I find myself often getting attacked on political forums. I am often called a far right kook by "liberals" and leftist by "conservatives" I find political boards often attract purist that think life is all acted out in a labaotory. I am so tired of hearing so and so is not a true conservative. What is that?
I think Rod Dreher had a excellent column today that showed there is different and vibrant themes of conservative thought that is really a good read. Is Huckabee conservative?. In essence it is not really about Huckabee but gets to the root of all this tension.
So what type of Conservative am I?
- First Nothing overrides my Catholic Faith
-I want my conservatism to mesh with the Catholic Justice Principles
-I believe in Subsidarity
-For some reason when Bush says Compassionate Conservatism I think that is a good thing
-I am for a strong defense
-I am for small Business
-I do not hate Corporations
-I think Faith has a role in the public square
-I am for less Government intervention
-I am Pro-Life
-I am for the Traditional def of marriage.
-I am very FREE SPEECH and even think that the banning of Porn is chilling as well as any restriction on who and whom I pool money with to support for political office. I do draw the limit at publishing military secrets and how to produce a atomic bomb in ten easy steps (UPDATE- I Sort of Engage On How I am working out the PORN thing , the Speech Thing,The Role of Govt and My Catholic Ethics in the Comment section)
-I generally think low taxes at times and even tax cuts spur economic growth
-I am a big FREE TRADER and believe that Protectionism is suspect
-I am for making sure there is a safety net and have concerns about health care
-I am very concerned about the Euthanasia movement
-I am for strong borders and knowing who is here
-I am also for treating the immigrant and even the illegal immigrant that we have used for 20 years to fuel our growth in a humane and just way according to my Christian faith. Especially Children and people of mixed legal family status
-I thought the Wall Street Journal had a good point about borders and free trade and a visa program
-I also thought that anti immigration folks had valid concerns about wages for American workers
-I am for the Environment and scared that much of the coastline of Louisiana is washing away
-I am against discrimination
I could on but you get the point.
Now it has come to my attention that many parts of my conservatism come in conflict with other parts. Now what do I do? I try to work it out in the most practical way. I am a man of Conservatisms from social to traditional to economic. I refuse to embrace one and one only like it is a Sacrament of the Catholic Church. This is not Holy writ here.
I think Reagan summed it best. I actually remember him!!! He had a lot of influence on me as a kid. This is where I am at. Tip of the hat to The Subway Canaries that has the quotes I so agree with here at her post What Is Going on with Conservatives in the GOP? Part I which was written two years ago.
Reagan had a great speech in 1977 at the Famous CPAC meeting entitled The New Republican Party. I guess if you ask me if I am conservative or if Huck is conservative I would say yes. Reagan seems to agree. The whole thing should be read from start to finish. I hate just to take a part of it out. However this struck me:
My friends, the time has come to start acting to bring about the great conservative majority party we know is waiting to be created.
And just to set the record straight, let me say this about our friends who are now Republicans but who do not identify themselves as conservatives: I want the record to show that I do not view the new revitalized Republican Party as one based on a principle of exclusion. After all, you do not get to be a majority party by searching for groups you won’t associate or work with. If we truly believe in our principles, we should sit down and talk. Talk with anyone, anywhere, at any time if it means talking about the principles for the Republican Party. Conservatism is not a narrow ideology, nor is it the exclusive property of conservative activists.
Reagan would banned from the Free Republic site if he posted this today!!
“If there is any ideological fanaticism in American political life, it is to be found among the enemies of freedom on the left or right -- those who would sacrifice principle to theory, those who worship only the god of political, social and economic abstractions, ignoring the realities of everyday life. They are not conservatives…”
Amen. Good Read. So I think Huckabee as well as myself can safely be called conservative.
How does it feel to be right?
ReplyDeleteGreat job. I'm quoting you when I ever get my blasted post up.
