| Oregon Magazine |
| Optimisticonservatism
By Hans Zeiger Conservatives are too pessimistic. A few leading conservatives are wondering whether the Right has a future, in part because long-running conservative expectations of a smaller government seem altogether frustrated. Conservative leadership seems stultified, past victories and opportunities seem let go, purpose seems a shadow of what it was when Reagan was around. Christopher DeMuth laments the decline of limited government in the December issue of The American Enterprise, and Jonah Goldberg echoes with a call for a “Republican Reformation” at Townhall.com. David Brooks has lately described an identity crisis within conservative ranks, headlining in the New York Times that conservatives are “running out of steam.” When Brooks keynoted a recent conference at Princeton on “The Conservative Movement: It’s Past, Present, and Future,” he was not the only pess imist there. But as Michael Barone pointed out the other day, conservatives need to think beyond government when assessing the progress and the future of their movement. The post-war conservative cause was basically intellectual before it was political, and there are intellectual measurements to be taken if we are to understand the political direction of the nation in 2005. The important question is, do Americans think and behave differently than they did half a century ago when William F. Buckley founded National Review magazine? The answer, according to Barone, is yes: “American culture, so conformist-minded 50 years ago, has become more variegated, with individuals free to choose the cultural niche in which they live and raise their families. American society, which seemed headed toward collectivism a half-century ago, now seems headed back toward the democratic individualism Alexis de Tocqueville identified in the 1830s.” And so there is good news after all. The American character at present ought to be a welcome thing to conservatives. Moreover, conservatives have made amazing advancements, not only in politics, but in the media and in ideas over the past five decades. Where, then, as 2006 looms before us, should conservatives set their sights? First, conservatives must get involved in State and local government. I’m convinced that voting in “off-year” elections for school boards and city councils is more important than big national elections where an individual vote makes little difference. A citizen in his local capacity holds a significant power, if he chooses to take it. Not only can he have direct access to his local officials and state representatives, he can serve his community in local and state politics much more conveniently than he could run for U.S. Senate or President. Second, conservatives must be involved in solving social problems at the community level, outside of government. As Barone comments, “Government, as conservatives should know better than others, exists only as part of a larger society.” Instead of talking about limited government, we need to talk about expanded private initiative. We need to be positive in our approach to solving problems, not negative. The expansion of the federal government is a positive movement. Big government advocates want something to be done; that is why they are successful. The political object of conservatives in limiting government is negative. Advocates of limited government want something not to be done, but since Americans are doers, the notion is ineffective. We need to maximize our effectiveness by getting out into our communities and doing things. Third, conservatives must consider theirs a battle, chiefly, of ideas. The battle is not fought in politics so much as it is in education, the media, the church, and the family. Each rising generation is shaped by the ideas with which it grew up, ideas formed quite outside the halls of legislatures and courts. My own life has been most impacted by my parents, my grandparents, my friends, my teachers, my professors, my pastors, and by talk radio and a handful of writers. If any politicians have impacted my life, it is mostly because I admired them, not because their policies changed me. If we are to expect political successes tomorrow, we must win intellectual successes today. Every conservative has a role to play, not so much in political activism, but in the primary tasks of conservatism: parenting, teaching, writing, speaking, mentoring, praying. These things are fundamental; without them, no conservative political movement can be of any lasting consequence. Finally, conservatives must remember Providence. As former Congressman Phil Crane likes to say, “The battle is eternal.” I am convinced that God has a plan for the rising generation of Americans, and it is awesome. The emerging leaders of the generation, those best positioned for influence in our culture, are more conservative than any living generation. Conservatives might have had plenty of reason to lose heart if the Sixties generation never wore out its decadence. But a new generation of Americans is about to take center stage, and it will be revolutionary—in a conservative kind of way. Hans Zeiger is a junior at Hillsdale College and author of Get Off My Honor: The Assault on the Boy Scouts of America (Broadman and Holman, 2005). He is also the author of a forthcoming book about the rise of young conservatives. www.hanszeiger.net © December 2005 Hans Zeiger |