Is Conservatism still relevant?
Posted by Joseph Farah of World Net Daily: March 23, 2009
1:00 am Eastern
© 2009
Editor's note: This is the first of a
two-part series on the failure of conservatism as an ideology for
moving America forward with a positive agenda for expanding freedom
and reviving morality and restoring justice. It was originally
published Nov. 13, 2006, following the midterm congressional
elections.
The conservative mantra about the Republican
drubbing in the midterm congressional elections is:
"Conservatives didn't lose, Republicans did."
With all due respect to my conservative friends,
this is the kind of thinking that will take them the way of the
Whigs.
Don't get me wrong. I love conservatives. Some
of my best friends are conservatives. But being
"conservative" is not a bold vision for the future. Being
"conservative" will never inspire Americans to reject
socialism and immorality. Banking on this word, this wholly
inadequate, timid ideology is, instead, a sure-fire recipe for
political defeat for the foreseeable future.
Conservatives are both right and wrong in their
critique of Republicanism in 2006.
It's true that Republicans did not distinguish
themselves from their Democratic counterparts. It's true that
Republicans did nothing to hold on to their political base.
It's true that Republicans governed just like Democrats.
But, I have to tell you, "conservatism"
is not the recipe for taking America back. It won't work.
There are three fundamental problems with
conservatism:
It is a defensive movement rather than offensive;Its exclusive field of battle is electoral politics;It lacks the vision of a better future;
America is sliding inevitably toward socialism and
immorality. I'm not going to call the direction we're
moving "liberalism," because that description is simply
too kind and understates the seriousness of our crisis and the
lateness of the hour.
Forget about who won Congress. Look at the way
Americans voted on issues.
While it's true that marriage amendments passed
in all but one state - Arizona - the closeness of all those tallies
is what disturbs me. It persuades me that the conservative agenda
is an agenda that just keeps losing ground.
You would think that amendments simply declaring
marriage to be an institution between one man and one woman would
garner at least 90 percent support among Americans.
Yet, even in four states in which the amendment
passed, opposition exceeded an astounding 40 percent of the
vote.
Conservatives look at those numbers and see
victory. I've got news for you: So do the same-sex marriage
activists. I look at those numbers and see inevitable defeat. It
might be in 2008 or 2010 or 2012. But the die is cast. There is no
question that the American view of marriage is changing.
The defensive agenda of conservatives is failing - and it will
continue to fail. And this is just one example of hundreds in the
way it is failing.
It's time for conservatives to realize the
problem is not limited to the Republican Party. There is something
inherently inadequate with the conservative vision.
Let me put it to you this way: After Nancy Pelosi
and Charles Rangel and John Conyers have their way with America,
will you, as a conservative, be satisfied with preserving or
conserving what's left of America?
I'm not even content with that prospect right
now - before they take the country further down their slippery
slope of moral relativism and tyranny.
At some point, and I believe we're long past
that point, "conserving" the vestiges of American
institutions will no longer be adequate. I think we've already
lost way too much freedom and morality. We need a
counter-revolution to restore them - not an effort to save
what's left.
Let me illustrate what is happening this way:
Imagine American politics as a tug of war. One side in the battle
is actually playing to win - to pull its opponents into the moat.
The other side, though, is simply trying not to get pulled into the
moat.
Who is inevitably going to win? Which political
ideology do you think is represented by the team whose goal is a
standoff?
I know this is hard to understand because no one
else - and I mean no one - is saying what I am saying.
Like it or not, the very nature of the word
"conservative" defines the ideology. It is not a radical
movement to expand freedom and economic opportunity. It is not a
radical movement to restore justice and morality. It is not a
radical movement to achieve victory over evil.
Instead, it is a "conservative,"
defensive movement that is merely content standing still.
Unfortunately, in the history of the world, there
is no such thing as a social movement that stands still. You are
either moving toward your goal or moving away from it.
What are the conservatives' goals? Let's
say "preserving marriage" is one of them. The way
conservatives fight to achieve their status quo goal is to get
marriage amendments on ballots. At first they win one referendum
after another. Conservatives see victory at hand - even though, if
they are 100 percent successful, all their hard work and sacrifice
will have gone to the goal of achieving the status quo.
Meanwhile, the other side doesn't worry too
much about those votes. Instead, they are fighting in a whole
different arena - the battle for the hearts and minds of the
American people using the cultural institutions of the press, the
entertainment industry, the foundations, the corporations, even the
churches.
That's why each successive vote on marriage
amendments is a little closer. Their goal is the destruction of the
very building block of western civilization - the traditional
family.
The American people have been softened up and are
starting to believe that marriage between same-sex couples is
perfectly normal and acceptable - a notion that would have been
anathema to them 20 years ago.
This is an illustration of the inadequacy of the
conservative agenda.
It's hard to accept for conservatives who have
placed so much faith in this ideology of defeat.
"Are you saying, Farah, that conservatism can
never triumph?" you might ask. "What about Ronald
Reagan?"
It's a good question. Conservatism does have
its momentary political triumphs. They can occur when life under
socialism and immorality becomes intolerable for people. If
conservatism is packaged well and articulated by an articulate and
passionate personality, it can win at the polls - no question about
it.
Yet the cultural march toward socialism and
immorality continues unabated - just as it did during the Reagan
years.
If you think there is even a grain of truth in what
I am saying today,
I urge you to read my book, "Taking America Back," where
I have the opportunity to expand on these ideas.
