Snaps to Hubbard for quoting Chesterton in the blog’s first post. I am not as well read in conservatism as is he, so I shan’t follow suit. Like most people, I suspect, I didn’t come to conservatism through deep thought and reflection, but rather through reflex and a dislike for the ideas from the other side; the warmth I show for Republicans is only relative to the icy disdain I have for Democrats.
Much of Leftism disregards or actively runs again human nature; I reject the notion that we are blank slates, and thus the notion that the government can shape us as it wishes. Putting the government in control of our lives is a topsy-turvy reversal of the ideal of self-government.
I am very much a democrat and have little patience for the strands of conservative thought (or any thought) that looks down on democratic self-government. The democratic process does not always yield the correct result, but self-government is not a means to achieve good government. Rather, it is a means to direct man’s natural spiritedness away from tyranny. Thing that detract from the ability of a people to govern themselves are almost always bad.
Things I will probably be blogging about:
Japan. The Japanese are a spirited, baseball-loving people with whom, thanks to the MacArthur reconstruction, we have more cultural ties than with any other non-European, non-English speaking nation.
Journalism. It’s slipping, and I care.
Writing. Related to the previous item. I care a great deal about the value of words, and it pains me to see them misused. In a fundamental way language influences our discourse, and I despise those who use language dishonestly.
Philosophy. It’s in the dumpster and irrelevant not because it is inherently so, but because it is in the hands of buffoons, haters, and hacks. This was not always the case.
Democratic culture: I love Wal-Mart, SUVs, network TV, and fast food. American culture is vibrant because, more than any other people, it is dominated by the masses rather than the elites. Because of this, American popular culture can at times provide genuine insight into the human condition.
As a general rule, I’m better at snarking in response to others than coming up with my own ideas (this is epidemic among conservatives, I believe), so most of my future posts will probably be an improvement on this one.
Posted by Apollo in Conservatism, Ourselves