Social Conservatism: Winning Right

[Geee]

American Spectator:

Now let us speak of "social issues." Now let us show how extreme and antediluvian we are. Now let us be horribly insensitive. Now let us give "the vapors" to the coastal elites. Now let us drive the establishment media batty.

Now let us win an election while sticking to our well-considered principles.

In fact, now let us win an election because we stick to our well-considered principles. And then watch the heathens howl.

Okay, we should take back the word "heathens." That was just puckish alliteration. But the rest of the above litany should stand. The howling "elites" can bay at the moon all they want. We're right substantively, and we're right politically. Social conservatism is a winning philosophy.

Majorities of Americans (or in some polls, clear pluralities) call themselves "pro-life." Every state that has held a referendum on recognizing homosexual relationships as "marriages" has voted not to do so (or, more precisely, has voted to define marriage as being only between a man and woman). Wholesome movies regularly do better at the box office than sleazy ones do. Americans prefer being "tough on crime" to being lenient. Americans tend to like local control of schools, parental involvement and choice in education, and traditional curricula. Far more Americans feel strongly in favor of gun rights than in favor of gun control. Americans treasure families and neighborhoods, and oppose governmental intrusions into them. We don't like governmental racial preferences. We are deeply patriotic. We far prefer conservative judges to liberal ones. And we still are a faithful people, with churches and belief in God a very important part of most of our lives.

[righteousmomma]

Good article that speaks like me. YIPPEE - one I shall pass on.

 

 

It is the left that wants government to co-opt, or steamroll over, the mediating institutions we hold dear. It is they who seek to impose their values on us by force of law (and thus by force of the gun, wielded by the jailer) -- not we who seek to impose our values on them. Leave our families and churches and voluntary associations alone, and we'll all be fine no matter how the less-socially-conservative people want to conduct their own private affairs. Even if we are of the evangelizing (small "e") persuasion, our bailiwick is moral suasion in the open public square, not coercion. If this makes the leftists howl -- so what? While they are howling, we'll defeat them, fair and square.

[RandyM]

Geee and RM!! Wow! Excellent article. If I could write (which I can't), I would write that.