I believe that the Family is the most important
element in society. I strive hard to build and protect my family,
working with my wife, Jessica. This does not mean that I believe
that I should impose my beliefs on other people. Nor does it mean
that I think we should legally regulate the definition of a "family".
Thus, my core beliefs put me more in line with the conservative/Republican
view, yet the implementation of those beliefs in the public sphere
are much more in line with the liberal/Democratic platform. This
same pattern plays out in many of my political views.
I have recently discovered the Crunchy Con movement started by Rod Dreher, a conservative columnist. Although I tend to lie on the libertarian side of the conservative spectrum, I hold these items to be true. My libertarian streak, though, leads me to question to what extent I can force others to live according to my beliefs. Certainly I believe in these things, but I also believe in allowing all people to choose their own paths.
By Rod Dreher
1. We are conservatives who stand outside the conservative mainstream; therefore, we can see things that matter more clearly.
2. Modern conservatism has become too focused on money, power, and the accumulation of stuff, and insufficiently concerned with the content of our individual and social character.
3. Big business deserves as much skepticism as big government.
4. Culture is more important than politics and economics.
5. A conservatism that does not practice restraint, humility, and good stewardship—especially of the natural world—is not fundamentally conservative.
6. Small, Local, Old, and Particular are almost always better than Big, Global, New, and Abstract.
7. Beauty is more important than efficiency.
8. The relentlessness of media-driven pop culture deadens our senses to authentic truth, beauty, and wisdom.
9. We share Russell Kirk’s conviction that “the institution most essential to conserve is the family.”
10. Politics and economics won’t save us; if our culture is to be saved at all, it will be by faithfully living by the Permanent Things, conserving these ancient moral truths in the choices we make in our everyday lives. |
