Liberalism and Conservatism: The Engine and Caboose of the Train to Perdition
Hope and change! Forward! Get with the times! But which direction is forward, and which “times” shall we get with? Too often the latter might as well now mean the New York Times, but glossed over is that people change the times; the times do not change the people. So, translated, the admonition to “Get with the times” really means “Go with the herd.” And often overlooked is whether that herd is heading for greener pastures or the slaughterhouse.
This brings us to the matter of liberalism and conservatism, the two, supposedly, dominant and opposing ideologies of our time. But what if, as much as being in opposition, they’re also two sides of the same coin? What if they are not so much ideologies as they are processes? And what if these processes ensure the destruction of civilization?
Let us begin by analyzing what these two “isms” actually are. Oh, everyone has his own definition of conservatism, with neoconservatives, paleoconservatives, “crunchy conservatives,” fiscal conservatives, social conservatives, and others all claiming real-McCoy status. And considering other places and the past paints an even more confusing picture. In the 1950s United States, a conservative was staunchly anti-communist, à la Joe McCarthy. But at the same time in the Soviet Union, a conservative was a communist; a liberal in that evil empire was someone who sought the Marxist state’s reform. Of course, many will counter that such application of this terminology is the work of media liberals and is much like calling Iran’s Muslim theocracy conservative (which is also done). Yet the entire Western political world bears witness to “conservatism’s” ever-shifting and unidentifiable boundaries. Western European conservatives are akin to our liberals, a good example being ex-prime minister of Britain David Cameron, who was “proud” of his nation’s 2014 acceptance of faux marriage and is tolerant of abortion; he and other Euro-cons also accept socialized medicine and statism in general. Moreover, even the headline-making, anti-establishment figures such as France’s Marine Le Pen and Holland’s Geert Wilders are socially quite “liberal” and distinguish themselves mainly by striking a nationalist, anti-Muslim-immigration tone. This, mind you, also epitomizes Donald Trump. I dubbed him our first “European-conservative” presidential candidate in January, and the Russian Times echoed this just over a month later in stating that he desired an “‘American-first’ version of European nationalism.” No doubt. And as our country drifts away from its Christian foundation and becomes more like über-secular Western Europe, our prominent “conservatives” start to resemble Western Europe’s variant of “conservatism,” and our battles, its battles.
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