Silverfiddle, our terrific friend/thinker/blogger (associated with Western Hero), wrote this on my blog under the last post’s comments…..take a read:
Conservatism is a spent force. I’ll spare the harsh words I used over at FTs, but the war has been lost, due to myriad factors and a thousand wounds, many self-inflicted. Regardless of who wins in November, we will not have a conservative president, and we will have to go through decades of progressivism and populism before a sufficient number of people again become interested in conservatism.
Some future new generation of soldiers will have to pick up the fight some day. Phyllis Schlafly, Newt Gingrich and Ann Coulter will never be victorious.
The slow-rolling coup at FOX (Z: referring to the Ailes situation) is indicative of the changes our society is going through. The Conservative cohort is trending older and older, and the Progressive Pied Piper’s song is sweet. Only many years later will people realize the sugary fluff was content free and gave us only societal decay.
Rupert Moloch’s spawn see the writing on the wall and they will adjust accordingly to maximize revenue. (Z: with what they do when Ailes goes)
I then asked Silverfiddle if he saw any hope at all, what would have to happen to turn things back toward Conservatism?:
First, let me say I don’t believe we will crash or anything catastrophic like that. Rather, we are slowly changing, as all societies do. My theory for years has been that we are following Argentina’s trajectory, thanks to institutional political corruption and political demagoguery, among many other factors.
I see no way our course is reversed. Yeats spoke an eternal truth…
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned.
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity”
Please don’t take this as apocalyptic defeatism. Step 1 is Seeing the world as it is; not what you wish it to be. “Facing unpleasant facts,” as Orwell called it, does not come naturally to us.
Z: SO: I thought this was incredibly interesting to consider and asked if I could post it here today and he graciously allowed me to. What do you think of his viewpoint? If you completely disagree, tell us, and Silverfiddle, how you see it turning around for the better. I think some of what he wrote, or all, is a tad negative for many of you, but might fit some of you just right; TELL US, please.
Thanks, Silverfiddle….xxx
geeez2014
GeeeZ .... 
The Conservative cohort is trending older and older, and the Progressive Pied Piper’s song is sweet.
Sounds accurate to me.
Conservatism gave the Left room to grow, and grow the Left did. Critical mass now!
The United States as a whole has moved on — and away from Conservatism.
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The Argentina parallel is spot on. And the central factors are increased life span, self-feeding entitlement programs, white guilt syndrome, family unit breakdown, denial of self responsibility, and partisan gridlock in government stemming from the win-at-all-costs mentality rather than what’s-good-for-the-nation thinking.
Short of some sort of major threat from an alien species, I see no reconciliation between takers and makers, no compromise between the heartland and the megalopolises, no common ground on which the ME generation might actually negotiate with the future.
But given that the ancient albeit somewhat mouldy corpuscles of honor, integrity, justice, and patriotism still flow in the veins of many who think JFK’s chiding chiasmus is the key, I don’t completely discount Revolution.2.
Lotsa people think it’s long past time to write down some names and strike heavy black lines through ’em, open up a can of whup-ass, and clean house like a Texas tornado. Another 4 years of Obama Lite just might precipitate that, n’est ce-pas?
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Wait… Newt Gingrich and Ann Coulter are conservatives? I think we may have a language barrier here. And if true constitutional conservatism is now passe, then I am outta here post-haste.
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Z,
Off topic….Warren’s wife passed away this morning.
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It’s sadly a logical evolution I think a bit like this http://www.adizes.com/lifecycle/
I think the US is in the aristocratic phase with the rich getting richer and dynasties like the Clintons, Bushes and Trump the rich guy running for office.
Compassionate conservatism also killed conservatism. Bush was a disaster for that.
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The last person I can even think of that talked conservatism in the public square was William F. Buckley. He did it clearly, slowly and calmly, explaining why capitalism/constitutionality works and the other stuff doesn’t.
Today, Republicans aren’t conservatives and I can’t think of anyone who even talks conservatism. They all appear to me to be purely reactive and mostly angry. That’s not going to accomplish anything.
The kids are going to have to feel the pain before the cycle starts turning back up. That’s going to take longer than I can wait, and it may even be too late by then. They likely will have disarmed themselves while cheering the loss of their personal liberties.
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Z: Thank you for the kind words. I want to reemphasize that I am not a pessimist; I am a realist. I will also say that just because I can’t see how the situation gets better doesn’t meant there aren’t many ways that it can.
