What Conservatism Really Means

And then there’s the point of who is paying for it. At the present time, 47% of Americans are carrying the tax burden in this country. That number is shrinking due to lost jobs, a growing aging population, growing ranks of those relying on unemployment and welfare programs and lack of jobs for those coming out of school into the workforce. Who, exactly, will be paying for a healthcare program that we were lied to about its cost per year? Fewer and fewer people, meaning less and less tax revenue. That means the treatments covered by government-run healthcare will shrink, not grow. It isn’t the responsibility of government to take care of us. It’s our responsibility to take care of ourselves and each other.

Government should also not be able to use its programs to dictate to churches and faith-based initiatives what they can and can’t say, and must do. Telling churches that the must provide health care coverage that conflicts with their moral values or teachings is blatantly unconstitutional. Telling them they must accept those living in lifestyles that conflict with their teachings is also blatantly unconstitutional. Whether it‘s abortion and contraception or gay marriage, our Constitution prohibits government from telling churches what it must do or can’t talk about.

That same Constitution also allows the free expression of worship, which means that if people decide to hold a prayer service before a graduation, or town meeting, then they can. The First Amendment doesn’t say there is a “separation of church and state.” What it does say is “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”  It stops government from establishing a national church, it doesn’t allow them to stop people from praying in public, in schools or anywhere else. Telling people they can’t have religion in public IS establishing a national “church” of agnosticism or atheism.

Our Constitution is and should be the be all, end all of the limits of government, not a way for government to limit its citizens. Conservatives believe in the sanctity of the family, of faith and of individuals to build their own futures. We DID build it, our lives, our businesses and this country. Believing that government knows better than the individual is asking for the end of our nation and the spirit that built it in the first place.

Topics: Conservatism, Constitution, Abortion, Euthanasia, Life, Church and State, Healthcare