Are You or Aren't You

"Fiscally conservative and socially liberal. Can one be both? Some proport to be, but I believe these positions to be contradictory. Let’s examine the descriptions and some applications. To be “conservative” means to be cautious, prudent, modest and endeavoring to preserve traditional values. To be “liberal” is described as “broad-minded, tolerant and not conventional” (Merriam-Webster) — some also describe these qualities as “progressive.” But, are there many “progressive” causes that comport with conservativism? Few, if any. So why would anyone claim to be conservative in one context yet liberal in others? Perhaps from indecisiveness, apathy, lack of conviction or fortitude. Or, as marketing professor Gad Saad asserts, it’s “Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind” (2026); that is, misplaced desires to do good for others which can lead to great harm.

In these times of rampant and extreme “progressiveness,” we who claim to be conservatives must be decisive, convicted of our standards and even willing to sustain affronts when addressing what may seem to be “tolerance” but is actually compromise, falsehoods or even failure. Take for instance the November Proposition 1 ballot initiative masquerading as “freedom.” Let’s be forthright and admit that with freedom comes responsibility, ex. gun ownership, vehicle operation, money management. Reproductive freedom is no exception. When sexual freedom produces another life, that new person has the right to live and be free, too. The label “progressive” is ironically misappropriated in this application because there’s no “progress” when reverting to the barbarism of abortion.

So, to any conservatives who have yet to fully commit to the scope of our principles, it’s worth re-examining: are you or aren’t you truly conservative? "

M.C.