Saturday, January 9, 2010

Truer Words Never Spoken on Conservatism

Stonewall Jackson's Chief of Staff R.L. Dabney... more than 100 years ago said this concerning the political, secular conservative:

"[Conservatism]...never conserves anything. Its history has been that it demurs to each aggression of the progressive party, and aims to save its credit by a respectable amount of growling, but always acquiesces at last in the innovation. What was the resisted novelty of yesterday is today, one of the accepted principles of conservatism; it is now conservative only in affecting to resist the next innovation, which will tomorrow be forced upon its timidity and will be succeeded by some third revolution; to be denounced and then adopted in its turn.

American conservatism is merely the shadow that follows Radicalism as it moves forward towards perdition. It remains behind it, but never retards it, and always advances near its leader. This pretended salt bath utterly lost its savor: wherewith shall it be salted? Its impotency is not hard, indeed, to explain. It is worthless because it is the conservatism of expediency only, and not of sturdy principle. It intends to risk nothing serious for the sake of the truth.
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2 comments:

dhoughton.esq said...

A libertarian society has never really been tried, so let's not try it. Instead, let's keep rehashing socialism and communism. They've been tried and always fail, but I think we should try again. Maybe it will work this time.

dhoughton.esq said...

Crap. I commented on the wrong article. I guess I better start taking my medicine again.