What is a Conservative?

A while back, maybe a year or so ago, I wrote a blog entry about a judge’s decision in Nebraska. The judge tossed out a law banning same-sex marriages. In the blog, I said the right wing nuts as was expected, practically had heart attacks about the decision. In response to my blog, a reader wanted to know what makes a religious nut. Well, here goes, this is my explanation of what a religious, right wing nut is. First, I shouldn’t have called the religious right, wing nuts. I should have called them what they really are which is bigots. Anyway, what I meant by right wing nuts is a conservative. So this blog will be about what a conservative or a right wing nut is.
If you look up the definition of conservative in the dictionary you will find many definitions. The definition of conservative is “one of the political party that desires to preserve the institutions of government against innovation. Conservatives don’t want to change. They want to conserve things the way they are.
History is littered with examples of conservatives wanting to keep the status quo. The first example I can think of is the Pharisees’ opposition to Jesus. Jesus was one of the greatest liberal thinkers of all time. His ideas about the poor, women, the disabled, the diseased, and the down trodden were truly revolutionary. In response to Jesus, the conservative Pharisees, who only wanted the rich to be able to worship in the temple, had Jesus arrested and executed. The conservatives were opposed to Jesus for his support of the same people that today are still opposed by the conservatives.
In the 1500’s, the Catholic Church wanted to conserve its monopoly on power. The church liked the money it was getting by selling redemption to the wealthy and powerful. However, Martin Luther stood up and said no. Martin Luther was a liberal thinker. He broke the conservative grip on power. In an attempt to conserve its power, the Catholic Church excommunicated Luther. Many new and liberal minded churches sprang up. The downside is that the Catholic Church, unfortunately, remains the most conservative entity in the world.
In the 1770’s, who were the conservatives? They were the people who wanted to remain joined to Great Britain. The conservatives wanted to maintain the status quo. They didn’t want to become independent from Great Britain or King George. The conservatives preferred the King and parliament making decisions instead of the freedom to make their own decisions. Who were the liberals? George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, John Hancock, James Monroe, James Madison, John Adams, and many others.
In the 1800’s up to 1865, who were the conservatives? The slave-owners. What were the slave-owners trying to conserve? Slavery. Who was a liberal? Abraham Lincoln.
After the civil war, who were the conservatives? The Ku Klux Klan, and the people who passed poll taxes and had literacy tests at polling places to keep blacks from voting. What were these people trying to conserve? White power.
1900 – 1920, who were the conservatives? The men who wanted to keep women from voting, those that were against women’s suffrage. What were they trying to conserve? Male control on power.
In 1925, who were the conservatives? Williams Jennings Bryant was a conservative. He was the prosecutor in the Scopes Monkey Trial. He was trying to conserve the absurd story about creation in the Bible. He was arguing against John Scopes, a free thinking teacher and his lawyer Clarence Darrow.
In the 1930 and 40’s who was the greatest conservative ever? Hitler. What did Hitler want to conserve? The purity of the Aryan nation (Germany). How did he go about doing that? He killed 6 million Jewish people and countless other gays, Gypsies, mentally ill, mentally retarded, Russians, Poles, and others.
Later in the 1940’s, who were the conservatives? The English in India. What were they trying to conserve? They wanted to conserve British rule and continue to subjugate the Indian people. Who was the liberal? Gandhi.
In the1950’s the conservatives were the people who wanted to maintain segregation: George Wallace. What did they conservatives want to conserve? They wanted to conserve the separation of blacks from whites in society. Who was a liberal? Thurgood Marshall
In the 1960’s, who were the conservatives? Those opposed to civil rights. What did the conservatives want to conserve? Whites control over blacks. Who was the liberal? Martin Luther King
1970’s, who were the conservatives? The people opposed to woman’s rights and abortion. What did these people want to conserve? Control over women and there bodies.
In the 1990’s who were worst conservatives in the world? The Taliban in Afghanistan. What were they trying to conserve? A way of life and thinking from the Dark Ages. Women could only be seen in public with their husband, brother, or father. Woman had to be completely covered. Woman couldn’t go to school. Everyone had to be a conservative Muslim and believe what they were told.
Now, in the 21st century, who are the conservatives? The people opposed to gay rights, same sex marriages, and abortion. What are they trying to conserve? They claim family values but which family values are they trying to conserve? The only family conservatives are trying to conserve is one father, one mother, and children. Every other form of family is unacceptable to conservatives.
As you can see conservatives have supported a number of causes that result in the subjugation and exploitation of different groups of people. Conservatives wanted to conserve the Catholic Church’s hold on power, slavery, disenfranchisement of blacks and women, continued domination of India, control over a woman’s body, the subjugation of women, and the continued treatment of gays as second-class citizens.
Let’s run through a list of some of the greatest liberals in history: Jesus, Martin Luther, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, James Monroe, James Madison, John Hancock, Thomas Paine, John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Thurgood Marshall.
How about some conservatives from history: the Popes who took money from wealthy nobles allowing them to get into heaven, King George III, slaves owners, Adolph Hitler, George Wallace, and the Taliban.
If I called myself a conservative, I would be embarrassed to have to keep company with that distinguished list. I prefer the liberal list. After all, you are known by the company you keep.
So here are a few things conservatives are for: Conservatives say they are pro-family, what conservatives don’t say is that they are only for one kind of family. The family conservatives are for is the one father, one mother, and children family. That is the type of family conservatives want to conserve. To conservatives, all other family forms are unacceptable.
Conservatives are pro-money, which means conservatives want to conserve monopolies, which hurt small businesses.
Conservatives are for religion. They religion conservatives want to conserve is Christianity. Just ask Pat Robertson or Bob Jones or the Pope what they think of Muslims. (Or Jews or Buddhist, etc)
Conservatives say they are for freedom, yet they want to limit gays’ freedoms, a woman’s freedom to choose, freedom of religion, and freedom of expression.
Why anyone would consider himself or herself a conservative is beyond me. I prefer freedom of expression, freedom of choice, and freedom of religion. I will always be proud to call myself a liberal.
Conservatism has no place in the 21st century. Conservatism is a relic of the past. What the world needs today is open-minded and enlightened leaders and populations.