Obscuring the Obvious
The one factor that distinguishes social conservatives from the left is a love of truth. Russell Kirk, the famous conservative writer, said it well when he stated that “…the essence of social conservatism is preservation of the ancient moral traditions of humanity.” Actually, it is more accurate to say that we preserve the “sacred realities” of humanity.
Our opponents, liberals and radical leftists, are in the business of opposing truth or, more accurately, “Obscuring the Obvious.” That there are universal truths fundamental to reality, the cultivation of a happy life, and the betterment of mankind, is a basic belief of all social conservatives. It is the world we live in, a world of reality, not of deception and illusion.
The proof of this is all around us. Conservatives, especially social conservatives, believe in something greater than themselves. They don’t consider themselves to be the centre of the universe. They believe in objective morality, and reject the notion that they can “make up” a shifting and convenient moral system that will allow them to indulge their personal fantasies at the expense of others.
They believe that both national and personal debt should be paid. Nations, families and lives run better that way. They don’t want to be dependent on an inefficiently run welfare state staffed by professional bureaucrats. They love freedom and self reliance. They respect historic traditions. They are compassionate, but at the same time reasonable, and understand that a responsible long view is the best for mankind.
Most of all, they believe in the obvious: that morality is objective, that the traditional family makes sense and has a special place, that men and women are different, (thank goodness) and that you have no right to impose your reality on others by socially shaming them or punishing them into compliance. Those are the tactics of the left, those people intent on establishing the radical and politically correct social order we now suffer under.
Our opponents work overtime to “obscure the obvious.” It is the single most terrifying part of their false agenda. For them, denying reality is a cottage industry. They consider the “big lie” essential. In fact, they depend on it, and the nightmare world they want us to live in, the one we know to be wrong, is based on denying the truth of our lives and the things that matter.
They obscure the obvious, so it is up to us to defend it. We can do no less, and we should be proud that the responsibility has fallen on us, however difficult it can be at times. It can feel overwhelming, but no great cause, no sacrifice that has preserved truth and freedom, or turned the tide for the betterment of mankind, has ever been easy. It’s not supposed to be, and however difficult this cause may be, it is one I am proud to serve.
Well said, and you made some great points, but maybe we should not cave into Political Correctness.Perhaps,instead, we should call ourselves what we really are: Moral Conservatives. In my opinion, the word “social” is too close to Socialist or Socialism. After all, as you said in the post, the world we live in is one of reality, not deception or illusion.
“Social conservative” is the most commonly used term, so I opted for it. You are right though. By definition, “social conservatives” are all moral conservatives. How can we be anything else? Especially in these days of moral relativism and decay, the very fact that we have any kind of moral structure at all tags us as “so called” moral conservatives. I hope you’re proud of that title. I know I am.
This really hits home. I feel that there is a push to do away with the obvious and our ability to use common sense. I think this is the only way they have to validate and legitimize their views. If you take away peoples ability to see the obvious then you can feed them any set of lies you want.
I agree !!! The more they can do away with self evident truth, the easier they can distort reality to serve their purposes. Actually, this not hard to see this. Left leaning government, celebrities and politicians are constantly trying to warp the reality of human life. Take the recent government inspired school curriculums for example in which the words “mother” and “father” are forbidden. Instead they use “caregiver” and other non gender specific terms. The ultimate “parent” in their mind is the nanny state, so the more they can bring about an unnatural state of being, the closer they are… Read more »
Excellent article! This is is spot on.
Thanks. There seems to be a need to articulate the obvious. The more common sense articulations we make, the more we can prevent them from obscuring the truth.