What Do Conservatives Believe? Part One: America Is Good

I've been talking for some time about digging into The Conservative's Handbook (Defining the Right Position on Issues from A to Z), by Phil Valentine, and frankly it's been difficult getting started! Since the election in early November, it seems we have spent more time on defense rather than on offense and it's gotten awfully tiring. I've frankly been puzzled at the onslaught of hate mail, even since the election (as are fellow bloggers). As the political world heats up with the decisions Obama and the Democratic Party are making on a daily basis, it's more important than ever, conservative Republicans, to KNOW why you are a conservative. I can say with certainty that some of the most intelligent people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting were conservatives, and although I am sure there are many intelligent Democrats, my impression has generally been that instead of having a debate on ideas, they want to go on the attack. They typically refuse to debate on ideas. Frustrating? Sure! Especially when they attack, attack, attack...taking most of what you say completely out of context. (case and point: Rush Limbaugh and his latest comments on Obama, see entire video below) As crazy as it can make you if you let it, I have found that the more grounded I am in what I believe, the less it rattles me. We have been brought up in a world in which our little league ball teams have multiple winners so as not to hurt little Johnny's feelings. We have been raised in an America that has mostly embraced the "Dr. Spock" mentality, and it's quite evident in the political world. (case and point: Norm Coleman/Al Franken race) I've been puzzled by the hate mail, because I thought winning would be enough. It's not for a liberal. Make no mistake about it, their intent is to silence you, to destroy you, the conservative. Why? Because what you and I believe is right. We will begin to cover the many positions we take on the issues, and why we believe what we believe. It will take a very long time, so keep coming back...I think you'll be happy you did. The points we cover here will be a summary of what is a much more in depth discussion in The Conservative's Handbook by Phil Valentine. At a time when I believe more Americans than ever before are wanting to know more,  I encourage everyone who is a conservative, or wishes to fully understand our positions, to buy a copy here. 

The first of many facts about conservatism is this: we KNOW that America is good.

 "There's a discernible difference between a great country and a good country. There's no doubt the United States is a great nation. We are the preeminent superpower of the world."

There are many countries that are great in terms of military power or other factors, but that does not make them good.

"A good nation is not measured by its military strength nor its size. A good nation is, in short, a nation that is generally a positive force in the world. The United States is such a place."

Have we made mistakes? Sure, but what we have given the world as a nation far outweighs our mistakes. There are many on the left that disagree with this fundamental point. We could get into the specifics, but you know what they are...you hear them daily on any given mainstream media network, from both the reporters and most liberal Democrat politicians. 

Part of America's goodness is her rise to capitalism. I hate to fill a post with quotes, but in an effort to get it right, I cannot say it better than Valentine himself:

"Freedom is the birth mother of capitalism...a truly capitalist society is a free society...capitalism attracts brilliant minds like magnet to steel. Names like Albert Einstein, Mikkhail Baryshnikov, and Joseph Pulitzer were drawn to the United States because there has never been a place on earth where so many with so little have accomplished so much.  Through our ingenuity, we gave the world airplanes, refrigerators, sewing machines...roller skates, toilet paper, rock 'n' roll...the telephone, blue jeans, jazz, light bulbs, air conditioning, and Coca Cola...bubble gum, microwave ovens, cellular phones, calculators, artificial hearts...the polio vaccine....Some people would go through life deaf if it were not for R. G. Rhodes and his hearing aid...Crayons, tea bags, popsicles, cotton candy, frozen food, chocolate chip cookies, photocopiers, defibrillators, carbon dating, integrated circuits..."

"Capitalist nations don't just happen by mistake; they happen by design. The United States was founded as a capitalist nation. That's why calls to end capitalism by those on the extreme left aren't just wild ramblings from disgruntled social misfits. These people are anti-American. Capitalism and America are inextricably intertwined; in fact, capitalism is the shortest path to individual freedom. One cannot be simultaneously free and dependent on the government. Our freedom to be all we can be is what makes the United States unique. It's also what makes us good."

Why do you think people from all over the world scramble to enter our borders at any cost? I live in South Florida and I'll never forget how thankful I was to be an American as, shortly after we moved here, we watched on the local news while a truck (that had been turned into a flotation device) full of Cubans floated to shore--some reaching land before being caught by our Coast Guard and some not so fortunate. I realized in a very real way how desperate people are to be free, and how deeply blessed we are as a nation.

America is good because she spreads democracy.

"No matter their religion, no matter their ethnic background, people everywhere yearn to be free....as the shining light of freedom in the world, it is incumbent upon us to share what we've discovered for ourselves with the rest of the world. We must do this, not because we want to force our will on everyone else, but because, as fellow human beings, it's our obligation to try to free people from bondage, just as we freed our own. Because we have learned the hard lessons of freedom through our blood, sweat, and tears. Because we're a nation of hope, a nation of dreams. Because America is good."