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[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

It seems everyone has a slightly different definition of conservative. None are necessarily wrong, but they differ enough that the term really has no meaning anymore.

To demonstrate, my grandparents on one side were classic conservatives. They were in favor of low taxes and non-intervention in foreign conflicts unless absolutely necessary. They were not absolutist on anything. They understood the need for regulation but wanted it to be as minimal as possible while still effecting desired oversight. They were involved in finance, but my grandfather hated greedy people. I recall the old man emphasizing hard work and being quiet -- slow accumulation and no ostentatious behavior. Boring.

He refused to trade with people who treated their livestock badly. The idea of "conserving" applied roundly, to everything -- to not being wasteful or consuming more than you needed.

Those values are what I understood to be "conservative." This continues to color my view of the term. I think of conservatives as good stewards of resources, as reasonable people.

I fear your definition is probably now a lot more accurate than mine. But it's hard for me to get the old definition out of my head. It's hard for me to see these interventionist, activist people who don't really give a shit about individual liberty or "conserving" anything for the next generations as anything but dumb, reckless people who want to enforce their stupid rules on others.

You are stuck on the idea that "conservative" refers to some set of intellectual principles or policies. It doesn't. Conservatism is whatever conservatives believe. It's primarily a tribal affiliation, defining itself in reaction and opposition to the rest of the country, and the ideas follow from that. During the Obama years, conservatism meant fiscal restraint, because conservatism were against whatever Obama wanted to spend money on. Now it means the opposite, because conservatives are spending the money. As Slate says, the core of conservatism is triggering the libs. Conservatism is in favor free speech when conservatives are speaking on college campuses and against free speech when Facebook and Twitter are running social media platforms. Conservatism is pro-law enforcement when police are stopping black drivers, and anti-law enforcement when the FBI is investigating Russian campaign interference. There is no intellectual principle involved.