Invitation To Conservatism: Introductory Essay

Introduction The book you hold is not a political manifesto. It is neither a partisan attack, nor a partisan defense. Rather, these pages contain a series of philosophical essays, each based on a broad set of unified principles—principles whose history is deeply interconnected with the story of America itself, and which we believe hold the key to both unlimited opportunity for individual Americans, and the realization of our country’s boundless potential. Collectively, the principles promoted herein form the basis of our shared conservative ideology. We, the writers of the essays which follow, are not academicians, nor are we politicos. We are not scholars in a professional sense. We are students and soldiers, teachers and artists, lawyers and laborers. Our backgrounds are varied, and our unique paths have led us each to adopt a common set of beliefs: namely, that the principles upon which our country was founded are as relevant and essential to America’s ongoing success today as they were more than 220 years ago. In 1787, with our young nation at a crossroads, our government was given direction by the events and deliberations that took place in the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia. This gathering of proud, hopeful, energetic Americans inspires awe to this day. We channel their pride, their hopefulness, and their energy, and humbly attempt to apply the principles that they so eloquently laid out in the Constitution to the issues that we as a nation face today. The founders set out to create a new system of government, one unlike any the world had yet seen. It was an experiment relying on individual liberty as its cornerstone. A simple look at the text of the Constitution suggests a strong inclination on the part of the framers to write positive limitations on the domain of the government into the document itself. In doing so, they set the stage for unprecedented success. Indeed, the founders’ experiment resulted in the most prosperous, diverse, and powerful society in the world’s history. In order to build upon this legacy, we seek to rediscover their experiment by reclaiming and reapplying the principles they laid out more than two centuries ago. It should be noted, then, that ours is not a new philosophy, but rather a return to the philosophy upon which our country was built. There is in America a movement whose ideological underpinnings differ dramatically from ours, one which is often in opposition to conservative positions on contemporary political issues. The movement may be called liberal, progressive, leftist, or any other variety of terms, as our movement has been given many names itself. We’ve chosen not to belabor ourselves in semantics, as many of the terms have become too politicized to allow for an issue-based discussion regarding America’s future. That being said, we must articulate one critical difference between the opposing ideologies. The strength of our belief system lies in its founding in the principles which helped America achieve the pinnacle of political, economic, military, and cultural supremacy. Conversely, opposing philosophies have no such founding, and as such fail to offer clear solutions to the myriad issues our society faces. In fact, the actions and rhetoric of representatives of their movement suggest a belief that our nation’s foundational principles no longer apply.

In order to give the reader the necessary perspective from which to approach the chapters that follow, we should note the current political situation. Recent developments give the strong impression that conservatism as a movement has lost ground in the national political arena. We urge caution to anyone who might infer from these electoral results that conservatism’s value is waning. We hope these essays show that conservatism is alive and well in the United States, and that it is the philosophy that offers the best chance of solving the current problems we face and reestablishing America as a nation of prosperity and opportunity. We are not so naïve as to posit that our country could today be efficiently governed by our eighteenth century government. Rather, our position is that the principles best suited to serve as the foundation of our political system remain the same. Unfortunately, they have fallen victim to a systematic process of erosion, which is marked by a vast expansion in the domain of government. This continuing trend has become accepted by the bulk of our country’s populace as a natural evolution, a sentiment which is as false as it is dangerous. The expanding province of government necessarily yields a reduction in the rights of individuals, for politics in this sense is truly a zero-sum game. Consider as a simple example the case of taxation: every dollar paid in taxes results in a dollar that a taxpayer cannot spend as he or she sees fit. The same concept holds true for all political rights. As the government’s role expands, it deprives individuals of their right to make decisions for themselves. Sadly, this trend robs our society of many of its greatest assets—creativity, innovation, and individual determination, the elements of the human spirit which, when unencumbered by government interference, propelled our nation to greatness. We recognize that in any nation in which power originates with the people, government policies and priorities will change as political winds blow and public opinion shifts. With this we have no quarrel. In fact, we hold it up as a testament to the responsiveness of our particular brand of republican government. But our original system of government—and more specifically, the set of principles which served as its guide—has been transformed into a complex behemoth, heavily involved in formerly private areas of life. This fact has made it virtually unrecognizable in comparison with its original form. Our current system allows for—and indeed facilitates—government intrusion into homes, schools, businesses, and places of worship. Within just a few generations, Americans have seen the limited federal government envisioned by Madison assume the roles of mass employer, public contractor, commercial bank, financial investor, farmer, industrialist, retirement advisor, healthcare provider, spiritual leader and parent – none of which are enumerated in the Constitution. America today faces many challenges: our economy has plunged into a recession, our military is in the midst of two protracted wars in faraway lands, the threat of terrorism is as acute as it has ever been, our social security system is on the brink of collapse, and we consistently increase spending on healthcare and education, only to watch both programs become less competitive with those of other countries. And this list is far from complete. We are at a critical juncture, one that requires an honest, open discussion about the best direction for our country. We sincerely hope that this book helps to spur dialog and bring about such a discussion. Our fear is that we will continue to move toward a point where habit dictates that we look to the government for solutions to an ever widening range of

