How exactly does conservatism acknowledge reality? I'd say the opposite is true. Let's look at some issues:
1) Military
Conservatives tend to be hawkish. They want a strong military. They want "nobody to mess with us". Some of them believe policing the world is a necessity and/or a duty. Reality: the country is broke. We cannot even afford maintaining what we have, let alone fight wars across the globe, nation-build, prop up various regimes, etc.
The military is not the biggest slice of the fiscal pie, traditionally it's been pretty small. Our big economic problem is entitlements.
In so far as policing the world and wanting "
nobody to mess with us" is concerned, yes, as the Romans used to say,
"Si vis Pacum, Parabellum," ~~ "If you wish to see peace, prepare for war."
As far as "policing the world" is concerned it is my unfortunate conclusion that we live in a world that is governed by the aggressive use of force. It abhors a power vacuum. Maintaining a strong military vigilance may be a pain in the wallet, and I agree it does present a certain hubris which is not particularly pleasant, but if we stop then another power will simply take over.
Are we prepared for that power to be Russia -- which is rebuilding its military? Or perhaps China -- which is building its military and navy?
We could defeat them fairly easily today but should current trends continue, in 20 or 30 years it will not be anywhere near as easy.
And, trust me, China will br throwing its weight around. Not necessarily through outright warfare; it won't have to.
2) Gay marriage
Marriage is between a man and a woman. Everything else is unnatural. We decide what is natural and what is not. Reality: people don't give a *expletive deleted* about your definitions or your bible or your ideas. They want to live their lives in peace and not be treated like trash or like second-class people. They believe they are equally worthy to partake in the joys and responsibilities of marriage even if they have sex very differently than you do.
Maybe....maybe not. Traditional marriage has always been the backbone of society as it allowed for reproduction and rearing of children in a generally safe and protected way. The biggest argument in favor of gay relationships I see is that there simply aren't enough gays to disrupt the "natural order of things."
That is not to say it couldn't happen.
Both Greece and Rome developed a profound lack of respect for traditional relationships (or lacked such respect from the onset if some historians are correct) and history records what happened to those cultures. However, homosexuality was more of a "symptom" of a far more serious disease in both those cultures. It was also more widely practiced then than it is today.
3) Fiscal policies
Trickle-down economy works. Let's cut the taxes on the rich, so they spend more and invest more. And that will create jobs. Reality: how much the rich spend or invest will not be affected by even a few percent more or less in taxes. They have numerous loopholes and tricks to run circles around the system, while the middle class is denied upward mobility due to excessive taxation.
In reality only about the top half of income earners pay an income tax. The higher the income the more is paid in taxes.
The top one per cent of income earners pay @ 39.89% tax revenues received by the govt.
The top five per cent pays @60.14%
The top ten per cent pays @70.79%
The top twenty five per cent pay 86.27% and the top half pay 97.01% of the tax revenues
(National Taxpayers Union & National taxpayers Union Foundation provide the stats)
The very rich can "always afford" a few higher percentage points added on their tax bills for very little gain by the government. Keep in mind that the
top 1% of income starts at a yearly salary of $388,806.00 yearly.
That's three hundred thousand -- NOT million -- dollars there. Just sayin.'
What is very likely to happen is government will be hitting small business owners with a whopping new burden of taxes and regulations. It's already beginning; have you kept your eyes open? Already there are people being laid off.
Obamacare is going to hurt as well, as restaurants fire some employees and then move others down to part-time status in order to avoid the ramifications of St. Obama's wonderful new healthcare law, now firmly ensconced into American jurisprudence due to Justice Roberts' shenanigans and Obama's reelection.
The idea that taxing the very rich affects no one else is also a myth. During the 1990s a "luxury tax" was instituted on luxury items only "rich" people could afford -- like yachts. That tax nearly destroyed America's yachting industry as the malevelant rich people stopped buying yachts and began refurbishing the old yachts they already owned. The tax was quickly abandoned afterwards.
"Trickle-down" economics may be an old saw by now, but if you believe it doesn't work, I invite you to resign your present position and then go find a poor person and ask him to hire you. Even contemplating this excercise illustrates why "trickle down" works. It's the natural order of things. I've worked for a number of employers over the years and never, ever, for one worth less than me. Don't like that? Tough.
4) Religion
This is a Christian nation. The founders were Christian. We have Christian values. Reality: most people are secularists, agnostics, non-practicing this or that. We once were but we certainly are not a Christian nation. Not spiritually, not religiously, not ideologically.
Conservatism is increasingly a shrinking club of the elderly and the 40+ white male heterosexual. Both are endangered species.
MOST people are still believers. Secularism has caught on in the popular culture and is making inroads which will only be tolerable so long as it does not become overbearing.
Conservatism will eventually rebound even as it has taken a hit this cycle, because we won't be able to continue the spending spree we are currently on. The liberal spending spree will either destroy the nation, which will then be recoverable only through incredibly harsh
CONSERVATIVE measures, or we'll grow the wisdom to put the system we have now in check and do it gradually, smartly and with a minimum of pain. Unfortunatly I have next to no hope this later will happen.