I immediately dismiss the 'thoughts' of someone who posts a dopey picture of Church Lady as someone who doesn't believe his arguments can stand on their own without derision of those who disagree.
I was trying to have a civil conversation, but I guess you don't wanna..........
I do. Here's the issue:
There are not only different aspects to conservatism, but how strictly each aspect is interpreted. So sure, conservatism includes a belief in a limited role for government, but exactly how limited? That's tougher. And at what point do we draw the line as to when you've crossed the line into extreme libertarianism/anarchy on one end, or full-on nanny state at the other? I don't know, but that also complicates the definitional issue.
That gets particularly dicey when it gets to "cultural/moral" issues. Who, exactly, is the arbiter of when personal morality crosses the line into no longer being "conservative"? Is pre-marital sex the line? Does watching South Park mean you are not a social conservative, and therefore not a conservative at all?
That's the problem I have in particular with the argument that you cannot be a conservative unless you are a social conservative. Because that raises the stereotype of the Church Lady conservative who
allegedly wants to tell other people how to lead their lives. And I don't think that's actually "conservative" at all. Where I see "social conservatism" being legitimately part of a political philosophy (as opposed to a personal philosophy) is when the discussion is about things that necessarily involve the state -- do we recognize gay marriage, or no? Or to go further, back to the days of
Bowers v Hardwick and the outlawing of consensual sodomy, is supporting that a prerequisite for being a "conservative" as well?
So that's the issue I see -- conservativism as a political philosophy should be defined with reference to politics, and to those things that are necessarily in the public sphere. But defining whether or not someone truly espouses a political philosophy by referencing their personal morality or cultural preferences that are not part of the function of
government seems to me to be going beyond a reasonable definition of "conservative".
But, like I said earlier, there's no higher authority to define the word and control its use, so people will use it however they want.