Commentary, witticisms, and the random musings of a doofus

Today’s self-described¹ “Conservatives”, while not actually practicing what our parents or grandparents generations would have recongnized as Conservatism², certainly have become unbelievable adept at deflection and self-delusion.

The cornerstones of what I today refer to as “traditional” American Conservatism have always been: maximizing individual freedom, limiting government, financial responsibility, and free markets. Each of which, let’s be honest, has been abandoned by “modern” so-called Conservatives, especially during the current administration.

Of course, a lifelong Democrat who suddenly decides to call himself a “Conservative”, or at best a man whose stated political allegiance has flip-flopped repeatedly from Democrat to Independent to Republican and back and forth and back and forth as the wind blows, does not a Conservative make.

Much like “traditional” American Conservatism, “modern” so-called Conservatism also has cornerstones. However, the cornerstones of “modern” American Conservatism, are vastly different, from those described above, and in fact, are not terribly unlike the cornerstones of American Liberalism: hypocrisy, lying, vast overspending, increasing both the size and reach of the government, and what can only be described as, “who cares what’s good for the country so long as we can stick it to the other side of the aisle.”

These are the current hallmarks of self-described “Republicans” as well as self-described “Conservatives” (including those who self-describe as “Non-Republican Conservatives”).

If Freedom is the right to swing my arms how I see fit, with the understanding that my right to swing my arms ends where another man’s nose begins³, as the saying goes, then we can readily see that the first cornerstone of “traditional” American Conservatism, maximizing individual freedom, has been consistently eroding at least since that faith-based initiative that we refer to as “9/11”.

Likewise, with the other cornerstones, limiting government, financial responsibility, and free markets, we too see consistent erosion — especially since “9/11” — and scarcely a word from so-called Conservatives.

The national debt⁴ doubled under President Bush, and doubled again under President Obama, and it ain’t looking any better under President Trump.

President Reagan embraced free trade. He made free trade a part of his 1980 campaign and went on to negotiate and sign the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement, which ultimately led to the North American Free Trade Agreement. President Trump is scared of free trade, so much so that he declared NAFTA “perhaps the worst trade deal ever made” despite President Reagan still being the hero of Conservatism⁵. And what has he given us in its place? the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, which may in fact be “a terrific deal for all of us” (only time will tell), but which is also a zillion miles away from free trade. And let’s not forget his disatrous decision to engage in a losing trade war with China — one that his own administration’s numbers make clear has cost this country dearly.

Now, “traditional” American Conservatism is certainly not dead, nor even on its death bed. But it has clearly been abandonded by the Republican party, and is no longer being practiced by so-called Conservatives.

When asked why he or she would support a policy that is clearly contrary to the principles of Conservatism, a modern so-called Conservative will almost always answer with an attempted rationalization that amounts to either: the two wrongs fallacy (“they did it first”), consequentialism (“the ends justify the means”), or the false equivalence fallacy (“comparing apples to oranges”). Let’s be clear about one thing: the routine use of any of these forms of flawed reasoning is evidence of, at best, ignorance, and at worst, a lack of good character⁶.

Now some modern so-called Conservatives will attept to argue that hypocrisy, lying and the overwhelming desire to simply stick it to the other side are just human nature. Well maybe, but as anyone who has ever raised children will tell you, picking your nose and scratching your butt are certainly “just human nature”, because all children do it. But, as we grow up, we are tasked with overcoming, and fully expected to overcome, these examples of “just human nature” and limit them to situations where we are alone in private, like say, in the restroom. And the same is true for all the other forms of bad behavior I’ve detailed above. For exampe, being more interested in “winning” an argument than in arguing truthfully⁷, may well be human nature, but as rational adults, we are expected to overcome this impulse and adhere to our good character.

People who want to self-identify as Conservative, should be willing to learn what Conservatism actually is and isn’t, and if they don’t agree with the principles of American Conservatism (again, what I today refer to as “traditional” American Conservatism), there’s nothing wrong with that. Go right ahead supporting a President who was running trillion dollar budget deficits before the pandemic, is scared of free markets and loves to engage in trade wars that nobody wins, would gladly further limit individual freedoms (and has in fact, threatened to use the United States Military to do just that), and has no intention of reducing the size of or limiting the powers of the federal government. Go right ahead, that doesn’t bother me a bit. Really.

Just don’t call yourself a Conservative, because you most certainly are not one.