother is 24 stone and the other one was 17 stone until I made him come swimming with me and get a dog. Now he's 13 stone. I am 10 stone because I swim over 10 miles a week every week for the last 2 decades but that's not connected in anyway. Healthy exercise and moderate eating having nothing to do with being fat right? Thank you for demonstrating your knowledge of cause of effect.

It's genetics right, it's not your fault.

 

What is moral uprightness? What are strong moral principles? What is honesty? Defining a platitude with more platitudes doesn't cut it. Are you just saying that integrity is believing the same as you believe?

And your definition of personality assumes that everyone has total control over their life which is quite an assumption. If thet were true the biggest predictor of the class you end up in would not be the class you are born into.

 

No some is behavior and some is genetics. Most people do know this. They also know there are two types of diabetes.

 

SAY WHUT????

As I forewarned, that would be meaningless to you. If you had any of it, you wouldn't be sitting there with your thumb up it.

You WOULD have control of your life, and it wouldn't make any difference how you were born. Anyone can have those values, but that takes self-respect; and many have no idea what that really is. What WOULD make a difference is how you were raised, and how you think now. Don't go slap your momma for blowing the job, she probably wasn't raised with those values either.

 

LOL, got 'em good!

Steve

 

I really dont know what I am.
A federal government limited to what is needed to function as a legitimate state and that does not intrude on the private lives of its citizens.
No unfunded mandates. If a law or organisation is created by the government then it has to be paid for at that time with taxes.
A strong defensive military
No foreign entanglements beyond the protection of sea lanes for trade and trade deals.
Equal application of all laws
Voting rights for all adult citizens
The right to say and believe what you wish.
Protect our natural resources
Merit based immigration.
Strong state governments that cater to their citizens needs taking over from the fed things like SS and Medicare and tailoring it to their people.

 

I think conservatives are obviously right on most issues lately (economic) other than the environment. Pollution can quickly become the biggest problem we face. I used to lean liberal on social issues but have changed since American culture is becoming more depraved.

 

I don’t see how any sane person could object to most of those items. I’d have an issue with very few of them.

 

A liberal list would be frightening.

 

I doubt we'll ever see much of THAT list, certainly not a complete list from an actual liberal (or Leftist as I prefer to call them), if they ever attempted to put it to paper they'd realize just how insane it is. A true "liberal" list would have to be made by a pragmatist.. which rules out "liberals".

 

No, I am definitely not a conservative, not by what I see as the modern definition anyway.

Most conservatives do not believe that America is a nation defined by a Credo and set of beliefs, as it very definitely is in the Declaration of Independence and further refined in the Constitution. They seem to believe we are rather defined by our racial makeup, that being either European or even Northern European. Many seem to believe the Aryan Master Race myth and say that America is part of the Master Race Heartland. This idea has become pretty much the central belief of modern conservatism, determining or greatly influencing everything else. Trump can do anything whatsoever, it seems, and his "base" will approve of it, as long as he continues to bash immigrants and muslims for all our problems

Most conservatives I see here seem to believe this and also follow the precepts set forth in a book by Nancy Maclean Democracy in Chains

Conservatives are authoritarians Their constant pleading of "small government" is a facade, as are most of their beliefs really, since they are quite happy with a government that tells us what we can put into our bodies and what kind of sexual morals we should have. They go so far as to tell women they can't remove unwanted growths from their bodies, if you can believe that.

They believe strongly in Capitalism, and I agree with them there. I don't, however, maintain that such belief requires us to to have no regulations and allow businesses to mulct us with impunity or to poison and pollute the air we breathe and water we drink as many of them seem to want to do if they can make more money doing so.

I believe that business owners are a very important and necessary part of our economy but no more so than the people that work for them.

I believe we should have and maintain a social infrastructure and that should and must include single payer universal health care, most conservatives seem to think that we should charge the poor to chase away the buzzards that come to eat their corpses piled outside the doors of he hospital's emergency rooms.. We should maintain Social Security and Medicare at robust and healthy levels. Most conservatives seem to think all the old and disabled are either faking their problems and/or should die anyway as non-productive

I think we should have a strong military, but it should be extremely closely watched. It's first priority should always be the safety and benefits it offers to brave people who risk their lives for us, not expensive equipment of no use in modern warfare.

There are other reasons I am not a conservative, but those are the main ones.