Conservatism 101 (Part 2: The difference between Conservatism and Liberalism)

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Ideology shapes legislation. So, the difference between various ideologies (I recognize three fundamental ideologies: Liberalism, Conservatism and Anarchy) ultimately determines how legislation is written and intended.

Liberalism operates on the notion that a person is free to make any choice they want, free from consequence, repercussion and responsibility.

Conservatism also operates from the “any choice” position, but with two key caveats:

1. That once a choice is made by the individual, ALL consequences, repercussions and responsibilities are ALSO borne by that individual (and that individual alone).

2. No choice may be made which, in making that choice, the rights of another individual are violated.

Example: ABORTION

Legislated by a Liberal court (Justice Harry Blackmun wrote the majority opinion) and supported almost entirely by Liberals (along with a few Left-of-Center “Republicans”), abortion law stands as a perfect example of the difference between Liberalism and Conservatism.

According to current law, a woman (and ONLY a woman) has the right to terminate the life of an unborn or partially-born child (in Illinois, Obama attempted to include newly born children of failed abortion attempts). There needs to be no reason given for such an action. (Since this is not a discussion, specifically, about abortion….that will be coming soon, as January marks the anniversary of Roe…I will refrain the details of abortion law). What IS important for this discussion is to understand the fundamental Liberal vs Conservative stance.

Liberalism teaches a woman can decide to be sexually active and, if pregnancy results, the responsibility (of carrying and delivering the product of that pregnancy) can legally be handed off to others. (I specifically exclude men in this discussion because, legally, with regard to abortion law, they have no rights). The responsibility and consequences associated with a woman’s decision to be sexually active are carried by two groups of society:

1. Taxpayers, who are required, through their tax dollars, to pay for abortions.

2. The unborn child, who pays with their life.

So, Liberals, through the courts, draft a piece of legislation which frees a woman from all personal responsibility for a decision which she, alone, makes.

Conservatism teaches that abortion law is a fundamental violation of our founding documents (The Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence) all of which (except the Constitution, which merely defines the duties of Government) requires equality for all. In fact, several of the Amendments in the Bill of Rights further emphasized the notion of equality (The Thirteenth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment and The Nineteenth Amendment, as examples). (The discussion of the redundancy of these Amendments can be examined and discussed at a future time). A Conservative approach to “abortion law” would be to legislate on the fact that an unborn child is, in fact, fully human, and would therefore be afforded all protections and equalities defined by our founding documents.

The various arguments, offered by Liberals, in defense of the “right to an abortion” cannot stand serious scrutiny. Some of the more common defenses include (but are not limited to):

– “It (the child) is a part of the woman’s body”

o A fetus contains a genetic code. It is this genetic code which defines humanity; the person. That genetic code is made up of 46 chromosomes, of which 23 are donated from the ovum (female), leaving the other 23 donated by the sperm (male). The “uniqueness” of an individual is determined and complete at the moment an ovum and sperm unite. And at that same moment, that individual is an entity separate from both man and woman.

Therefore, at MOST, a fetus is HALF “the woman’s body”; the other HALF being “the man’s body”.

– “It (the child) is simply a mass of cells”

o Unfortunately for the pro-choice crowd, “a mass of cells” also describes ANY person regardless of age.

– “A ‘fetus’ is not the same as a ‘human’”

o “Fetus” merely describes a stage of life, just as “toddler”, “child”, “baby”, “teenager”, “adult”, “senior citizen”, etc, also merely describe stages of life.

– “A fetus cannot survive, by itself, without massive intervention, outside the womb”

o A newborn also cannot survive without massive intervention. Nor can a one-year-old, two-year-old, etc…

o Many physically or mentally infirmed cannot survive without massive intervention.

o Many elderly cannot survive without massive intervention.

These are just some of the biological arguments revolving around the abortion law issue. There is a whole legal (Constitutional) argument as well, but, again, that can be examined at a different time.

Next up in “Conservatism 101”: Two views of The Constitution.

Hirota: out.


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