SJR
The Pink Flamingo
Wow,
ReplyDeleteI have to say I actually disagree with you on something. I think your logic on the porn vs. military secrets is somewhat out of wack.
Why do you consider publishing military secrets to be something to consider as criminal? I would think that is probably because there is the chance that lives will be lost, and the security of the nation is compromised.
This equates to temporal life something that should be valued over the freedom to speak.
Now consider pornography. The actions that constitute pornography leads to mortal sin. The viewing of pornography and all of its fruits lead to mortal sin. Mortal sin leads to the death of the spirit.
This means that pornography is an attack on the spiritual life. It is as big a battle field in the spiritual realm as say Iraq is in the real world in the war on terror. (just an example)
The souls that are lost to pornography probably cannot even be concieved.
Take a look at Love and Responsibility by John Paul II.
Freedom doesn't meant license to do all. With Freedom comes responsibility.
Anyways, let me know what you think. And GEAUX Tigers!!!
Hey Travis. By the way I am shall be updating the Louisiana Catholic Blogger update since everyone is blogging again and I will include you
ReplyDeleteOk as to your question.First I agree that Porn is horrible and a evil no doubt. We know that it creates a lot of problems and indeed is a evil.People are losing their souls
Now and I guess I should have made this clearer in the post. I cannot violate two overiding principles. That is my Catholic Faith and I include since this is a political discussion the broad outlines and guidance of Catholic Social Justice thought.
Now I tried to give a list that represents me and shows that I have a conservatism that often conflicts. I suppose I can use this comment as a example of how to work it out when they collide.
Now I guess I got explict on Free Speech because that is a huge issue to me. THus it provides a good example of worlds colliding.
First since I am posting Chesterton today let me give you this quote
"The free man owns himself. He can damage himself with either eating or drinking; he can ruin himself with gambling. If he does he is certainly a damn fool, and he might possibly be a damned soul; but if he may not, he is not a free man any more than a dog.”
Now of course a good arguement can be made and I think it is correct that those particular sins he talking about are of excess and the acts are not indeed evil themselves. WHile Porn is always evil. I would be interested in exploring his further thought on this.
Now let me say I am not a Liberatarian. I think local communities to a certain extent can of course impose laws that reflect local morals and "porn" would start to fly into that category.
Again though I use the porn example because when I hear the Government banning any "Speech" or declaring something obscene , or banning speech because they think is dangerous then alarm bells go off. That is just me. That does not mean it can not or should not be done. However
I do think of Thomas Aquians and St Augustine
St Augustine said in his famous passage:
"Accordingly in human government also, those who are in authority rightly tolerate certain evils, lest certain goods be lost, or certain evils be incurred: thus Augustine says [De ordine 2.4]: If you do away with harlots, the world will be convulsed with lust"
Now I suspect you might know where I am going with this. That is St Thomas Aquinas and his thoughts on Tolerance and Sinful things. HE used St Augustine for a launching pad as to this . For instance this is a good paper I think that talks abotu Aquinas and the Practice of Prostitution
http://www.illinoismedieval.org/ems/VOL13/13ch4.html
I guess I have been struck by Aquinas thoughts on this and it influences my thinking.
I am going to use quotes from this page which you can reference
http://www.aquinasonline.com/Topics/tolernce.html
He we go:
The purpose of human law is to lead men to virtue, not suddenly, but gradually. Wherefore it does not lay upon the multitude of imperfect men the burdens of those who are already virtuous, viz., that they should abstain from all evil. Otherwise these imperfect ones, being unable to bear such precepts, would break out into yet greater evils... (ST I-II, q. 96, a.2, ad 2)
"law should be possible both according to nature, and according to the customs of the country."(Ibid., a. 2 co.)"
