Personal Political Views: Dynamics of Being a Conservative
In the United States of America, the two main political groupings are the Democrats and the Republicans. Whilst the Democratic Party adopts modernist views on issues and ideas, the Republicans support traditional ideas and promote the fundamental concept of the founding of the United States – property owning democracy and Capitalism. The two ideas come together to define political discourse and shape the fundamental basis of public policy and organization in the country. As an individual, I support the Conservative school of political thought. This paper will critically analyze the position of Conservative structures in government and political issues in the United States. It will evaluate the main features and aspects of Conservative thought in politics and also present the main basis and reason for my adherence to Conservative ideas and structures in politics in the United States of America.
The word "Conservative" in Political Science has to do with a group of people who seek to maintain and conserve the structures of the society. They are members of the society who see nothing wrong with the status quo and do what they need to do to ensure that it remains in place. Thus, conservatives take reasonable steps to ensure that the fundamental essence of the society is kept operational and in place. Conservatives often engage in conflicts with Modernist groups that embrace new ideas and philosophies. These modern thinkers often seek to change the structures of society in order to accommodate new thoughts and new trends in the society.
The divergence between the conservative and modernist views on American politics gives the impetus for a kind of conflict that determines the political structures of the country. In some books, the conservatives are labeled the "citizens" whilst the modernists/liberals are viewed as the "people". This gives a basis for the classification of various schools of thought in the country's political landscape.
The bipolar political discourse finds its way in the policies of the various political powers in the United States, and this is evidenced by the policies of each of these groups when they win power. There are numerous areas and aspects of US political scope that these ideologies and ideas always come to play. They include social, economic, foreign affairs, military and other aspects of internal development.
Socially, conservative groups seek to maintain the dominant culture of the leading elite of the society. Since the founding fathers of the United States were mainly Anglo-Saxon, most conservative groups seek to promote the basic socio-cultural nexus of the English culture in the United States. Therefore, conservatives seek to promote the main Protestant values of the English culture, and this is profoundly felt in the different branches of the culture. This includes the preservation of a belief in God and the integration of various aspects of Christian teachings into public elements of the society. The liberals and the modernists in US political discourse, on the other hand, believe in freedom and the main values of liberty in the United States. Hence, they seem to lobby for a position where religion is kept to a minimum and people choose what they want to do with themselves, rather than being told what they ought to do. In other words, liberals do not think that the idea of God and religion is free of manipulation. And since religion and institutionalized Christianity was either part of – or the main cause of suffering in Europe that led to the exodus of the ancestors of most Americans, liberals think that the Church and its dogmas must be done away with. On the other hand, Conservatives believe that the teachings of the Christian tradition is still relevant today and as such, it must be integrated into the fundamental essence of society and today’s world.
Economically, Conservatives focus more on protecting the elite. This is because, in American Conservative thought, the society is one in which people are free to own property and build a reasonable life of owning Capital in order to generate money for themselves. On the other hand, the liberals think that a society must have some elements of welfare for the poor. This will enable the poor people in the society to catch up with the rich, and the rich will not get too much money at their disposal. Thus, there is a fundamental departure between the elite and the liberals. Conservatives believe in tax cuts to protect businesses and the elite. On the other hand, liberals or modernists believe in taxing the rich in order to provide more welfare and other cuts for poorer members of the society.
In terms of foreign affairs, Conservatives believe in protecting America's interests overseas. And this includes the use of various levels of force and various levels of effort to safeguard American interests in faraway lands. Conservatives are, therefore, willing to sanction war to protect US interests. This is not the case with liberals or modernists who believe that the United States must focus on its role as the protector of the free world. Liberals and modernists believe that the US must lead the campaign to get nations to become free so that they can protect their interests and also become empowered. Hence, they eschew war and only enter war in foreign lands when the need is very vital and important.
Personally, I believe the principles of Conservative political thought are important and best for America. This is because the United States is a leading economy around the world not because of its poor but because of the businesses owned by the rich and ruling elite. Therefore, I think it is incumbent on the country to create an upper class and protect this upper class if the United States seeks to retain its position as a leading global power. The only way this end can be achieved is through the raising of protections for the rich and the upper class.
Protecting the rich is not a bad thing. Rather, it is the impetus for the encouragement of the ordinary American to work hard so that we build strong structures that can be exported overseas. Therefore, if the upper class is protected, more and more members of the American middle class will want to save and with the protection of the fundamental liberties of the average American, every serious and willing American can easily move from being a poor or middle class person by working hard. After all, the United States had a lot of migrants from Europe after the two World Wars who came into the country, worked hard and joined the super rich. Recently, other Africans, Asians and Hispanics have come into America, worked hard and beaten most minorities that lived in America for centuries before them. Hence, it is possible that the average American can work hard and improve his lot by staying within the rules.
Personally, my background is a privileged one. My family is a typical elite family in the United States. Instead of thinking of myself as a better person, I rather attribute the success and wealth I was born into to the hard work and effort of my parents, grandparents and ancestors. They worked hard without cuts and welfare. They put in a lot of efforts, and they were able to adhere to a set of principles that guided them to attain the best results. One of these principles were Protestant Christian ideals that guided them in all the stages of their lives and got them to focus on family life and work. This gave my family the grounding to gain wealth. I honestly think that the same principles are applicable to the work today, and they will be applicable to my children. So I will rather want to remain a conservative, support conservative political ideals and work hard to ensure that they are entrenched and protected for as long as possible
Finally, on the foreign affairs front, although I believe most nations have the right to determine their future, I think the United States has its interests and there must be a strong effort to protect these interests. Some liberal ideas are only limited to the United States and the developed world. Some countries lack political structures and will. And that is why the United States needs to step into these countries from time to time. Many of our wars in the developing world are justified. And they are necessary to help other peoples to develop the right structures and build nations that are relevant to the development.
In conclusion, conservative ideas in US politics are championed by the Republican Party, who believes that we must preserve our Protestant and Anglo-Saxon identity as a nation whilst we embrace foreign ideas cautiously. It involves protecting the rich in order to promote productivity and also to tread cautiously in international affairs and matters. These are ideas that are important and relevant to our development as a nation. And I support it because the fundamental ideas embraced by our ancestors are valid today and can be applied to resolve issues. Although I was born into a privileged family, I think my progenitors worked hard, and they stayed within the framework of principles that must be conserved for all generations of Americans. Foreign policy must essentially focus on American interests, and our Capitalist desires because that is the only way we can best help the world and also achieve our best interests. Economically, I believe the upper class must be protected and taxes must be cut for them in order to ensure that a standard is created and this standard is protected to encourage Americans to work hard, rather than rest on their oars.
