List of issues I'm 'conservative' about
Conservatism implies you like the way things are now (or that they were in the not too distant past) and don't want them changed.
1. Fear of terrorists. Before 2001, we weren't afraid of terrorists. I wish we'd get back to that. They're not mind controlling aliens. They're more like bees. You can defeat them by taking reasonable precautions and not kicking the bee hive. Sure, the occasional bee will still sting you, but you don't need a whole host of bureaucratic lists, highly expensive scanners, and intrusive government snooping to defend against what ultimately are just a small number of criminals.
I just want us to stop being unproportionately afraid of terrorists. Sadly I don't have any statistics, but my hunch is that the amount of money we spend to stop one person from dying due to a terrorist attack could save a more people if we used it to stop a more legitimate threat, like local criminals, not up-to-code building construction, or dilapidated roads, bridges, and levees.
2. On a similar topic, the idea that our legal system cannot handle terrorists. Again, before 2001 we got along fine having criminal trials of people who tried to blow up a bunch of other people. Britain has handled terror trials for decades, and they never needed military tribunals. Hell, they held trials even while there were active local terrorist groups still blowing stuff up.
Why do we think now that it would endanger people or create a ridiculous disruption in New Yorkers' lives to hold a trial there?
I'm conservative because I think "our legal system is pretty good at handling this stuff; why do we need to go and change how it works?"
3. Financial regulations. I like that we actually used to have financial regulations that staved off a second Great Depression. We went 70-odd years between the last disastrous economic slump and this one, and part of the current problem is that in the late 90s we repealed a few regulations, like Glass-Steagal. I'll admit, I can't cite others off the top of my head.
So I'm conservative because I'd like for us to go back to the way things were in the mid-90s. Back when we weren't afraid of anybody, when we tried terrorists in criminal courts, and when we had actual toothy financial regulation.
And when we didn't have reality TV. Why can't we go back to the good old days?
1. Fear of terrorists. Before 2001, we weren't afraid of terrorists. I wish we'd get back to that. They're not mind controlling aliens. They're more like bees. You can defeat them by taking reasonable precautions and not kicking the bee hive. Sure, the occasional bee will still sting you, but you don't need a whole host of bureaucratic lists, highly expensive scanners, and intrusive government snooping to defend against what ultimately are just a small number of criminals.
I just want us to stop being unproportionately afraid of terrorists. Sadly I don't have any statistics, but my hunch is that the amount of money we spend to stop one person from dying due to a terrorist attack could save a more people if we used it to stop a more legitimate threat, like local criminals, not up-to-code building construction, or dilapidated roads, bridges, and levees.
2. On a similar topic, the idea that our legal system cannot handle terrorists. Again, before 2001 we got along fine having criminal trials of people who tried to blow up a bunch of other people. Britain has handled terror trials for decades, and they never needed military tribunals. Hell, they held trials even while there were active local terrorist groups still blowing stuff up.
Why do we think now that it would endanger people or create a ridiculous disruption in New Yorkers' lives to hold a trial there?
I'm conservative because I think "our legal system is pretty good at handling this stuff; why do we need to go and change how it works?"
3. Financial regulations. I like that we actually used to have financial regulations that staved off a second Great Depression. We went 70-odd years between the last disastrous economic slump and this one, and part of the current problem is that in the late 90s we repealed a few regulations, like Glass-Steagal. I'll admit, I can't cite others off the top of my head.
So I'm conservative because I'd like for us to go back to the way things were in the mid-90s. Back when we weren't afraid of anybody, when we tried terrorists in criminal courts, and when we had actual toothy financial regulation.
And when we didn't have reality TV. Why can't we go back to the good old days?