Toxic Conservatism

And Toxic Religion

By SNROCINUTAFPublished 5 years ago • 5 min read

Quick, cover your ears! Protect the echo-chamber.

Toxic Conservatism And Toxic Religion

Written by TJ Hyland December 27, 2020

Freedom is a spectrum of privilege. It has never been a right to act without consequence, it has and always will be a privilege. In order to achieve equality, the consequences of our actions must have equal weight and equal rights under the law for all citizens of the law. None of us are truly free. We have documentation identifying us as belonging to the state, so freedom is a social construct, and the spectrum of freedom is subjective. Yet, it is a progressive movement we must fight for because tradition aims to keep us, slaves. We may not be able to free our bodies, but we can free our minds. Only when we can do that, can we learn how to change the system.

This is why Obama said, we can each have a different interpretation of liberty. So many progressives want to make huge strides. They just want change to happen overnight. I wish it was that simple. I often say I feel like I was born 1000 years too soon. It's shocking how many people consider themselves conservative but never question, why? They never question what it means to be conservative, or even if it's in their best interest or the best interest of society as a whole.

I would like to think that it comes from a place of wholesomeness and nostalgia, but that seems to be less and less the reality of conservative ideology. I have yet to meet a conservative who can explain what it means to them. Why do they cherish this thing they can't describe?

There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen – VLL

With the invention of social media, we have the opportunity to ramp up the progress. The political alignments of progressives and conservatives will always fluctuate based on the needs of each individual. That's why we see some progressives who lean republican and Conservatives who are Democrats.

What is Conservatism? Conservatism is a political and social philosophy promoting traditional social institutions in the context of culture and civilization. Conservatism is viewed as an opposition to rapid changes and supports keeping traditions in society. It is also sometimes referred to as Gradualism, but personally, I feel like conservatism is more about stagnation or regression, especially in relation to religious conservatism, while liberalism and neoliberalism are much closer to gradualism. Conservatives, in my opinion, are best described as fundamentalist, traditionalist, and anti-change, unless that change is to go back to something from the past or solidify their power and political stance in society. Basically, anything they don't know about, they are afraid of, and therefore it is bad. As long as either they or the persons they perceive should be in power are in power, nothing should change.

Conservatives tend to be obsessed with hierarchical structures of power and aim to maintain the highest form of that structure. They tend to lean more toward pro-dictatorial leadership and against democracy. American conservatives are an interesting phenomenon because most will advocate for democracy so long as it suits them. As soon as the majority shows any signs of going against their desired outcome, they want to eliminate it. I do understand the desire to prevent change. Before the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, child labor in the United States was an essential part of the workforce. In 2020, we're not yet 100 years from the days when children were allowed to be exploited for the "corporate good." In May 2018, Delaware became the first state to completely ban child marriage. I think these are important strides that we've made in society, along with abolishing slavery and segregation and allowing women to vote, own property, and manage their own assets. So when I hear about people like Nathan Larson, running for congress on a pro-incest, pro-pedophile, pro-legalized rape, pro-women as property, and pro-slavery platform, I am a little worried that he may have enough of a supportive base to get elected. Democracy in that regard scares the crap out of me, but then I remember how many decent, kind, and caring people live in this world. I remember how many people are against discrimination and all the abhorrent things that radical conservatives like Nathan Larson value. If it were a choice between democracy and Nathan Larson being in charge, vs a pro-human rights dictatorship, I would choose the dictatorship. In that regard, when it comes to anti-human rights people, it's easy to see how they can take an anti-democracy stance when they disagree with things like GRSM rights, child-protection laws, and human autonomy.

Another form of conservatism that permeates the national stage is a sentiment of pro-ethnostate rhetoric. Conservative political pundit, Ben Shapiro, called for migrant assimilation into what his views of the United States should be, which is a Judeo-Christian, Anglo-Saxon nation. "Judeo-Christian and Anglo-Saxon," were his exact terms. In other words, just assimilate into his accepted religious and social construct views and be able to blend in with the descendants of Germanic people from the 5th-century CE around the time of the Norman Conquest (1066), who inhabited and ruled what is now called England and Wales. Sounds like he means white, doesn't it? The rhetoric often used to excuse this ideology is nationalism. They think it means being a patriot to the country, but what it stands for is the ethnostate or a state where only one national demographic is allowed to exist. The hypocrisy annoys me. His family and all other white/caucasian people immigrated here and were allowed to bring their religions, languages, and traditions with them, yet he advocates for the assimilation of immigrants now. The mentality is, you're not like me so I get to say if you can or can't live here. Meanwhile, the only people that have any right to be here are all living on reservations.

America is the most diverse country in the world. Everyone here now came here from somewhere else. No! I do not think we need to assimilate into anyone's views on what they think America should be. Here's a new perspective, instead of assimilating into anyone's social or religious constructs, we can embrace what America is, a cultural melting pot. Damn all the conservative views on what America should be!

Resources:

https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/race-age-gender-statistics/

https://publicintegrity.org/inequality-poverty-opportunity/unregulated-fico-has-key-role-in-each-americans-access-to-credit/

https://equitablegrowth.org/the-never-ending-cycle-incarceration-credit-scores-and-wealth-accumulation-in-the-united-states/

http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-poorcrime.htm

The Website That Broke My Brain (& The Wacky World of CDD)

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0145213414004074

https://www.270towin.com/states/Alabama

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/states/alabama/alabama.htm

https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/alabama/party-affiliation/

https://www.crisistextline.org/topics/self-harm/#what-is-self-harm-1

http://www.glad.org/racial-justice-resources/