Let's say in our futuristic theoretical scenario conservatives got every victory under the Sun they ever fantasized about
except One,
and anyway the FC's have always had a problem with this one issue. They say the SC's are way too concerned and focused on It and it would do the party well to give it the old heave-ho since we agree on so many other things. OK so let's say in our hypothetical here liberalism is a total thing of the past, a fossil, don't gotta even worry about it anymore and so we have our conservative society, our conservative world but without Pro-Life. We got everything else just not that one thing. The libertarian wing got their wish big-time and so the everything else includes the usual: leaner government, vastly lower income taxes (or none at all), a strong and stable military (very Reaganesque), labor unions gone, a better educational system that got rid of tenure, geez terrorism you don't even have to worry about anymore even at a shopping mall in Israel, free speech and then some, tort reform
the whole gamut,
except that not only is abortion-on-demand still the law of the land but the country hasn't even been pulled in a pro-life direction, in short there's no pro-life influence even. The FC/libertarians would naturally be perfectly fine with all of this but it would still be a spiritually empty victory. Take away the moral tension on any issue and you leave yourself a vacuum, there is a part of us that likes to be reminded of Right and Wrong though we may bristle at it on the surface. Even the FC's themselves who no longer hide their irritation at the SC's, take away the SC's would they still miss us? We need that moral voice even if we disagree with it, if anything it may lead us to calibrate our own views, many times they need calibrating anyway. If abortion ceased being on the political radar screen, if every pro-life voice vanished overnight it'd be like your Dad buying you a Hustler and a bong, you'd be taken aback and would lose the sense of sin. Many of you may hate the SC's the way Barry Goldwater did in his dotage but do you really want us to go away? Can't we on some psychological level represent Conscience at least in some rudimentary, vague and primeval way, serve some type of existential purpose? Tension, moral tension always serves a purpose and liberals can serve this purpose as well. We will always oppose the Welfare State but the moral calibration here caused by liberals force us to give more charitably, at least that's my theory and studies bear this out, conservatives are not at all stingy when it comes to the collection plate. Take away every single moral voice which you hate be it liberal or conservative and what have you got? Many FC's say Rand had the perfect blueprint for a perfect society but for me for all of her great ideas and she had a few it would still leave me spiritually empty. We NEED other voices!
How do YOU define a conservative Utopia?
waiting & waiting:)
ReplyDeleteI just want people to be responsible for themselves if they are able.
ReplyDeleteEven if I weren't pro-life personally, let's just say I wasn't anything I'd still see people protesting over Whatever as being in the Nature of Things. It's like with Schiavo, people protested over that and others said stay out of it all but I say IN WHAT WORLD? Folks have strong convictions all over the spectrum and it's to be expected. There's gonna be some anti-war protestors up at West Point later when Obama gives his national address on Afghanistan so why get all bent out of shape over it? See what I mean?
ReplyDeleteYes, we are allowed peaceful assembly afterall.
ReplyDeleteI would've thought this was gonna be a hotter thread, red-hot in fact know what I'm sayin'? Let me recap it then. If we got every conservative victory we ever dreamed of except Pro-Life something wouldn't feel right, it'd be as if our movement is totally materialistic and consumed by money issues.
ReplyDelete(Sometimes I think only I know what I'm talking about)
,let's see what else my esoteric head can pump out. I'll see what happens Monday.
ReplyDeleteYou are not the only one, I know exactly what you are talking about. I differ from you in that I can see the connection between the FC and the SC, the personal responsibility aspect of it all. But that doesn't mean that I don't know where you are coming from.
ReplyDeleteNot you but sometimes I blog and a hush falls on the room. Today I'm working on a blog about depression but I hope it's not depressing.
ReplyDeleteBut the problems remain. SC's see Pro-Life as being fundamental to conservatism, FC's do not and wish to jettison that and any aspect thereof. Now I get the criticism that RTL candidates are basically one issue and need to talk about other things but FC's would prefer to never talk about it or any aspect thereof. Oh boy do the problems remain!
ReplyDelete