What kind of conservative?

Are you conservative? If so, what kind? Take the test.

The late William F. Buckley, considered the father of modern conservatism, was never satisfied with a simple definition of conservative,  but he knew when someone wasn’t one. Buckley, a brilliant debater, defined conservatism by his writings, debates (1969 from YouTube), and speeches. He was

• an unflinching basher of liberalism
• author of God and Man at Yale, Ronald Reagan: An American Hero, and Up from Liberalism,
• founder of the National Review,
• host of Firing Line, and
• a harsh critic of George W. Bush.

Are you a Buckley conservative?

If William F. Buckley was the father of modern conservatism, Barry M. Goldwater is considered the Godfather. As a politician, he defined conservatism in the mid to late 20th century. He was

• the force that launched the conservative revolution within the Republican Party
• author of Conscience of a Conservative
• firm believer in civil rights, choice, and equality for women and gays
• possessor of a quick, pithy wit and a sharp tongue
• an advocate of fiscal conservatism, personal responsibility, and civil liberties and considered by many to be a Republican libertarian.

Are you a Goldwater conservative?

John W. Dean, former White House Counsel, sometimes columnist, and author of several books including Conservatives without Conscience (New York Times review), writes about authoritarian conservatives, a concept advanced by social psychologist Bob Altmeyer in his book The Authoritarians. Authoritarian conservatives are in sharp contrast with Goldwater or libertarian conservatives.

Dean, Dunn and Woodward, Altmeyer and others characterize authoritarian conservatives (sometimes called right-wing authoritarians) as

• believing in traditional social and religious values
• distrustful of change
• concerned with order
• desirous of having government protect and enforce those beliefs

Are you more of an authoritarian conservative?

Those are three sharply contrasting conservative positions. Are you close to one of the three? There are other definitions and camps. Maybe you would like to think of yourself as something else.

I had some fun with an on-line test  called IDEAlog about a year ago, and I was surprised by where I fit into the political spectrum. It will force you to examine values and terminology. Try it. I’ll bet you learn something about yourself. (Click on Run the IDEAlog.)

photos by flickr by And all that Malarkey and edwardleger

Conservative, Liberal, and the Iowa State Fair

The best part of the Iowa State Fair is the Iowans you meet. The typical Iowan is generally

• approachable
• direct
• friendly and
• guileless (free of deceit).

We say what’s on our minds even though sometimes even a Senator can get into a little trouble for it. But few in Iowa seem to object to straight talk.

Knowing that Iowans will share their views, I sometimes strike up a conversation just to find out what people are thinking. That is especially fun at the Iowa State Fair because you meet such genuine people.

Here is the story. The name of the political party, the gender of the person, and the political term have been changed to protect the innocent, but that doesn’t matter because the point of this story is about the use of language and not about political viewpoint.

I was standing at the Democratic Party booth in the Varied Industries Building. A man beside me and close to my age was also visiting the Democrats. We agreed that we liked Senator Harkin, that he was a fine representative of the state. I added that I also liked Senator Grassley. “Oh, no,” he said, frowning, “he’s too conservative.” I asked, “What does that mean? What is a conservative?” He didn’t seem to find an answer to that so I continued, “Are there particular issues where you find him to be too conservative?” Well, he couldn’t think of one so I said, “Well, that’s OK. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.” (But I had been curious how a typical Iowan thought about the term conservative. Well, I’d better admit the truth. It was a woman by the Republican booth who liked Grassley but not Harkin and who had difficulty with the term liberal, but that part doesn’t matter.)

What do I think the lesson is? For a sizable number of people, the mind will snap shut upon hearing certain words that may in fact have nothing to do with political reality, and especially the terms liberal and conservative. When the voter’s mind closes, politicians are off the hook. They don’t have to formulate a position that would ever solve anything. When the mind closes upon hearing one word, the media are off the hook too. They don’t have to string together the words that would accurately reflect the story they are reporting. We lose.

Think about it the next time you hear or read either of the terms liberal or conservative. Was the term used so that the speaker or writer no longer had responsibility to be intelligent? to be accurate? to be truthful? Was it used to hide their true position or because they had no position? Was the term used because someone didn’t know how to write clearly or to speak intelligently?

Two words do not define the political landscape. They never have; they never will.

Don’t let ‘em fool ya, even if they’re pretty, talk folksy, and wink.

photo by flickr by banderson