Right Wing
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Hi, an off the cuff sketch of what I think being right wing means.
A conservative worldview is grounded in the greatness of the human being, the individual.
First, the sanctity and the centrality of bringing new life into the world, family. A conservative worldview maintains that hope springs eternal and that the optimism required to bring children into the world is always present. Family structures are of utmost importance in supporting and enabling healthy living.
Second, the right to self-defense arises out of the foundational importance of human life. Human life is so precious that one must be ready to defend it. Armies must be ready. Young men willing to serve their countries must be respected. Abhorring violence can never include unwillingness to keep oneself and one’s family safe.
Third, personal responsibility is the natural fulfillment of the greatness of the individual and the sense of optimism that permeates right wing philosophy. We as individuals control our destinies. We look to ourselves for change and empowerment, not to systems. Making our beds in the morning and smiling at strangers is how we make the world a better place, not by entrusting central leadership with enough power to enforce what some perceive as fairness.
That’s what I think being right wing means. How about you? What do you think?
Being a conservative to me is taking responsibility for your choices in life. Owning up to your mistakes and working to rectify them. Not whining and being entitled. Working for what you want in life and not thinking what someone else has should belong to you through income redistribution. I suspect I come at it from an economic standpoint for what it means to be a conservative.
I know conservative people who do not have family’s for whatever reason.
I know alot of liberals who have families. I know alot of liberals who are even religious.
I think most of these are personal values and while politically they may be cast as liberal versus conservative I simply consider them part of being human.
I agree with personal responsibility. I would add:
The idea that, as Roger Scruton put it, we have inherited wonderful things from those who came before us that we are obliged to preserve for those who come after us (this includes what you mention as defence, but goes much further).
That human nature is often destructive and that laws, religions and traditions are necessary to guide us to the time-tested ways of moral living. We are not "basically good" or "blank slates" that can be made good by basic upbringing. We need life-long moral and spiritual guidance.
That it is (as Frederich Hayek put it) a "fatal conceit" to believe that any individual or group of individuals can understand something as complex as society well enough to be able to undertake large-scale social engineering projects.
That individuals, families and communities are better at deciding how to spend their own money and how to support the needy than the centralised state is. As Margaret Thatcher said, the problem with socialism is that sooner or later, you run out of other people's money.