I have some bones to pick that I simply can’t ignore anymore…

If you read the history of conservatism it will include the Godfather of Conservatism in Edmund Burke. But when you actually read about the debate of conservatism in the late 1700s and early 1800s (Burke’s time), the arguments are less about maintaining life as we know it but, rather, how those inevitable shifts and changes should be made. Theorists of the time understood that change is inevitable; progress is written in the stars. Conservatives prefer a slow steady process of reform as opposed to revolutionaries who want change now, immediately. That tension of long slow versus fast revolt is what is argued decade after decade, century after century. Burke’s belief was that in order to maintain societal stability, we must evolve at a slow pace, allowing for a palatability that all of society can eventually subscribe to.

Today’s Republicans, those supposedly representing conservative thought in the modern era, don’t represent change at all. Instead, they represent the myth of nostalgia and going back to a time that isn’t possible, a time where white patriarchal dominance reigned. Inherently, the mindset of today’s conservative is not only to preserve tradition, in which I would argue has room for debate, but maintain the status quo regardless of those consequences to under-represented groups. In the last 50 years, Republicans have dug their heels in, trying to stop progress, fearing a loss of power and dominance not seen in centuries upon centuries of colonialism and white power. The backlash of workers rights, civil rights, and women’s rights of the mid-twentieth century, has culminated in a party dead set on stripping rights of all people and dis-assembling our democracy all of which has peaked through an actual insurrection and attack on our nation’s Capitol. That millions of people don’t acknowledge this as the crisis it is astounds me. 

The disintegration of our democratic institutions isn’t the only victim of current Republican obstruction towards evolution. Republicans have actively resisted the ability of this country to deal with existential threats that include both climate change and the very definition of work as technology becomes an increasing factor in the role of production. Back in the late 1970s Jimmy Carter had built into his national budget the ability to deal with the ever increasing concern of the effects of climate change. But Carter wasn’t elected; instead, Ronald Reagan became President and followed the lead of the fossil fuel industry, actively lying and hiding the research about climate change and the damage that fossil fuels pose to our environment. If we had invested way back then in alternative energy sources the way we now have to, think how much further along we would be in dealing with climate change. In my mind it is criminal what Reagan’s administration did in deciding to put capitalist interests ahead of a humanitarian and existential crisis. He kicked the can down the road to our kids’ detriment.

Technology is another area where Republicans refuse to deal with the looming crisis of automation. Since the early to mid-twentieth century theorists have been grappling with the knowledge that gradually and eventually technology will begin to take over the industrial and manual jobs that have always existed. We must not only embrace new roles within work spaces, what many have coined the “knowledge economy,” but a new definition of what it means to contribute to a society. Theorists and progressives are asking questions such as whether or not work will be necessary to that contribution; it certainly won’t be in the same form that it exists today. What many Republicans call “radical” ideas, many theorists and progressives view through a new lens that attempts to re-define societal contributions through a different paradigm. Universal Basic Income is one idea that was floated during campaigning of the 2016 election and guarantees that every household has the ability to have an income, whether or not they can work (for reasons that include disability, lack of jobs, parental leave, medical leave, etc). As machines take on more and more responsibility of running our economy, where does that leave the millions of people left jobless? These are all existential questions that must be addressed, and the sooner we think through those issues, the better prepared we will be when they come to fruition. Today’s Republicans want to put their heads in the sand and reclaim a past economy that simply doesn’t exist any longer. We saw this with coal, which is increasingly disappearing as we move to other forms of energy. Eventually jobs as necessary as trucking is today will be automated as self-navigating vehicles continue to evolve. 

But the evolution of societal norms goes even further than climate change, the definition of work, and technology…and requires new thought on human behavior. As we understand the human brain more and more, we recognize different ways of being and how to integrate them into society through a higher quality of life. These issues include nonbinary ways of being, the role mental health plays in our collective existence, and even how we handle different-abled people. Republicans of today aren’t actively trying to understand these issues. Instead they are pushing against “non-normative” human existence, othering it and even criminalizing it in some instances. The attacks on the LGBTQ+ population is a prime example of a party actively seeking to strip away rights and create a scapegoat for the Right’s anger and resentment at progressive ideas. What these Republicans don’t seem to understand is that they are simply at the back of the pack of acceptance for inevitable change. As our species evolves and we gain wider understanding of human experience, that push towards progress is only slightly delayed by those who resist it, causing unnecessary pain to those seeking equality. Generations from now our grandkids and great grandkids will look back in horror at those who supported anti-LGBTQ legislation today the same way many supported anti-black integration back in the mid-twentieth century. 

The current Republican Party is holding this country back from progress, causing harm on various fronts of human and societal development. I understand that change is painful and uncomfortable, but that won’t stop it from happening. If we accept it as inevitable and prepare ourselves pre-imminently, the change won’t be as painful or uncomfortable. We can ease the transitions with more grace and less wasted resources. True conservatism begs the question, “what is the smartest, most cost-effective, least painful way to handle these inevitable problems?” Where has that party gone? Instead we have a party trying to hold our country hostage by keeping power in the hands of those who don’t want to see the existential threats to our world; they simply want power for power’s sake. One of the problems that has created this dynamic is wealth inequality. With so much wealth in the hands of so few people, it creates a silo of power where the only interests being protected are those who own our capitalist system, those billionaires who ultimately control everything through their monetary influence and God-complexes. This oligarchical system creates a dynamic that ultimately favors the interests of a few and ignores the vast majority while also shutting off the expertise and democratization of ideas that allow free societies to not only thrive but to problem-solve at a time when we have a shit ton of problems to address. The Democratic-Republican divide as it exists today is about more than differences in political thought or ways to address existential issues. It is about whether or not we should address them at all. It is about acknowledging entire groups of people as deserving of equality or having a voice. It is about democracy itself and whether or not we value it. So…you know, vote accordingly…or be a voice for your conservatism and help to evolve your party back to sanity. That is all.