What it means to be conservative: It's not Republican/Democrat

"I have always strenuously supported the Right of every Man to his own opinion, however different that opinion might be to mine. He who denies to another this right, makes a slave of himself to his present opinion, because he precludes himself the right of changing it."
-Introduction to Age of Reason by Thomas Paine-

The willingness of able people to take responsibility and preserve what is right has always been a defining mark of this country. However, for too long, conservatives have sat back and slowly allowed transgressions upon freedom to occur in various forms. I cannot and do not attempt to provide every reason for this: some people decided long ago to let the dirty politicians in Washington do the dirty work, others felt as though their voices were too small to matter, while others still were either too busy with daily life to pay attention or did not understand governmental environment and were too daunted to learn. Current events have led to a critical self-evaluation of conservatism and the result has shown that we have paid a great disservice to young generations. We have assumed that conservatism is an intuitive instinct that all people regardless of education or tuition will understand. And perhaps it is, but that is an exploration for another time. The point is, we have failed you and we apologize. Allow me to attempt to set the record straight by explaining what it means to be conservative and what it does not.

At the foundation, a conservative loves all people individually and believes that every human has unlimited potential in life. This end goal is not dissimilar to other political and social philosophies. What distinguishes us are the methods we know to be effective in accomplishing this goal. Many of us believe the founding documents of this country contain words and philosophies of great wisdom (even heavenly inspiration) and we use these documents and their context to try to create an environment which promotes maximum peace and prosperity. For example, probably the most quoted phrase from the Declaration of Independence reads: "We hold these Truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. . . ” From this, you can rightly assume that we believe we can achieve maximum peace and prosperity for everyone through Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

Life. We believe that everyone has the God-given right to live. This right transcends and trumps all human rationalization that may stand in opposition. The Right to Life is the chief most important right we have as humans.

Liberty. It is our natural state to be free. We are an ambitious, industrious, imaginative, creative, artistic people. The God-given right freedom is the outlet we need to express these characteristics.

Pursuit of Happiness. With Freedom comes the opportunity to chase after our dreams and goals. We are guaranteed this right so long as our pursuit of happiness does not interfere with or prohibit another's Right to Life and/or Liberty.

The most delicate, and the one we feel is most often under assault is our Liberty. This is also the easiest to whittle away. We establish governments to preserve the rights of the people and it is interesting how those governments often have the power to take our liberties away. Our constitution framers understood this and were very cautious of such an abuse of power. As a result, we have the tertiary form of government with all the checks and balances that exists today (mostly). However, any institution of government, while its purpose may be to protect the rights of her people, is an infringement at some level to personal freedom. We believe in making this impact on personal freedom as small as possible. We want you to be as free as possible to make the decisions that are going to best suit you and your happiness; we achieve this by keeping government as small and as removed from your personal life and decisions as possible. Here are some of the venues where we believe this occurs.

Taxes. Low taxes for everyone, not high taxes for one economic class and no taxes for another, low taxes for everyone. Money is private property. Any tax is an invasion of private property, however we do understand the need for the government to have the resources to fulfill its duties outlined in the Preamble to the Constitution. Did you know that for the first several years of our country, the only income the federal government received was from import and export tax? The constitution grants the government the authority to collect and levy taxes under Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1, but we did not have a national Income Tax until 1913, Amendment XVI.

Free Market. Free Market is the best judge of business. Ideas are constantly evolving and styles come and go like the wind, the businesses that are the most economic in their handling of capital and resources are going to endure. Where one fails and goes under, more efficient others will rise up and take its place. The government should not choose which businesses succeed by deciding to give or loan money to failing institutions. In the end, there will be more prosperity as a result of free market than there would have been under a market highly regulated by the federal government. While Enron was devastating at the time, the market went on to repeatedly hit new heights with record setting days on the Dow.

Equality. While each and every one of us is created equal, we are not all blessed with the same gifts, talents, or character. To assume that we are would be a mistake. To try to amend society to make it so would be a mistake. The only way a government can "level the playing field" is to lower the ceiling. One cannot effectively ask a person with a 70 IQ to perform the tasks of a person with a 160 IQ and achieve similar results. Instead, it is only possible to limit the 160 IQ person to the 70 IQ task. Conservatives understand we each can only achieve our highest potential in life, however our fathers and mothers have proven your highest potential is as high as YOU allow it to be. Your ceiling is up to you.

Charity. We believe in a self-sufficient people, but we understand there are people who physically cannot do this. Charity is the proper way to handle this situation. Social programs that rob one person to cover the needs of another are an infringement of freedom. Charity that is forced upon a tax payer is not charity at all, it's robin hood, and only serves to foster resentment. Wise people have often said that when one freely gives of his time and resources, that person benefits more than the recipient. When citizens freely give money and/or other gifts to organizations/people, when citizens are in charge of their dollars and time, they ensure that their resources are being used in as efficient manner as possible to stretch the impact of every dollar.

Medicine. Again, we believe in free market. No state issued bureaucracy can make better, more informed decisions about your treatment plans than you and your physician. Nor can a state controlled health system provide the expediency desperately needed in this field. If you need more information, read the policies of English or Canadian Healthcare; waiting lists dictate who will receive healthcare. Currently, our government does subsidize healthcare for many people, namely citizens below a government established poverty line and residential non-citizens. The government dictates to the physicians and hospitals the amount they will pay for prescribed procedures on these people, often this amount is only 50-60% of the market rate. Physicians are then forced to charge health insurance companies more money because they must make up for the underpayment from the government. That, in turn, raises health insurance rates for the end consumer. Instead of using the government to control healthcare rates, we should let the private market dictate the value of procedures. Competition promotes quality and efficiency.

Immigration. We believe everyone who is ambitious and has a dream for prosperity should come to the United States. We have a process for this. We are aware the line is long, but that is because we have so much opportunity. Illegal entry into this country is not only a violation of our laws, but a national security risk. With the rise of Mexican drug cartel violence along the southern border, we really should be building a fence. As for those people who are here illegally, they ought to be processed and given the chance to apply for asylum. Those who are denied ought to be sent back to their countries of origin and encouraged to apply through the established process for reentry.

Jobs. We understand that jobs are created by the middle and upper classes. Cutting corporate tax rates will give companies more capital. Companies with excess capital expand and create new jobs. Cutting personal tax rates puts more money in the hands of citizens who will then either invest their money in stocks (Corporations) or in the consumer market by purchasing goods and services. Expanding government programs to create jobs is a false idea. Government does not produce goods or services, they regulate and control. These two things are restrictors of freedom.

Education. If we want to improve the quality of education, we must introduce choice. Currently, the field is imbalanced. As a parent, you can choose to send your child to the local public school subsidized by your tax money, or you can pay additional money in the form of tuition to a private school for a private education. Like everything else, conservatives want more free market influence. Let individual schools determine curriculum and policy, the ones that make the most sense will be rewarded with more students and more tuition money. Currently, the method that makes the most sense is a voucher program. In this system, your tax dollars follow your child to whichever institution you choose.

Conservatism is not bigotry, homophobia, racism, xenophobia, etc. Conservatism is not socialism. Conservatism denies the authority of government to invade your life. Conservatism denies the government the authority to invade the free market except in the case of removing themselves further by lowering taxes. Conservatism restricts the Federal Government to the duties outlined in the preamble of the constitution: "establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote [not secure] the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity." Conservatism is what your grandfather called Common Sense. Conservatism is Personal Freedom.