On Conservatism

I am not a conservative. "Conservative" is one of the two most used political labels in the United States. If you are a liberal, you probably think of a conservative like this:

If you're a conservative, your picture is probably more along the lines of this:

But do either of these actually give an accurate depiction? Well no, because broad generalizations are just that, broad. But the Ronald Reagan quote does effectively outline what I believe to be actual conservatism. This is not to say that liberal people are doing something other than what they believe to be morally right, but conservatism is more than just a set of common political beliefs. Based on the people I've met who I would consider "real" conservatives, a conservative has a system of values most often based around the merits of hard work and traditional family values beyond those of the politically contentious issues of the day. I feel no nostalgia or pull towards tradition. Yes, I like authenticity a lot hence my recent hobby of collecting old video game consoles and cartridges, but that's as conservative as I get. For example, I am opposed to gay marriage, but I am opposed based on the ethical presuppositions that being Catholic entails. Conservatives, for better or for worse, are more likely to base their opposition on the same amount of emotional motivation that the liberal side of the issue does.

This is why I refuse to take on the label of conservative. I'm not a conservative person. Firstly, because I don't have much of an opinion on anything economic because I feel too ignorant to take a stand on anything related to those issues. Secondly, I don't harken back to older, simpler times nor try to adapt those values to the modern day. I used to be a very socially liberal person because of my "live and let live" attitude, and that perspective hasn't changed, only my ethical presuppositions have.

Catholics are currently in the middle of a culture war which causes a large amount of focus on the other. It's understandable that war, even an ideological one, must simplify the issues involved and simplify the perception of an opponent. As a result, many orthodox Catholics (though certainly not all) have built up a picture of *Liberal*. Liberal has a predilection for x, a belief in y, and does z. It's a simple, clean picture which means the only rule is stay far away from anything even resembling x, y, or z because having even one trait which might be construed as liberal must imply you are the enemy. You must be on one side or the other, and you must accept the whole package to be a *conservative* or a *liberal*. Trouble is, this isn't a true dichotomy. 200 years ago in America virtually all of us would be liberal. 2000 years ago in Rome many of us would be conservative again. We all have individual beliefs and values that arise from our individual circumstances. It doesn't mean that everyone is right, but it means that you can't cast someone off as irrelevant because they are different from you.