Conserving Rights & Freedoms: Conservatism's TRUE Meaning by Michael Langston

From http://wingtv.net/thorn2006/conservative.html

Conserving Rights & Freedoms: Conservatism's TRUE Meaning

by Michael Langston


Back in 2003, shortly after the start of the war in Iraq, a certain "patriotic" and "conservative" American who lived on Church Street in my hometown of Salem in a residence decorated with a huge US flag was "educating" his fellow citizens on the danger posed by Saddam Hussein. He was doing so by posting political commentary on a large sign he had constructed in front of his home.While he had every right to express himself in this unusual manner, others in our community had a similar right to express our views as well. This was my response to what he had posted, which I sent to my local newspaper as a letter to the editor.Incredibly, he seemed to be hinting that those who dare to protest the war in Iraq should be lined up at a brick wall and slaughtered by a death squad! The exact words that he posted on his sign in his yard were as follows:"Anti-war protest tomorrow at the slaughter house. Liberals and commies urged to come! Line up at brick wall!"

Even if this remark was said in jest and was meant only as a joke, it was inexcusably wrong to make such a statement. Not only was it totally anti-American, there's nothing the least bit "conservative" about it either.First, I would like to state that I'm not some "liberal" or "commie," and I'm not taking offense for merely that reason. For many years, I have been an outspoken, pro-life conservative who believes in limited government, national sovereignty, controlling our borders, and preserving our 2nd Amendment freedoms.First and foremost, as a conservative, I believe in conserving the principles on which our nation was founded, specifically the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. This, in my opinion, is the essence of patriotism.Like many other patriotic Americans who support our country and its troops (as long as it's America's interest they're serving), I do not, however, support our government's decision to invade Iraq. I do not believe that it is in America's best interest to pursue a reckless, preemptive, first-strike policy that will inevitably be perceived by the majority of the world's people as an act of aggression and will almost certainly make us even more vulnerable to terrorism, by creating millions of enemies all over the world.

I suppose that after publicly making such a dissenting, anti-war statement, I should therefore be classified as an "anti-war protester." But should I and others who disagree with the government be lined up and shot for our "treason," as the "patriotic" and "conservative" American on Church Street seemed to be suggesting?Think of the mentality that would dare to suggest the inhuman atrocity of unjustly murdering one's own fellow citizens, and ask yourself the following questions:Is it really "patriotic" and "conservative" to "slaughter" dissenters in the United States of America? Or does it sound more like something that Hitler might have done in Nazi Germany or what Saddam Hussein might have done when he was in charge in Iraq?Does it make any sense, any sense at all, to CLAIM to support "freedom" for the Iraqi people while at the same time proposing oppression and murder for our very own citizens? Does it make any sense to propose taking away our rights and our freedoms for the supposed purpose of preserving our freedom? Is this what our war veterans have fought and died for, for us to willingly forfeit our rights and our freedoms?It is our rights and our freedoms which give us security and set us apart from other regions of the world that are ruled instead by oppression and tyranny.It is important to understand what danger we face here.

The greatest threat that we are presently faced with is not the threat of foreign terrorism, not Osama bin Laden, "Islamo-fascism," or anything like that. The worst threat by far that we face as a nation is from those in our own midst, within our own borders and within our own government, who would use the supposed threat of foreign terrorism as an excuse to take away our rights and our freedoms, paving the way for the emergence of tyranny.The very same sort of tyranny that once existed in Nazi Germany and in Soviet Russia and that presently exists in Communist China, North Korea, and elsewhere could quite conceivably come about in the United States of America, the "land of the free," IF we are foolish enough to relinquish our God-given rights in the hope of obtaining some mythical "security."Don't think for one second that it couldn't happen here, just as it's happened countless times in other regions of the world and at other times in history. The key to preventing this is the preservation of our rights and liberties set forth in the Constitution.When ostensibly "patriotic" and "conservative" Americans have been so thoroughly brainwashed that they openly suggest "slaughtering" fellow citizens who protest the government, it is obvious that we have a very serious problem that we must address if we are to save our nation. There is nothing the least bit "conservative" about this.

It's time we learned the true meaning of conservatism, which is to conserve our constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms.Anyone who suggests that we should give up even one iota of our freedom for security is not a conservative and will end up losing both freedom and security. Ben Franklin himself even said this.And when good, decent Americans fail to speak out against such an overt expression of Nazi-like evil, it becomes doubly obvious why our country is in peril. All that's required for evil to flourish is for good men and women to sit and do nothing. We become the accomplice of the evil we fail to oppose.Let's support and defend our Constitution against all its enemies, both foreign and domestic, and reaffirm the great principles our Founding Fathers established to keep us safe and free. Remember that there is no security without freedom and liberty and that protesting our government when our government is wrong is not only our right, but our sacred duty.