Mr. Zeiler, English teacher, PHS
(Photo by Harrison Zeiler)
By H.R. Zeiler—
Common misconceptions about the nature of conservatism are pervasive because it has been defined by what it isn’t, liberalism. At the core of modern conservatism is a belief in the U.S. Constitution and its limits on federal power, states’ rights, property rights, and individual liberty. Conservatives believe in personal responsibility, a strong national defense and traditional American values.
The role of government is to protect freedom, so that individuals can pursue their own personal goals. Freedom is at the core of all that conservatism is about. On the national level, ensuring freedom for Americans requires a strong national defense. The Constitution provides that the federal government provide for the national defense, and therefore the U.S. military should be second to none in the world.
Federal power and its limitations, the relationship between the federal government and the state and the especially the individual, are critical to understanding the conservative. The founding fathers argued for severe limits on federal power. Actually, the only way the Constitution was able to be ratified by the states, was to include certain guarantees that the federal government would not be able to infringe on the rights of the people or the states. These guarantees are called the Bill of Rights and they are our rights. They cannot be taken away by the federal government because they were not granted by the government. The ninth and tenth amendments are as important today as they were in the 1700’s.
Amendment IX states, “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” The ninth amendment is key to the understanding of the entire document. It means that any right that is not given to the government is in fact retained by the people. The default of power is in the hands of the people and not the government. The individual is the most important freedom granted by God and protected under the Constitution.
The tenth amendment is just as important as the ninth stating, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” This means that any power not given to the federal government defaults back to the states and we the people. Why should power be given to states when the federal government speaks for all of us? The framers of the Constitution knew that we the people would have more control over our state governments and that they would more directly represent the rights of individuals in the states.
The end goal of both of these rights is to ensure that the rights and freedoms of the individual be protected at all costs. The federal government is only to do what it was specifically enumerated. We the people are not supposed to feel the presence of the federal government in our daily lives.
When the modern federal government, under the control of either political party, infringes on the rights of the people by confiscating large amounts of personal property (wealth), mandating that all people must buy health insurance, must use a certain kind of light bulb or must purchase a certain kind of car, or mandates all manner of appliance, from a refrigerator to a toilet, to a desk chair, then the government is not innocuous, as the framers envisioned and granted through the ninth amendment. It is a prevalent force in every individual’s daily life. When the federal government infringes on the rights of the people by infringing on the rights of the states, with overbearing regulations, national standards for everything from education, the environment, and workplace standards, to mandating federal exchanges for health care, that will eventually be paid for by the states, the government is not abiding by the tenth amendment.
When fisherman are put out of business because they are unable to fish, because of ever more stringent regulations on fishing catches, their rights are being infringed upon by the federal government. When a student cannot get a student loan unless it is held and mandated by the government, then their rights are being infringed upon. When a commuter cannot purchase an economical vehicle because of federal crash standards, or a safe vehicle because of federal C.A.F.E. standards, their rights are being infringed upon. These cases and countless others are not rich people taking advantage of the poor. They are average “middle class” and poor Americans not having the liberty to pursue happiness.
The conservative point of view is not that government should help everyone meet all of their needs, but to state that the only fair way to help people is for we the people to have the freedoms to succeed, and therefore the freedom to fail. Our rights are just that, our rights. They are also our responsibility and they will be gone the moment we do not cherish them. Conservatives do not hate poor people, they want all poor people to have the same opportunities that were granted to everyone by the Constitution. These freedoms are the greatest inheritance any people have ever received, anywhere in the history of our world, and they should be protected so that our progeny can share in the great American dream that we were given.
