By Mark Rhoads –
There are two types of conservatives in U.S. politics. The first type define their world view by what they oppose about the dominant culture. The second type define themselves by what they are for. The second group is for individual freedom and the Constitution as a good protector for that freedom.
When Left-Wing radicals attack the Constitution as obsolete, they fully understand they are attacking even the idea of protecting individual freedom from abuse by the all-powerful government. The wannabe Left elites do not respect ordinary mortals because they think they know better than you do how you should live your life. When elites dominate the government therefore they believe the government always knows what is best for you.
The pro-freedom conservatives believe that all people are children of God who deserve to have their individual rights respected. The first of those rights, as John Locke put it, are the right to life, liberty, and property. By "property" Locke did not mean a narrow definition of land or buildings and real estate, although these things are included. But Locke referred to a broader definition of property to mean anything that was the fruit of your labor no matter if it is the coat on your back, the food in your kitchen, or the dollar bills in your pocket. The dollars we have are not precious because we are crass materialists with no spiritual values, but because they represent the heart beats of our lives.
Our physical and mental labor earned our dollars and we should have the first moral claim to spend them as we see fit. I believe in the fundamental nobility of the pro-freedom cause and that's why I think it is more important for conservatives to study what they are for more than what they are against.
