(Recently I was asked to speak at a
meeting of political conservatives in Byan/College Station/Brazos Valley,
Texas. The format was three five-minute presentations, followed by a Q&A
session. There were, of course, other panelists, but I do not have copies of
their presentations. Here is what I presented.)
First we are
going to repeat the narrative. (Yes again, and in a tighter format each time
until you can remember and relate it to others.)
The
Romantic/Marxist/ Socialist/Leftist/ Progressive narrative that explains life
but doesn’t work says:
·
It is only fair to take from
those who work and save and give to those who don’t, and if you do, those who
are productive will continue to work just as hard, and those who are free
riders will begin to contribute. And the
elite where you concentrate power to effect change won’t misuse it, because
they are embarked on a moral crusade for change.
Not true. Never been true. Never worked.
Never gonna work. Their narrative is
fundamentally opposed to the nature of man.
The
Conservative narrative:
·
God has given men and women
rights, but to make their liberties work, they must exercise moral restraint.
Government can protect citizens and promote their well-being, but being
comprised of humans, it tends to abuse power, so checks and balances are
essential. Stick to the wise guidance provided by the Founding Fathers, and
amend our laws and Standards only as legally provided for, and we will protect
civil society and stimulate growth and prosperity in a way that benefits all citizens and our
nation.
Now – what follows in the next 2 minutes
is NOT a complete program for the future. This is just some ideas we can put to
work.
·
Capture the conservative
narrative, learn it, repeat it, share it, use it.
·
Insert that narrative into every
aspect of your personal life and your civic life. Teach it to your children and
your grandchildren, and encourage them to use it to change the world.
·
Use the liberty, freedom, growth
and prosperity from this narrative to attack every failing of the Progressive Program.
The have been lots of failures – there is about to be a flood of more (in
diplomacy, the military, in health care, and especially in the economy).
·
And use the Progressive narrative
to show its own failure, hypocrisy and corruption. They cannot produce a
prosperous nation with the narrative they teach. They cannot promote initiative
by punishing it, or reduce irresponsibility by encouraging it. Point out those
failures to the world.
·
Focus on what is right for people
– help the world see the Conservative Narrative as a way to help and lift up
the less fortunate, not as a barrier to their progress. The original
conservatives were looking forward, not back. If conservatives are not helping
people, they are implementing their own ideas incorrectly.
·
Be prepared to engage – the
media, academia, the courts, and your friends, family and neighbors. We will not reestablish the conservative
narrative in this nation by whispering politely from the sidelines.
·
Be prepared to jettison those who
pretend to be your friends, but hurt the cause more than they help it. (Big
business and conservatives who can’t find common ground with others, I am
looking at you.)
·
Start promoting those new and
younger leaders who understand the conservative narrative and are prepared to
advance it.
·
Don’t be afraid to mention God. American
politics should not look like a tent revival. But neither can our freedoms endure if
discussion of the origins of those freedoms is banned from the marketplace of
ideas.
We can do this
– we can return truth and justice to this nation. But we can’t do it with a
cacophony of voices. We need to
rediscover the conservative narrative. Learn it. Internalize it. Teach it.
Triumph with it. This great nation demands no less.
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