The Virtues of Conservatism - Part 7

Conservatives are persuaded that freedom and property are closely linked. This is the primary reason conservatives clash with environmental groups.  To be clear ... conservatives don't want dirty air, dirty water, or a polluted ecosystem. I mean, we have to live on this planet too. The conservative acknowledges that the possession of property fixes certain duties upon the possessor; he accepts those moral and legal obligations cheerfully.  Let's make one more point here: Environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and PETA are socialist organizations whose agenda is to do away with private ownership of property. These organizations would have us return to the days before the horse and buggy.  Yes, their propaganda looks and sounds sweet, but at their very core is what Mark Levin and others calls Statism; a call to socialism and a Utopian society.
Ownership is stewardship. Give a man ... or woman ... the right to own something, and they will take care of it. Give ownership to the village and no one will take responsibility.  Let me encourage the reader to study the cultural, social and economic situations on America's Indian reservations. They offer a series of case studies in government's effectiveness as caretaker. In case you want to skip the research and reading, I'll offer you a one sentence summary. Government intervention has  miserably failed the Native American population in every conceivable form and fashion. Conservatives understand that the more widespread  the possession of private property, the more stable and productive is that commonwealth.

The outline for this treatment is credited to Russell Kirk and the web site at: 
http://www.kirkcenter.org/index.php/detail/ten-conservative-principles/

The Virtues of Conservatism - Part 6

Conservatives understand that people are not perfect, never have been perfect and never will be perfect.  In the liberal mind, perfection is possible if the right people and policies are in place. Problem is ... at no time in all of recorded history has this occurred. "But," the liberal will contend "we must always strive for perfection."  Okay. I'll go there, but first you'll have to give me a definition of perfection, and the definition I hear from the left is not sustainable or even one that I like: Government control over commerce, redistribution of wealth, and regulations on fundamental freedoms like speech, property ownership, and thought.  No thank you. I'll live with my imperfect world and keep my God given freedoms if you don't mind.  

Conservatives understand that human perfection is a pipe dream, and that human attempts to create a perfect order are naturally flawed by the simple fact that humans are imperfect. "The ideologues who promise the perfection of man and society have converted a great part of the twentieth-century world into a terrestrial hell." Russell Kirk.  No, the best we can do is strive for excellence, and the best environment for that to occur is in an environment ripe with freedoms; freedoms Americans have enjoyed since the signing of the constitution. 

The outline for this treatment is credited to Russell Kirk and the web site at: 
http://www.kirkcenter.org/index.php/detail/ten-conservative-principles/