Let’s take a careful look at conservative means in theory and practice today. . Conservative is drawn from the word “conserve.” Conserve has several meanings: maintain, restrict, limit, maintain. preserve. Those claiming the label today are being quite duplicitous, wanting it to appear that they are acting on one meaning, when, in fact, they are acting on another. And, in other cases, they are acting on a straightforward meaning when that is not what our people, country, and species need.
Today’s conservatives want it to appear that they are attempting to uphold or preserve basic values central to our culture They say that they are upholding values such as honesty, honor, truth, fair play, civility, patriotism, service. But the behavior of majority of today’s conservatives shows dishonesty, misinformation and outright falsehoods, the valuing of money over people and their needs, ongoing neglect of essential infrastructure, aggressive and threatening incivility, cheating at every possible opportunity, inciting insurrectionist behavior. What too many of them are really tryig to conserve is existing privilege, personal and partisan power, and maximum profit without responsibility and accountability.
Far too many of today’s “conservatives” are simply aggressive, demagogic, duplicitous charlatans who have let themselves be controlled by their own fears, hate, ethnocentrism, and greed. They, due to their own behavior and its consequences are neither really conservatives nor patriots supporting our constitutional, representative democracy. They bring shame on themselves and on the term “conservative”, and are actually threats to our culture, our country, our people.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.This is how we know they're liars, they call themselves Conservatives but do nothing for Conservation selling off federal lands to international corporations, like Exxon Mobil has control over enough federal land to build a state the size of Delaware and New Jersey combined that they aren't even using.
Ok that's off the top of my head, it may be another petroleum company, but the issue is real.
Willow_Wisp
Level 8
Nov 12, 2021
4
The political term "Conservative" meant to conserve the status quo. Of course as time passed the status quo changed, so the term is actually obsolete, but so what? The political term "Progressive" was to mean progress. Progress according to who?
Word games don't mean much.
Alienbeing
Level 8
Nov 12, 2021
2
Conservatives are about conserving lots of things.... primarily conserving their own political and social power... conserving outdated values that support racism, misogyny, and homophobia... conserving a false history of the U.S.
See! So much conserving!
Charles1971
Level 7
Nov 12, 2021
4
Equating conservatism to racism is showing that at best you have a surface analysis of things.
@Alienbeing What I stated was that conservatives support racism. Conservative politicians have a long history in the U.S. of supporting policies and laws that harm racial minorities. Most of the conservative states in the U.S. have a long history of racism.
So, yea, if you look below my "surface analysis" there's yet more truth to what I'm stating.
@Charles1971 Your reply backs up my comment. Your comments are not at all valid. Without doubt some conservatives are racist. Equally without doubt some are not. What data do you have that supports a majority of conservatives are racist? A majority would have to be racist to support your statement "Conservative politicians have a long history......" Had you said "some Conservative politicians...." you would have had a point, as you phraised it you only show prejudice.
@Alienbeing Many (if not most) Southern states have a long history of racist political and social policies that were intended toward harming black people. This includes how neighborhoods were developed, where highways were built, gerrymandering, voter suppression, segregation, making/keeping interracial marriage illegal, putting up Confederate monuments (many of which were placed 60 to 70 years after the Civil War)... and I could go on.
These policies were put in place by Conservative politicians voted into office by Conservative voters.
These are not actions by the vast majority of liberals and progressives.
I'm not saying every single Conservative alive in the U.S. is a racist or that every single Conservative politician is a racist... but this is a group that has repeatedly shown intolerance toward blacks and brown skinned people. And look who conservatives voted into the White House five years ago. And Trump isn't even close to being the only example.
@Charles1971 Anytime an entire group is labeled, the label is questionable. You (or I for that matter) have NO idea how many Conservatives are racist.
Suppose a white person said BLM members are racist. Would you agree?
@Alienbeing I did not say all conservatives are racist. I'm not saying that ONLY conservatives are racist. I'm not saying that there are not any liberals or progressives that are racist. But historically it has been conservatives that have been the primary root of racism in the U.S.
I'm not trying to get a head count here. I'm simply basing my statement on the political and social history of this country.
@Charles1971 You have no statistical proof to back you up. Additionally almost all Jim Crow laws were passed by Democrats.
@Alienbeing First... we are NOT discussing Republicans vs Democrats. Over the course of the past 150 both parties have changed dramatically. It was not until the early 20th century that the Republican party became the party of conservatives. So, which political party passed Jim Crow laws 150 years ago is not relevant.
And I really doubt any amount of statistics is going to change your view on this so I won't waste either of our time. Also, ten minutes of research on your party would easily confirm what I'm saying. I simply don't have the time or inclination to teach U.S. history to you.
@Charles1971 Yes we are discussing Republicans and Democrats. Conservatism is always attributed to the Republican party.
The remainder of your reply is merely self serving and without fact. Last, I assure you that you have no capability of teaching me history, none at all.
@Alienbeing It seems this discussion is done since you are obviously not even aware of the histories of the Democrat and Republican parties and how they have both changed over the past 150 years. I'd strongly advise that you read up on the subject.
@Charles1971 I strongly suggest you are blovating. I am very well aware of how each major party approached issues and I am also well aware that the major change occurred when the "Solid South" left the Democtatic party because of Lyndon Johnson's approach to race.
As I said, you can't teach, but you can (and do) make believe you know the subject. Actually maybe you do, but your opinion is obviously prejudiced (meaning pre-judged) so you related feeling, not fact.
I think it necessary to similarly examine misuses of the words ‘liberal’ and ‘progressive’. I won’t do that examination because I find the adjectives ‘constitutional’ and ‘democratic’ more helpful in political chat.
Every time I hear the term ‘our democracy’, I think ‘oligarchy’, the form of government created by America’s founders to replace monarchy.
Until elections are financed in ways that don’t primarily benefit major contributors, the term ‘representative democracy’ is but a synonym for plutocratic oligarchy.
yvilletom
Level 8
Nov 12, 2021
5
At the Federal level we are not, nor ever were, nor were even intended to be a Democracy.
@Alienbeing Ahh, someone else has read parts of at least Volume One of the Records of the 1787 Federal Convention, and perhaps has heard many people refer to “our democracy”
Descriptive dictionaries will be correct in saying oligarchy and democracy are the same. Prescriptive dictionaries will br correct in saying the two are not the same.
Classical conservatism promotes limited government in people's lives and freedoms, protection of institutions and conventions, and cautious change to law, government power and individual freedom. What any of that has to do with the modern crazed lizard-brained fascist and authoritarian inclined class and power entrenching anti-democratic lunatics who now pass themselves off as 'conservatives', I have no earthly idea.
David1955
Level 8
Nov 11, 2021
3
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