A New Vision

Reactionary philosophy has, over time, become synonymous with conservatism. We don’t pioneer, we respond. We do not lead the culture, we reflect on the meaning of the culture our opposition is building. The resurgent right, of which I fancy myself a member, has begun to reconquer our institutions, yet it is obvious we still have miles of territory left to regain. We have begun to shed the reactionary tendencies that come so naturally to us by acting on what we know to be right, instead of lashing out over what we know to be wrong. We are beginning to realize that a movement is only successful when we have something to fight for, and never capitulate to the revolutionaries that want to rid our society of it. A decade ago, the Right’s chief concern was to restore the Liberalism of the Clinton era. We sacrificed the principles conservatism is founded on out of fear of social castigation. Today, we seek a new vision for our movement, and to rediscover what the Conservative movement sought to conserve in times long past: the fulfillment of the promises built into the American founding.

I am aware of how this may sound, even to hesitant right-wingers who merely regard our movement as the lesser of two worldly evils. “To inflate a political ideology with the country may be dangerous to her sacredness,” these people may believe. Yet if we, as Conservatives, structure our entire identity around restoring America to the way she is meant to be, we must necessarily place America’s deepest promises at the core of our movement. If conservatism is not wholly committed to the promises of the American founding, what else is it committed to? 

During the first Trump administration, current House Speaker Mike Johnson observed a gap between the core messages conservatism embraced, and the way we broadcast it to the American people. He ventured to change this, and usher in a new vision for our philosophy. In 2019, leading the House Republican Study Committee, he compiled a list of our most important ideas. 

“I call them the seven core principles of American conservatism…,” yet even at that point, he knew they were not principles of this age: “but, you could say, really these are the seven core principles of the country itself.”

Individual freedom, limited government, rule of law, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets, and human dignity are embedded in the deepest fibers of the American tapestry. The United States would not be the country she is without any of these principles.

The Constitution empowers the people to maintain a just republic, its Tenth Amendment guaranteeing enumerated powers for the states. The Supreme Court is instructed to defer to the highest law, which Hamilton insures in Federalist 78. Our destiny as the new empire illustrates our commitment to peace through strength. A plea for fiscal responsibility is embedded in Washington’s farewell address. The American Spirit is inclined toward the freedom that a justice-driven capitalist system promises. Lastly, one of the world’s most recognizable quotes illustrates the honor our country has always had for human dignity: 

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and are endowed by their creator with the same unalienable rights, that among these are Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Liberalism seeks to liberate. It is its nature. It seeks to “free” its adherents of these truths that we as a nation have always recognized. When one’s civil rights are violated, it is considered an offense against society, not just the individual. When a mother’s and preborn baby’s right to life is ruthlessly snatched out of their hands, it is ideally considered a double homicide out of respect for the personhood of the baby. Liberals resent these clear facts. Liberalism exalts humanity’s earthly passions and subsequently, degrades society’s best interests. 

The American founders did not call for this, even working tirelessly to avoid this. They understood the importance of a tranquil society and the control of the passions that, if left to run rampant, corrupt a healthy order. 

At times, this journey to a new vision is taken to improper lengths. We are at times reluctant to change our ways in any capacity, refusing to see the ways that modern developments can be used to advance our cause. Yet we must always stop giving in to our reactionary ways. Our values transcend time, yet bringing them into this age will not be without effort. Our values need us, the people, to carry them into the age we were born into. After all, it is, in turn, the only way to create a new vision that holds true to our founding philosophy, and stands tall in the midst of a messy culture.