Wavels
Well-Known Member
What are ten core beliefs of a Reaganite conservative?
1. The idea that an individual was and should always be the master of his or her own destiny.
2. The belief in the unique character and powers of every human being and their personal opinions.
3. A belief in freedom under law, as opposed to the concept of modern liberalism that power is everything.
4. A belief that collectivism and the centralizing of power in Washington threatened Americans with a loss of freedom in their own communities and daily lives.
5. A belief in the individual over bureaucracy.
6. That modern liberalism has, in the words of Whittaker Chambers, a "vindictiveness...of temper."
7. That, as Reagan wrote, "we cannot diminish the value of an entire category of human life -- the unborn -- without diminishing the value of all human life."
8. That we will all die, but what makes the difference, as Reagan once said, is what we die for. That there are things worth dying for, and peace, alas, can never be purchased at any price but strength.
9. That freedom belongs to every individual by divine right.
10. That freedom is better than control.
These ten core beliefs lead inexorably to an all important eleventh. That the United States of America has a unique sense of destiny and optimism that from the very first has made America different from any other country on earth. The shorthand for this belief is "American Exceptionalism."
The world of politics is as old as humanity. From ancient Greece to Rome to England to every single other culture or civilization that has flourished, the central ideas of how to govern human beings are all out there and have been for thousands of years. The ten beliefs listed above as core beliefs for Reaganites are in fact beliefs that have been sifted over the centuries as the best and by far most successful elements of successful civilizations. Together they serve as what you might call the political equivalent of the law of gravity.
And most of us who wish to reject the law of gravity will of course reject as readily the beliefs enumerated above.
Apologies to GK!
1. The idea that an individual was and should always be the master of his or her own destiny.
2. The belief in the unique character and powers of every human being and their personal opinions.
3. A belief in freedom under law, as opposed to the concept of modern liberalism that power is everything.
4. A belief that collectivism and the centralizing of power in Washington threatened Americans with a loss of freedom in their own communities and daily lives.
5. A belief in the individual over bureaucracy.
6. That modern liberalism has, in the words of Whittaker Chambers, a "vindictiveness...of temper."
7. That, as Reagan wrote, "we cannot diminish the value of an entire category of human life -- the unborn -- without diminishing the value of all human life."
8. That we will all die, but what makes the difference, as Reagan once said, is what we die for. That there are things worth dying for, and peace, alas, can never be purchased at any price but strength.
9. That freedom belongs to every individual by divine right.
10. That freedom is better than control.
These ten core beliefs lead inexorably to an all important eleventh. That the United States of America has a unique sense of destiny and optimism that from the very first has made America different from any other country on earth. The shorthand for this belief is "American Exceptionalism."
The world of politics is as old as humanity. From ancient Greece to Rome to England to every single other culture or civilization that has flourished, the central ideas of how to govern human beings are all out there and have been for thousands of years. The ten beliefs listed above as core beliefs for Reaganites are in fact beliefs that have been sifted over the centuries as the best and by far most successful elements of successful civilizations. Together they serve as what you might call the political equivalent of the law of gravity.
And most of us who wish to reject the law of gravity will of course reject as readily the beliefs enumerated above.
Apologies to GK!
