When placing ourselves in the left-right dichotomy, which practically every politically involved individual does at one point or another, people tend to describe themselves as conservatives or liberals. Conservatives are synonymous with the right while liberals are the same in regards to the left. Of course this is a very shallow description, but it is the framework in which American politics works.
With the rise of Donald Trump and later, the tumultuous 2020 election cycle, an increasing number of Americans are asking what these labels actually mean. In the U.S., politics is of course dominated by the two party system. Most self-described conservatives vote Republican while liberals overwhelmingly vote Democrat. Party machines have largely been able to keep control, but anti-establishment sentiment has only grown over the last decade.
On both sides of the aisle, Americans are fed up with both parties yet can’t seem find a way out. Americans are increasingly polarized and have radically different values and outlooks for the country, but politics as usual persists.
The election of Donald Trump rocked the boat for sure, but ultimately, “the swamp” prevailed. As soon as Biden was elected, it was revealed that military commanders and defense department officials had lied to President Trump about strategy in Syria. They essentially ignored the elected President’s approach, which was less intervention, and continued on without him knowing. They lied about troop totals and other sensitive information. Then, not even 100 days into his term, Biden has already authorized strikes against Assad’s government and revived regime change rhetoric.
Of course, all these Syria developments have taken place while Americans are still without their much needed stimulus checks. Despite President Trump offering to sign a clean bill on more than one occasion — an effort which gained support from anti-establishment Democrats such as Ilhan Omar — checks have still not been delivered. Even after the Democrats took the Senate while campaigning on stimulus checks, Americans have nothing.
So how can this be? How is the system so glaringly broken to the point where millions of Americans on both the left and right clearly know it yet, nothing happens? The answer is complex, but it starts with acknowledging the transformation of the nation and more importantly, the breakdown of any opposition to that transformation.
The United States of America was founded on conservative, Christian values. This is not to say that other values cannot be tolerated within the nation, but if America is to stay America, it must stay true to itself. This of course has not happened.
Leftism is different than liberalism and leftist ideals are fundamentally un-American. One cannot be a leftist, or a globalist, and also believe in the values America was founded on.
To say something so simple is now a controversial statement. This is a microcosm of the cultural rot that has plagued the nation and led to the destruction of its values.
While leftists are the foot soldiers being used to install an America that is alien to the traditional state, many on the right support this as well. They may not know it, but the majority of self-described conservatives today are simply store brand liberals.
They roll over on social issues to the point of denouncing the conservatives of ten years ago for views that were common at the time, but they say they’re against “cancel culture”, so it’s different. They’re fine with drag queen story time, but they also support a 2% capital gains tax cut. It balances out! You wanna marry your dog? No problem, that’s not my business!
Conservatives of the Ben Shapiro school of thought will sooner attack other conservatives than be honest about the ongoing Bolshevik sequel. “You may be a self-described communist hell-bent on destroying western civilization, but your right to do that is what makes America great!”
If this is what “conservatism” is, it’s pretty useless.
Sadly, this is the type of thinking that gets churned out of public schools and universities. It’s what is marketed to young conservatives via well funded interest groups, media outlets and YouTube channels. Left wing college activists get all the attention, but many conservatives are no better and are equally contributing to the decline.
Past a certain point, the conservative/liberal framework needs to be discarded entirely. “Intellectual conservatives” can listen to themselves talk for hours on end about free markets, but what they fail to realize is that their monologues only go on until the Bolsheviks are at the door. Establishment think tanks with massive budgets can push regime change in Venezuela or unlimited tech based migration from India until the day the music stops. The political class on the right fails to understand this, which makes them incompetent at best and downright deceptive at worst.
The issues facing America today go far beyond making sure one sticks to what is considered “conservative” or not. They require concrete solutions and leaders with conviction; leaders who understand what the American people want and are firm in their beliefs.
If America is ever going to make a comeback, those on the right cannot be compromising on their core beliefs. They must establish values and let those values dictate policy, not compromising at every turn because it might upset people. If socially conservative values are no longer considered “conservative” by Koch brothers front groups, it might be time to ditch the conservative label all together.
Politics, and life as a whole, is about far more than abstract political philosophy. One of the main reasons America has declined as far as it has is due to lack of any real opposition to the new, globalist America. Opposition to that won’t always be easy and at times, it will make people upset. But that’s what having values is about. The left has absolutely smoked the right because they aren’t afraid to embrace their values, which are the total opposite of traditional conservative values.
Trump voters and other right wing Americans need to hold firm on their values now more than ever before. If that means cutting off weak and deceitful “allies” at the expense of elections in the near future, so be it. A toothless opposition with no defined identity is no opposition at all, and that must be recognized.
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