problems. We believe that it is time to halt this trend and rejuvenate our political system by reapplying the principles and the virtues upon which our country was founded. This, then, is the heart of our big idea. Our philosophy proudly proclaims that the only right and proper function of our government is to secure, promote, and protect the individual liberties of its citizens. We firmly believe that any philosophy which repudiates the primacy of the individual in favor of the tyranny of the collective will inevitably obstruct our nation’s progress and restrict our potential, both as a society and as free, American individuals. In our country today, too many government actions are seemingly based on the premise that each American cannot be trusted to exercise rights on his or her own. Our argument refutes this notion and claims just the opposite. We posit that individual rights are to be protected, that they are too sacred to belong within the province of government. This is the concept and moral value that we hold dear: that a government guided by the sole purpose of protecting individual freedoms is both morally superior to other forms of government, and also stewards over a more prosperous, diverse, and happy society than can be achieved under a government guided by any other principle. This compendium of essays seeks to paint a picture of a society where the philosophy we espouse guides government’s policymaking. We seek to create a vision of a society which enjoys the many blessings of individual liberty. This is the essence of our conservatism. In working to effect a restoration of conservative principles, we face an undeniably difficult task. Government expansion is by nature self-propagating. It is the product of the emergence of the belief, among citizens and intellectuals like, that a better life for the American community lies just beyond the government’s current reach. Failure to solve our country’s problems with government programs leads to calls for bigger programs with greater reach and larger budgets. However, once an individual is forced to abrogate individual freedom to the government, it is a freedom he will rarely get back. At some point the realization of this fact must lead Americans to accept that a government response to each problem we face may not provide the solutions we truly need; there must be a restoration of the fundamental faith in man that led our founders to hold up the idea of individual liberty with such reverence that it formed the very core of our nation’s birth and development. We’ve compiled these essays in the hopes that we may play even the smallest role in returning to the individual those rights which have been stripped from him and taken by the government. Each of the essays that follow applies the tenets of conservative philosophy to a specific policy area. As a diverse group of young Americans with a wide variety of backgrounds, our writers proudly acknowledge that the only attribute shared across our ranks is a deep faith and abiding adherence to conservative principles. This fact underlies our confidence that conservatism is the best philosophical fit for such a diverse population as America’s. We sincerely hope that this book contributes to a better public understanding of the principles we espouse, and that it serves as a display of both our willingness and our intention to stand up to the destructive movement toward larger government and further disintegration of individual freedom. We bring to this endeavor pride in America, hope for a bright future, and the energy that abounds in a country where 20 young men and women can take a stand such as ours.