by Earl Mcgill

Created on: May 16, 2009

Although conservatism in the United States is habitually associated with Ronald Reagan's presidency, conservative values have been a fundamental characteristic of the American psyche since our beginning as a nation. During the twentieth century conservatism was catapulted to prominence by people whose names have become synonymous with the word. Unfortunately, those people are no longer with us; their places hijacked by self-anointed gurus whose dogma bears little resemblance to traditional conservatism.

In a March 2008 issue of Newsweek, Michael Gerson, a syndicated conservative, paid homage to William F. Buckley. Buckley, he wrote, "knew that politics above all is a realm of ideas, not merely tactics and power. For conservatives, those ideas do not change with time and circumstance. 'The goal of freedom,' [Buckley] said, 'is to live the life an obedient man, but obedient to God, subservient to the wisdom of my ancestors; never to the authority of political truths arrived at yesterday in the voting booth.'"

In The Conscience of a Conservative, Senator and presidential nominee Barry Goldwater, acknowledged conservative leader of the 20th Century, wrote, "Surely the first obligation of a political thinker is to understand the nature of man. The Conservative does not claim special powers of perception on this point, but he does claim a familiarity with the accumulated wisdom and experience of history, and he is not too proud to learn from the great minds of the past."

These great conservative minds knew that "ideas" were more important than so-called "experiences," especially experiences that went against the values of the past.

Conservatism's Republican roots go back to Lincoln, whose stance on the abolition of slavery stemmed from his belief in the Constitution's guarantee of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all Americans. He believed that the idea of abolishing slavery superseded the reality of its existence.

Those who argue that ideas are not relevant, that cold, hard reality rules, have ignored the fact that American history is filled with examples of oratory containing ideas that changed the world: "Mister Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Or, "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth." Or, "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We

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