Conservative Community Activism and Charity

CT

As time allots, I will check my blog during the day and watch my tracker out of curiosity. I am very interested in what people think about current events, political philosophy, etc. and I am a proponent of commentary, both positive and negative. Unfortunately, either due to lack of writing style or just sheer stupidity of topic choices I don’t get much feedback. But I do digress.

The point is what people are looking for; many of my hits as of late have been concerning Obama conspiracies. Nary an investigation into why Republicans lost the election, what to do about it, or where to go from here. As the leadership of the party mulls over ignorant topics like should we stick with a fiscal agenda and throw away the social conservatives, should we try appealing to Moderates, Huckabee was a better choice than Romney, or Palin in 12’, everyone is missing the obvious. You cannot put the cart before the horse, Conservatives have no idea who in the hell they are anymore.

After I wrote my last post on Conservative Badlands, Conservative Exile to the Badlands, I touched on the 10 basic principles of Conservatism as laid out by Russell Kirk. Coincidentally, Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana spoke about the need for healthcare reform for American citizens and an article about Conservative activism appeared on American Thinker, Republicans--You Can’t Say I Didn’t Warn You, by Alicia Colon.

Why is this important? Simple, they both characterize a very essential principle that most Conservatives overlook and one of the main reasons Republicans are so lost. The concept of charity and activism within a community based on caring for your fellow human being, not political opportunism. Or Kirk’s 7th principle.

When the topic of service to others is brought up, most Republicans dry heave in revulsion because it brings to mind Liberal community activists, welfare, and people with their hands out. This is not the case at all, this is using your station in life to inspire others to lift themselves up from the burdens they have shackled themselves with. It is about face-to-face interaction with those in the community whom are being enabled in their lifestyles by government intervention but could do much better on their own. There is no greater reward than the freedom from economic slavery and the dignity which one can aspire to through independence.

However, there are those in our ranks who will say that this is fine and dandy but these people have all the economic opportunities that we have but they choose not to use it. Although this may be true, one has to consider the fact that many impoverished people have been raised in generations mired with government dependency and Liberal activists promising them something for nothing. They have not seen the face of economic liberty nor have they been educated in it. None of this is about hand outs, it is about information and direction. You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink, that is up to the horse. Nevertheless, have any of us really tried?

There will be abysmal failures as well as stirring successes. There will be those who seek to use and con their way into something free. This is the nature of humanity, not the nature of the poor. So it is to be expected and learned from.

The next question a person might ask is what do you do? The direction of your charity has to be of a intellectual and spiritual nature as well as physical. Helping folks eat, make bills, or get gifts for their kids during the holidays are noble and just but they are short term. If one wants a long term fix their thinking needs to reflect this in their endeavors. Conservative charity should be about direction in life. How hard would it be to go into a destitute community in your area and organize a job fair with local businesses? How difficult would it be to get with your local community college and assist the underprivileged with something as simple as filling out a student federal aid application so they can attend school?

Our motivation cannot be political opportunism like most on the Left. It must be driven by our American Conservative principle of liberty for our fellow citizens. Assisting them in the humblest way possible to achieve what we already know, the true American Dream of self-reliance and independence.