Conservativism and Freedom

But others say Conservatism and "Law and Order"

By Darryl Weng

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One might say I was born conservative. My father is a moderate conservative, and my mother is a Libertarian. It was until years ago I would come to those conclusions, however. My first exposure to politics was just like anyone’s - reading the news. My father had a subscription to the Wall Street Journal(WSJ), and I took upon reading it. At first, I admired the writings - especially the opinion section. I loved the wit, wordplay, and one-of-a-kind writing style. Even then, I was unaware of much politics. The only thing that I knew was that politics was dirty and that it was no business of mine. My parents rarely discussed politics in front of me and barely influenced me.

And then the 2016 Presidential election came.

And because I was wanting of a participation award, I took up my own political views. Even then, I was quite aware of how naïve or factually wrong I was. But I was still in the learning process. It was until then did I find myself indulged in the U.S news, World news, and Opinion section on WSJ. I read WSJ at home, in the car, in the barber shop, at the gas station, and at many other places. I read it whenever I could, truth to be told. Eventually, I would supplement my readings with the National Review and read books of Thomas Sowell and Victor Davis Hanson. The more I read, the more I understood politics from various standpoints like economics and legal/illegal immigration.

In the end, however, there was a standpoint that trumped them all - the value of freedom. In fact, given the time we live in today, one might say that freedom is the most important value of conservativism. Sadly, it's a misconception that conservatism is simply "law and order," whilst the Left and the liberals flaunt support of "people's rights" - supposedly a synonym of freedom. The idea that conservatism is in direct relation with "law and order" is quite valid, but "law and order" is defined in the terms of protecting one's freedom. More simply, "law and order" refers to keeping the first Amendment in its place, protecting it from those who try to expunge the first Amendment and its allies.

At the same time, one might ask themselves how liberals and the Left intend to support and value freedom. The answer is a concise one: they don't support freedom. Liberalism is supposed to be in direct relation with freedom values, but the Left has decided to take the orphaned liberalism into its wing. The Left themselves support increased government control of public and private affairs - the exact opposite of promoting freedom values. Therefore, liberalism has now become synonymous with the Left and not the other way around.

And thus, here is the summarization of the difference between conservatism and liberalism/Leftism in the context of freedom: conservatism supports freedom values whilst liberalism/Leftism oppose freedom values. Whether it was honorable of Warren Buffet to support the Left's belief in taxation or not, one thing is clear: it is dishonorable for any American to throw away, discourage, or oppose freedom values - just like the Leftists.