Symposium: We Are Called to Action, Not Despair

This article is in response to “Rescuing Freedom from Despair” and is part of the symposium on What Is Wrong with Conservatism and How Do We Make It Right?

The most important point Jonathan Tobin makes is that we must not simply stand by and tell people to stop. Stop moving forward, stop trying to attain a utopia, and stop the Big Government. Although I disagree that this “stop!” approach necessarily leads to despair, it is easy to see why so many conservatives react with despair to the ever-growing size and scope of the federal government.

This results in the “Know-Nothingism” and isolationism of which Mr. Tobin speaks. In the chaos of the modern world where morality has been confined to the pages of nearly-forgotten theology books and objectivity is a thing of the past, it is easy for us to think that the best approach is to white-knuckle through the crazy times and look back to the “Golden Age” of America from the safety of our homes. But is that really what Conservatism stands for?

The Conservative needs to preserve traditional principles and reconcile this with what is needed right NOW. We still have to act.

At the heart of the Conservative movement lies a belief that the same human nature, which is permanent, will always affect our form of government—no matter the type or size. This human nature is prone to corruption but always tries to achieve greatness, and therein lies our fundamental distrust of big government. But man’s most dangerous weakness can also become his greatest strength. I think in recognizing this  a middle ground can be found.

We hate what the world has been turned into by our leaders, and so we turn our backs. We hate abuse of power and so we oppose building the strength needed to execute military action across the world. But let us remember that “the thing we fear most is also the only structure that can defend the thing we love most”. We need to re-create a government we can trust. Those are dangerous words, I know. But creating a government we can trust necessarily means decreasing its size, electing better leaders, and renewing our commitment to enlightened democracy on the local, grassroots level. One thing I know for sure: the answer is not eliminating government, nor is it blind complacency.

Instead of standing in the path telling people to stop walking, why not walk with them for a little while and only then suggest a change in route on a path which you can both go down? The Conservative movement would be viewed much differently if we did.