I have always considered myself conservative. I think of it as a good thing, sort of a perfectionist idealism tempered by healthy cynicism. I have always taken television spin on conservatism with a grain of salt, but lately it has become more vicious. To begin, allow me to tell the reader what conservatism is not . Conservatism is not even about keeping things the way they were when our fathers fathers were in charge.
Conservatism is much, much smarter than that.
Conservatism has a kind of show me savvy that many in this nation would do well to pay attention to. It is not a blind following of the latest trend, but a cautious optimism which begs proof before decision making. Simply put, conservatism in its purest form declares, I ll believe it when I see it. This careful approach to policy making is what makes conservative politics so appealing to freedom-minded people. It is not that some people inherently distrust the government, it is just that many taxpayers want concrete evidence that a policy is for the good of the country before they give up their hard-earned money to pay for it.