About conservatism and fear

Youngest Boy asked me what ‘conservative’ and ‘liberal’ mean. He’s 7, so I must be talking about these things too much around the house.

Here’s my answer.

The way I see it, everyone has a conservative side and a liberal side. And either side may be appropriate, depending on the situation.

There’s a good side and a bad side to conservatism. The good side of conservatism is caution. When there are wild animals or bad people outside, it’s a good idea to stay in the house. When you could lose a lot of money, you try to risk less. It’s just smart. And in some ways it may be better for a society if change doesn’t happen too quickly. Change can be wrenching and difficult to adapt to.

The bad side of being conservative is fear. That’s when caution becomes paralysis.

I’ve never seen a more fearful group of people than modern American conservatives, whether it’s fear of gays, fear of immigrants, fear of liberals, or (always always always) fear of terrorists. And conservative leaders know that they can speak to this fear to control conservatives, just like flicking a switch. They call it ‘throwing red meat to their base’, but it’s actually pandering to fear.

Conservatives are a bit like babies sometimes; they get fearful and need to be soothed. If they get angry, they can throw a tantrum. Unlike babies, though, their anger can turn them into aggressive people who are capable of real harm. That’s a way of life for fire-breathing conservatives like Limbaugh and Coulter. Yellow Elephants of our present day show both manifestations of fear: cowardice, and threatened aggression when they get called on it.

On the other side, liberalism is notable for its lack of fear in the face of threat. Liberals are able to say, “Yes, terrorism is a threat. But we need to approach it in an intelligent way.” Or, “I don’t want to be murdered by someone. But even so, I oppose the death penalty.” The anti-war stance is criticised as cowardly by so-called hawks fed on overhyped nationalism, itself driven by fear. But I see it as a desire to work around conflict, if possible. The coward is the one who thinks it’s all right to send others into a war so their anxiety can be assuaged.

The key question is this: is the world basically dangerous or safe? To answer that, I’d like to quote Al Gore quoting Ed Muskie:

“There are only two kinds of politics. They are not radical and reactionary, or conservative and liberal. Or even Democrat and Republican. There are only the politics of fear and the politics of trust.

“One says: You are encircled by monstrous dangers.

Give us power over your freedom so we may protect you.

“The other says: The world is a baffling and hazardous place, but it can be shaped to the will of men. …(C)ast your vote for trust …in the ancient traditions of this home for freedom….”

This latter approach brings out better things in me. I hope I can help my boys to be brave enough to consider other points of view, to not react automatically with violence, to be capable and secure enough to have a calm mind. In short, to be good liberals and good members of society.