Essay Fri, Apr 16, 2004

Conservative Liberal or Liberal Conservative?

Eric Schaub

Publius said, "Moderation in all things."
"Including Moderation," added Franklin.

I hear a lot of people talking about "right-wing conservatives" and "bleeding-heart liberals" and multiple variations on the same themes. I've been called "left-wing" by right-wingers and "right-wing" by left-wingers. I know myself to be neither and can only reckon that my accusers hold the views opposite to what they claim I endorse. However, I know of very few people who can come out and actually say, "I am a right-wing conservative," or "I am a left-wing liberal." And those that can say it, I have found, do mean it. If you cannot say you are either assuredly, then you are likely neither -- like me, an individual who can choose based upon my own personal responsibility to do so. A true 'party-man' despises candor and is a poor defender of Freedom.

For sure, I am Liberal in the true sense of the word. I wish to be free to pursue my own interests, my own thoughts, my own forms of expression, and I wish that for every one else, too. Free thought, free speech, free love, whatever as long as it is consensual and it doesn't hurt anyone but the participants, if they must. I wish to explore and to learn and to figure out things for myself sometimes. I am a skeptic, a questioner, a journeymen, a fellow traveller on this planet. I believe in mutual cooperation, charity, tolerance, mercy, and love.

And I am definitely Conservative in the true sense of the word. I wish to preserve the Republic of free People. I believe there are some concessions we cannot make or else lose our Liberty. I believe we do from time to time have to defend ourselves individually and collectively. I believe we cannot trust in the men and women who govern us but must trust in the truth whatever it may be. I believe in extremely limited government and very few laws. I am against most taxes, especially taxes on an individual's labor. I wish to conserve the Rights of Man and Woman. I honor those that have fought in defense of these Rights and respect each person's choice of self defense and their rights to possess dangerous weapons -- if they weren't dangerous, they wouldn't be weapons then, would they?

I believe it takes two wings to fly. From where I stand, both extremes will always be present by the very fact that we all have differing attitudes and approaches to life. I, too, wish to do good, but I often wonder if what I am doing actually serves that purpose -- what is 'good,' anyway? Evil is easier to recognize -- suffering, oppression, tyranny, bondage -- these are all bad. So is Freedom therefore good? It must be -- who would like to have slavery tried out on them? So, it is mutually agreed that Liberty is precious and must be preserved -- so that's it, I am not a Liberal or a Conservative, I am a Preservative!

I don't carry a gun, but I am in possession of a very dangerous concealed weapon. Undetectable until fired, it is replicated by the thousands in a matter of moments and concealed again. And it must go off -- it absolutely must be fired and there will be consequences. What is it? The Truth!

What is the Truth? You'll know it when you hear it (we hope).
How will we know? It is usually accompanied by its outright denial, but the mob will eventually die down. If it's a powerful Truth, it is usually accompanied by concrete raining from the sky.

That's why we are pretty much screwed. We cannot be trusted to tell the truth, so therefore we bind ourselves to an illusory world, a very costly world, a man-made prison, and a life-time of servitude. This is the punishment for a people who will not grant to each other what they would like for themselves -- respect. Whether by law or conquest, no such people will be free for long. This is no prophecy, this is the science of truth and natural law. Human nature dictates that if you do not take responsibility for yourself, it means that someone else will -- often they have been doing so for ages.

This is why right and left make no difference. If we do not grant freedom to all, we cannot have it ourselves. The question really is whether individuals are fighting for a special privilege or a God-given right. Government contracts or royal favors are not freedoms. Riches are not freedom although they wield Power. If we are merely seeking more power for ourselves at the expense of the liberties of others, are we not hypocrites -- and tyrants?

When it comes to the battle between the left and the right, it more resembles a football game than a Congress. We have our favorite players and the guys we love to hate. We like to route for our team. We yell at the TV our praises or derision. But in the end, it is a show, and if we could simply turn it off, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

Left, right, who's to say -- America has been steadily marching towards Socialism for decades. I personally stop voting when the only choices are between a fascist and a communist. Todays' electorate doesn't want freedom, they want grants and license. Who would have thought that America could be turned Socialist from the inside -- right in front of the People's eyes? I guess we had no idea how deluded we could become, how easily swayed are the masses, and how easily a few of the herd can corral the rest. We are watching the game on TV, but the real game is played behind the scenes by the owners. An even higher stakes game is played by those to whom the owners are indebted, ultimately all the way up to the top to a handful of individuals whose influence reaches into the lives of every person on the planet. Right, left, it doesn't matter. We are at the whims of the arbitrary power of those who possess the most of it -- and dare I say, we always have been. It will be in the virtues of the powerful that the Liberty of the People be tolerated or not -- for our rulers cannot truly embrace it. It is very wishful thinking to hope that the richest and most powerful will preserve the Liberty of the People.

America is struggling as one of the last remaining free nations in the world -- and couple that with being the world's super power, defending Liberty in America is the defense of Liberty around the world. A lot will have to topple before that comes about, and history tells us that it doesn't matter how it turns out, because we will believe whatever happened was for the best anyway -- because history is written by the victors whomever they may be. Thankfully, a few of us still keep the vigil and the candle burning, for Truth crushed to Earth shall rise again.

Conservative Liberal or Liberal Conservative?

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