POLITICS 101: The RIGHT Course

Abbott Press

Contents

Chapter One

Let me being by first stating the five basic concepts of conservatism:

1. Limited government

2. Free market

3. Individual freedom

4. Traditional American values

5. Strong national defense

Brit Hume, a former White House Correspondent, once summed up the struggle between the philosophies of liberalism vs. conservatism this way: "For the better part of a century, Americans have engaged in a seesawing debate over how to keep the United States strong, prosperous, just and free. Big government or small? Free markets or aggressive regulation? Should we protect our values abroad or meet our enemies halfway?"

Consider this quote by Rush Limbaugh, conservative radio talk show host: "The natural spirit of the human being is freedom and conservatism is simply freedom."

A famous quote very relevant to this book is by President Reagan while in the White House: "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to the problem, government is the problem."

This book highlights the differences between liberalism, which are the phrases to the left of each chapter vs. conservatism, which are the phrases on the right side of the "vs." This political divide can be based on the four spectra below.

Left vs. Right Secular Progressivism vs. Traditionalism Democratic Platform vs. Republican Platform Government Control vs. Individual Freedom

Keep in mind the "left" and "right" sides are used interchangeably with "liberalism" and "conservatism," respectively. Liberalism has its philosophical roots in being "left" and generally favors the Democratic platform. A sub-section of Democrats and/or those on the left can also be "secular progressives" (to be defined and discussed later.) To be fair, Democrats can also be traditionalists. Conservatism has its roots in being "right," which generally favors the Republican platform and most often favors the "traditionalist" agenda.

Left vs. Right

Academically, left means more government and right means less government. It is as simple as that. An extreme left position means a central government will decide who owns what, (including the seizing of private assets,) who works where, what kind of schooling children get, what, if any, religion we can participate in, and what we can say and think. The most extreme left position is impossible to pull off because people are not robots. But a close example of a leftist government was the U.S.S.R. back in the mid-twentieth century. We called it a "communist" country, along with other countries like it in East Asia (like North Korea) during that time period.

The most extreme right position possible means there is virtually no real legitimate government and anarchy reigns. There is no government regulation and no political framework to create one. The extreme right position results in a totally dysfunctional society. The closest we come to an extreme right government is a "Totalitarian" regime—a group of illegitimate rulers that try to control citizens with violent and brutal tactics. A modern day example of a totalitarian regime would be Iraq before the U.S. invasion or some renegade African nations that are controlled by drug warlords. Theoretically, somewhere very close to the center between these extremes is the best balance on the average. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that underdeveloped societies probably need a strong central government to kick start development, gravitating more left of center. A mature, developed and economically accomplished nation such as the United States should be targeting a significantly right of center location on this spectrum, meaning less government than needed on the average. The very essence of this book is to show how our society will flourish with increased prosperity and freedom when government is less intrusive in our lives.

Secular Progressivism vs. Traditionalism

These opposite viewpoints are more recent in their evolution than left vs. right. Today, we have "secular progressives," who are dedicated to advancing an agenda devoid of any spiritual influence versus "traditionalists," who tend to think more like our founding fathers in incorporating religious beliefs into their politics. The word "secular" means:

1. worldly as opposed to sacred things; temporal

2. not concerned with or related to religion

3. not within the control of the Church

Secular progressives push a liberal agenda with fewer if any moral restraints or boundaries that otherwise would be traditionally adhered to. Politics to them should operate within secular guidelines. They prefer to concentrate on new, contemporary ideas and downplay ideals that have roots going back centuries. Traditionalists, on the opposite side of the spectrum, cling to values kept through the generations by parents and ancestors. They use their moral and spiritual compasses to provide guidelines for political opinion and participation. Traditionalists tend to prize their patriotism whereas secular progressives often subject the U.S. to more criticism by constantly comparing it to other countries. Traditionalists seem to balance government involvement against cost more than secular progressives, who generally have more tunnel vision in pursuing their agenda. Here's an example: Secular progressives generally believe the U.S. should have government-paid health care for those who otherwise can't afford it. In debates about this, they rarely are interested in drawing a balance between this goal and what it will cost the people. Rather, they just insist that we are overdue for providing this service.

A typical traditionalist regularly goes to church or is somewhat religious or spiritual, is pro-life, prefers to keep God alive in government affairs wherever possible, uses spiritual values to frame political views, doesn't believe in too much debt for either themselves or their country, is a Second Amendment advocate, emphasizes work ethic over quality of education, believes in balancing ecological needs with economic affordability, and tends to view political correctness as a fad that will hopefully recede. A typical secular-progressive may go to church on occasion but doesn't emphasize it as a priority, is pro-choice, doesn't believe God should have any presence in government, doesn't emphasize morality in politics, is not upset about our country's debt, is concerned about having enough gun control, emphasizes quality of public education over the work ethic, believes ecology is generally worth the cost to improve it, and is a firm believer in political correctness.

Democratic Platform vs. Republican Platform

The party platform sometimes is just a philosophical viewpoint and other times it can be a specific view on an issue. The Democratic Party is almost always chosen by liberals, those to the left and particularly the secular progressives. The Republican Party is almost always the choice for conservatives, those favoring right-wing policies and generally but not always the pick by traditionalists. The Republican website currently says this on the issue of economy: "We believe in the power and opportunity of America's free market economy." When you click on "courts," it simply says: "We believe a judge's role is to interpret the...