Let me quote in full the person commenting on Aquinas views here in full:
"As was said previously, human law must gradually guide citizens to virtue. More than that, it cannot even prohibit all evils, simply because this would set up an ideal which many citizens would not be able to reach. Rather, human laws should only prohibit those vices"...from which it is possible for the majority to abstain; and chiefly those that are to the hurt of others, without the prohibition of which human society could not be maintained...". (ST I-II, q. 96, a. 2) Rawls himself would admit that not everything can be tolerated since "liberty is governed by the necessary conditions for liberty itself."( Rawls, op. cit., p. 215) Since human law does not, and should not, forbid every evil, it follows that the state tolerates those vices not forbidden. Thomas makes this very clear:those who are in authority, rightly tolerate certain evils, lest certain goods be lost, or certain greater evils be incurred: thus Augustine says (De Ordine ii.4): "If you do away with harlots, the world will be convulsed with lust." (ST II-II, q. 10, a. 11)
Now what does this all mean with outlawing porn as in regards the civil laws of the US or an individual state. Well maybe not much.
First let me say I have two urges. One that have law that show and guides a morality. In effect we do that all time. ON the other I know we live in a society with different views on this subject and it has to be done slowly. I think that is what Aquinas is getting at as to Custom.
I guess where I come to a crossroads is whether in the US where there is now a established tolerance of this material , which is of course like Harlots is a evil, and where it interconnects with the Govt banning material because it thinks its obscene which brings up issues of a precedent to ban speech and what that might mean for the common good.
THe problem I see is not only the GOvt intrusion into the marketplace of ideas. But a real practical problem. If you are going to outlaw porn I assume that means a criminal sanction Like people going to jail. Is this country prepared for that? How would it be enforced? I am not at all sure how it can be enforced in this age of the internet. Will it be illegal for me look at porn in Claiborne Parish but legal in Orleans? Or Legal in California but Illegal in Louisiana. So in a enforcement of a law are we perhaps promoting things that leads to greater injustices or perhaps to greater social discord.
Now one can take this argument and go to a extreme. That everything goes. That of course would be dishonest to do.
However it appears that the state tolerating a certain amount of VICE is seen by St Thomas as not only ok but in fact needed.
THe question becomes is PORN so destructive to society that it mere presence causes the possibilty of threatening the common good.
Now I know there are arguments that links the use of PORN to higher sex crimes. Another question is does PORN so deform a person's sexual drive that it unlike other vices in the past even as to prostitution. Or is Porn in some ways the new prostitution of the 21 Century. Is it worse? It very well could be and thus go into that field of destroying the common good on vast level. THose are questions I am interested in.
So how do I work this out.
I think laws should be encouraged to place a moral stigma. This can be done by prohibiting what places can have it. SOrt of like Place and Location laws as we see to Strip Clubs.
I think there is a benefit to have people that wish to make it illegal and thus pointing out the evils with it and also on the other side supporting a attitude that is hesitant in doing an out and right ban on a "vice". At least it keeps the discussion in the public sphere and slowly over time in fact Society in fact might consider it just not in the scope of proper conduct. However in the current structure of Govt we have and with espiually with Technology and the mobility of society I think it becomes problematic.
I see no way the US govt can ban porn. They have no power to do that So again we get to how do you this in this era.
What are the risks and evils of this going to th black market and underground? Even today while prostitution is illegal in Louisiana SOciety winks and nods oat it throught the use of escort agencies in which one can see if you open up the Lafayette yellow pages. There is an ocassional bust of course and crack down to show the moral stigma to it but in essence it is allowed because in a sense it can be regulated to a certain degree. Much like the certain redlight districts we had offically and not too long ago unoffically in Parishes from Shreveport to New Orleans.
So I suppose that is where I am currently at as to this. I want people to fight it. I ahve no problems and in fact encourage court battles over it. While at the same time holding a position that any banning should be done with caution and not to bring on further unexpected evils.
SO that is sort of where I am at.
I might by the way do a whole a topic post on this an encourage people to comment on it. I find it a tough issue because in some sense I do feel porn is a different sort of vice in away
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