Conservatives:  What They Are and What They Aren’t

We all live in a moment in history where it is all-politics-all-the-time. Everything from our health to our wealth, from the womb to the tomb, is viewed through the lens of our increasingly divisive politics. The resulting distortions are many. The most serious is language, the very tool we use to make sense to one another. The meaning of the word "conservative" has been a major victim.

When asked what the term "conservative" means, most of us are flooded with images, such as the FOX News logo, the face of Bill O'Reilly, and phrases in support of big military budgets, repeal and replace Obamacare, and drain the Swamp. But that is "politicospeak," and a fundamental distortion of the core meaning of "conservative." The same fate has befallen "liberal," which classically refers to individuals who defended free speech and now is attached to advocates for policing "hate speech."