Why I remain a Conservative and oppose Libertarianism

A friend sent me an E-mail with the following picture and statements:

I think that Sowell is a genius. I will agree and stipulate to Sowell's statements because they are true. But I don't equate them with Libertarianism.

I cannot agree with and will NEVER will support pure Libertarianism, because of the push for Freedom without any Moral Bounds.

Libertarianism sounds so good on the surface; Economic common sense, combined with small government that adheres to the Constitution on the duties and responsibilities of government. However, it all goes terribly wrong after that.

Without any rules, men are allowed and even encouraged to allow their fertile minds to run wild. As an example, although many will argue that it's not the place of government to interfere in relationships between two adults, without constraint and penalty, many would divorce their partners, leaving them and their children destitute, kill those that angered them to the point of no return, or take another's property simply because he wanted it, all with malice of forethought.

There must be rules, whether written or unwritten. to govern, throttle and control man's desires. Unthrottled, a strong man will impose his power on a weaker man.  The rules (morality) that have been followed for centuries that have allowed us to prosper are the Judeo-Christian value system, which implores its adherents to live to a higher standard, to love your fellow man as yourselves and "to love the Lord your God with all of your heart mind soul and strength (if you're not a believer, to so closely follow the philosophy of the religion, as to NEVER intentionally break its precepts - however, without the devotion to a deity, it's doubtful that you could ever get there)."

Alexis de Toqueville, the French statesman, historian and philosopher had it right when he said:

Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith.

I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers-and it was not there . . . in her fertile fields and boundless forests-and it was not there . . . in her rich mines and her vast world commerce-and it was not there . . . in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution-and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.

In France I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom marching in opposite directions. But in America I found they were intimately united and that they reigned in common over the same country.

There must be moral underpinnings that guide and constrain us, keeping us thankful and humble, yet inspiring us to use our fertile minds for good, to do more, be better, go farther and go faster. These rules cause us to focus on what we should change, that is within our power and does not violate the rights of others. While we, as a people, may not subscribe to a specific religion, if there are no guide that we must stay within, there will be no direction that causes us to focus our energies. These Guidelines are what makes America great.

Further quoting de Toqueville:

When these men attack religious opinions, they obey the dictates of their passions and not of their interests. Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot. Religion is much more necessary in the republic which they set forth in glowing colors than in the monarchy which they attack; it is more needed in democratic republics than in any others. How is it possible that society should escape destruction if the moral tie is not strengthened in proportion as the political tie is relaxed? And what can be done with a people who are their own masters if they are not submissive to the Deity?
 
Where Conservatives have gone horribly wrong is overstepping our original bounds and rights in the name of altruism. What is seen as good infringes on the rights of one, constraining him to elevate another. We have followed the Liberals, Progressives and Socialists/Communists in making arcane rules that constrain to the point of servitude in the name of liberty and freedom.

Also quoting deToqueville:

Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom.

The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.

Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude. 

 

Alexis de Toqueville was one observant and smart guy.  Because he got to witness the France just after the French Revolution, up close and compare it with the American Revolution which had happened less than 15 years before, he got to see that there were distinct differences in the outcomes. So he came to America to find out how the outcomes of two similar revolutions during a short time period could be so different between these countries. In his investigation he discovered the differences. He came to understand:

• That the human heart could harbor evils and the need to restraint them
• That morality through religion could temper the megalomaniac's desires that each one of us harbors in his heart
• That the line between a representative republic and a socialist republic was fragile, fine and easily erased

The lack of restraint and megalomania sounds a lot like what is happening in America today. The line between socialism and a representative republic is being erased at a frightening rate as the moral fabric of society unravels.

The Liberals in America have succeeded in Destroying the Moral Fabric of the people by:

• Separating Religion from our daily lives and compartmentalizing it into church - destroying absolute morality and replacing it with situational rationalizations
• Demonizing Religion in Academia and the Public Square as old school thinking that must be destroyed and replaced with modern thoughts
• Demanding that Religion must be practiced only in a church or synagogue, on Sunday (or whatever day you meet and worship with others)
• Convincing people to follow their own Passions instead of the Best Interests for their country and society and
• Trying to ERASE ALL SIGNS of Morality and Societal Mores that have worked so well throughout previous generations.

Strangely enough, the demonization of religion only seems to happen with Christianity or Orthodox Judaism. Maybe it is because these are the only two effective religions in the world, due to their teaching that we are to Love GOD with all of their heart mind soul and strength and to Love their Neighbors as themselves. Because a VERY VOCAL MINORITY are afraid of being proselytized, Christians and Orthodox Jews are told to leave their religion at home or in church.

Interestingly, now Government, Educators and Business are perplexed and dismayed when educated citizens and employees who've been indoctrinated that “there are no Moral Absolutes,” willfully disobey laws and rules that have been set by those organizations. Many colleges have been forced to teach ethics classes to proud, self-congratulatory, self-centered students who have been spoiled with no rules, morals, or consequences in life. Many organizations are now being coached at a great monetary cost, as to the moral rules that their employees should have learned as children.

To use the words of a now famous bombastic preacher of Black Liberation Theology from Chicago, Looks like America's chickens are coming home to roost.

References for Alexis de Toqueville quotes:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/alexis_de_tocqueville.html

http://www.bartleby.com/73/829.html

http://www.doctorsenator.com/AlexisdeTocqueville.html

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~Hyper/DETOC/religion/ch1_17.htm