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A DOZEN REASONS WHY I'M A CONSERVATIVE - By Edward L. Daley
February 17, 2004
Let me begin this article by stating that I am not a Republican. I am,
however, a conservative. I embrace conservatism because that particular
philosophy is distinguished, in part, by the following precepts.
1. Governmental control over our lives should be limited to those few
trammels, which are absolutely necessary to the survival of an otherwise
free nation. In the words of Thomas Paine, "Government, even in its best
state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one."
2. Taxation should only occur when necessary to provide for the common
defense, civilian police agencies, firefighting organizations, roadways,
railways and other essential aspects of our nation's infrastructure. If
we are to have income taxes, everyone but the destitute should pay a
proportional amount of those taxes (the same percentage of taxes
regardless of their income), and those who pay no income taxes should be
thankful to those who do.
3. Our nation was founded upon the principle of God-given rights,
regardless of the conflicting opinion of a small minority of American
citizens who do not believe in the concept of a higher power. After all,
not every American believes in the viability of the capitalist system
either, but our system is still based upon capitalism no matter what
some people choose to believe.
4. The preservation of innocent human lives is of paramount importance
to all moral people, and those who wish to gratuitously destroy a fetus
in the womb have an obligation to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that
an unborn child is not a human life, worthy of the same legal
protections that all other individuals enjoy, before committing abortion.
5. Free market principles should be applied to public education, health
care and a host of other systems, which have of late been thrust into
the socialistic downward spiral of governmental intervention and
over-regulation.
6. We, the people, have an expectation of public accountability and
private responsibility. With every individual right claimed, there is an
equally important responsibility attached to it, and for every ounce of
power claimed by some people over everyone else, there should be a pound
of accountability awaiting those claimants at the end of the day.
7. People who wish to immigrate to our country need to do so legally.
They should be willing to learn our language, respect our culture and
obey our laws once they're here. Those who refuse to do so should be
deported immediately.
8. Our federal government should have autonomy in determining what is in
the best interest of our country internationally, as opposed to relying
on organizations such as the United Nations to make our decisions for us.
9. You can't bargain with bullies, tyrants or terrorists, and to even
try is not only naive but also potentially suicidal. Sometimes violence is
the only means by which one can defend one's liberties. Those who refuse
to resort to violent acts under any circumstances are destined for slavery.
10. Affirmative action is racism, no different than those forms of
racism practiced by the Nazis of W.W.II Germany or former President
Charles Taylor's regime in modern-day Liberia.
11. People are not basically good, nor are they basically bad. They're
both, that's why a moral code is necessary to the sustainability of a
free society.
12. All human beings crave liberty and felicity, and to deny even one
person who chooses to live a virtuous life the opportunity to pursue
happiness and experience individual freedom, is a crime against humanity.
I'm sure there are some conservatives who would disagree with one or two
of the above outlined principles, or at least the wording I have chosen
to use regarding them, but it is my contention that these statements
essentially speak for the vast majority of American conservatives.
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Edward L. Daley is the owner/operator of the news website The Daley Times-Post.