What Being a Conservative Really Means

No one has done more to explain the differences between the Left and the Right than David Horowitz. In a new piece at FrontPage magazine.com he explains why true conservativism is not defined by racial or ethnic identities but rather by shared beliefs and values. It's a long read but well worth your time. Here's a choice excerpt:

To be a conservative in America, from my perspective, then, is to defend where possible and restore where necessary, the framework of values and philosophical understandings enshrined in the American Founding. This should not be taken to mean a strict constructionist attitude towards every clause of the documents that constitute the Founding. If the framers of the Constitution had presumed to see the future, or had wanted to rigidly preserve the past, they would not have included an amendment process in their document.

My brand of conservatism is based on a belief in the fundamental truth in the idea of individualism; in the idea of rights that are derived from "Nature's God" and therefore inalienable; in the conservative view of human nature and the philosophy of limited government that flows therefrom; and in the recognition that property rights are the proven foundation of all human liberties.