Conservatism Defined

Although it is a political term, I have often applied conservative to myself because the conservative rules of government at this time, generally, are in line with my political ideas. However, a different kind of conservative describes me more accurately - i.e. traditionalist. A conservative can be defined as someone opposed to change, or rather someone who thinks that change might not be for the better.

But how is this? Certainly, the government is in a state of disarray at the moment. Therefore change must be in order. While this is true, there are two kinds of change that must be distinguished. There is the radical change from one system to the other, and then there is reform. The liberals prefer the former - they wish to defeat the capitalism and instill socialism on the American people. This is not a point I feel like arguing about, it is evidenced enough in lib policies and media bias that is very obvious. A conservative, however, would repair that damage that socialism has done to the American society.

That's why I'm a conservative. The traditions of both the Church and America are founded in reason and are, in fact, quite glorious to me. Nothing shows more clearly the glory and majesty of the Church than a mass in Latin chanted in the wondrous confines of a cathedral, just as nothing shows the American free spirit like (a moderated) capitalism.

In summary, there is a quote I found that sums it up much better than I can. "Conservatism, however, is not the blinkered and mulish preference for the past over the present, but a philosophical concern for whether there will be a future." ~Bruce F. Murphy