Saturday, October 07, 2006

Log Cabin Conservatives: an Oxymoron

Meanwhile, over at the "Kentucky Conservative Blogs Networks: KY Conservative Views on News and Life," there seems to be some confusion over the definition of "conservatism". There is this jewel of an observation made by "Dawn" from "ConservaChick" in response to Democratic criticisms of Republicans for not being "diverse" enough:

Um, hellooooo, Demmmmmms? Ever hear of a little organization called the Log Cabin Republicans?! (If not, fergawdsakes click on the link.) In all seriousness, Conservatism is not the sole property of the Religious Right; as a matter of fact, many of the ideas that the Religious Right tries to push through as legislation on the Hill are not Conservative ideas. Many true Conservatives fully embrace all people, regardless of their sexuality, as being an important part of the larger community of Conservatism. It is small-minded, bigotted, and ridiculous to believe otherwise about a political ideology that promotes personal responsibility and freedom.

Not all Conservatives are Evangelicals, nor are they for government endorsement of marriage. It is this Conservative's opinion that all unions should be considered "civil unions" if performed by a government authority. Marriage is a religious concept that can only be recognized as such by a church, in my opinion. Our federal government has no business defining marriage -- Civil unions, sure; marriage, no.


Apparently Dawn is under the impression that marriage as a unique societal institution recognized (and often encouraged) by government originated with the Religous Right. This is a rather curious viewpoint given the fact that marriage is as old as civilization, and the Religious Right has only been around, oh, about 40 years.

If conservatives aren't interested in conserving and promoting the institutions that are necessary for the healthy, stable functioning of society, then they're not really conservatives.

When Republicans start buying in to Democrats rhetoric on "diversity" instead of resisting it, it's time to ask whether the Republican tent has become so big that there is really no difference between being inside it and being outide it.

The best way to defeat somebody is not to become just like them.

2 comments:

Rena Bernard said...

Interesting take on my post. Conservatism is not a gay-phobic political ideology. It is a political ideology built on the principles of less federal government and states' rights.

The states have a right to decide whether or not to allow civil unions and marriage between gays and lesbians. I'm content with that. However, like it or not, the Conservative ideology STILL comprises the gay and lesbian community because many of them agree with the basic tenets of Conservatism.

Only the Fundamentalist Christian Conservatives seems to have a problem recognizing that the federal government has no business "sanctifying" marriage.

You're correct in assuming that marriage is as old as civilization; however, the Religious Right has made it their business to allow the government --a non-religious entity -- to sanctify the union of a man and a woman. It's the church's duty to sanctify that union, not the government's.

The Republican party adopted the plank of supporting marriage only between a man and a woman. I suppose that leaves me (and any other folks who see that as federal government interference) outside the party. Fine. I'm still a Conservative in the most political of defintions as are the Log Cabin Republicans.

If you choose to sit in judgement, that's your "right" I suppose; however, as I understand it, God will be the judge.

Your "jeers" to my post are appreciated. It's nice to know who among my fellow Conservatives is vehemently opposed to Conservative principles.

Martin Cothran said...

Dawn,

Thanks for your response. You're a good sport. I am going to address the issue of what conservatism is in a post this week.

But for present purposes, tell me, what do you think is the difference between conservatism and libertarianism. It seems to me you are conflating the two.