Our government and our society have advanced to the point where we are largely shielded from bad behavior, poor decisions and catastrophic mistakes. In nature, in electronics, in human behavior–we need feedback mechanisms and counter-forces to check forward motion and prevent a runaway condition. We’ve blown those mechanisms out.
Classical Liberalism is about racing, the wind in your hair, testing boundaries, pushing forward where others said don’t go, thinking the unthinkable and helping other to see new things and think new ways. That is how society advances and new discoveries are made.
Classical Conservatism is about preserving wisdom of the ages, setting boundaries, preserving a common culture, championing a shared morality, establishing and following convention, policing the public square and preserving order.
Liberalism and Conservatism that counterbalance one another are the Yin and Yang of a healthy society. Rampant Liberalism becomes libertinism and eventually, anarchy. Unchecked Conservatism becomes a stifling tyranny. Both spell the end of a society.
To further confuse the issue, both major parties are an incoherent hodgepodge of conflicting beliefs and id-driven urges propelled to constant battle by unchecked egos hell-bend on dominating everyone else. Add in how our education system has left most people bereft of historical parallels, ideas, logic and words to even comprehend and enunciate what we are passing through, and you can see why I have my doubts.
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A typical quote from mainstream media:
“This was the scene Wednesday night in the convention hall’s VIP seats — three rows of plush velvet chairs for the Trumps and a rotating cast of spouses, friends, politicians and other rich people. All this week, it has been a quietly fascinating space to watch.” No bias, right?
And the HUGE headliner this morning is how ANN COULTER THINKS PENCE’S NOMINATION IS “STUPID”.
Sometimes I wonder if the supposed Conservatives really WANT TO WIN? Or they think what they tell people doesn’t matter or won’t get into the public’s ears?
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I agree with Silverfiddle is right, to a degree. Conservativism does seem to be exiting the political house, or at least diminishing. I don’t see this as necessarily a bad thing. Maybe it’s time we reformed into a Constitutional Party.
As SF said, Conservatism should be keeping the faith of the Founding Fathers, but I don’t remember the Founding Fathers saying anything about abortion, LBGT rights, same sex marriage, and a host of other social issues. We have let the Democrats take the high ground on several issues like civil rights and immigration. The main message of Conservatism is being drowned out by the Ted Cruz’s of the party.
Rather, I believe Conservatism should be all about limited government, minimum taxes, market based economy, individual responsibility, and maximum individual freedoms. We have let social issues destroy the Republican Party.
I became a Republican during the 1964 Republican National Convention. I heard Barry Goldwater, and his message resonated with me in a big way Since then, with the exception of Reagan, Since Goldwater, the conservative movement has lost its way, I think, because of social issues.
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Somehow, I really have to learn how to proof read my stuff. Sorry about the lack of editing in my last comment.
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Silverfiiddle: That’s what I’d asked you “Can things turn back?”
So you say that “just because I can’t see how the situation gets better doesn’t meant there aren’t many ways that it can.”
“we need feedback mechanisms and counter-forces to check forward motion and prevent a runaway condition” If I’m understanding your point here, I interpret that to the MAINSTREAM MEDIA, the one that used to mostly just GIVE THE NEWS, not ALL their liberal opinions.
They counter-forced liars and dug up the truth, they prevented runaway conditions by TELLING THE TRUTH, exposing those conditions we have now where people run with a subject and never even get or ask for the truth because the media tells them and they don’t think to ask “is that true?”
Kid…Wm F. Buckley; GREAT point. Brent Bozell is his nephew; I wish Bozell would do more than what he’s doing, which is supplying FOX and other conservative (and maybe other?) venues with true news his staff finds ,from around the country, which they then feature on their programs.
Jerry, Newt and Ann sure aren’t anything like liberals; particularly Ann.
Maybe that’s all we have left? The only Conservatives might be (other than most of YOU!)l anybody who just ISN’T VERY LIBERALS !! A point I think others are inferring here.
Bocopro “And the central factors are increased life span, self-feeding entitlement programs, white guilt syndrome, family unit breakdown, denial of self responsibility, and partisan gridlock in government stemming from the win-at-all-costs mentality rather than what’s-good-for-the-nation thinking.” Perfect
AOW! I am not surprised but SO SAD FOR WARREN. How’s he doing and could you email me his address (and last name?) Thanks so much
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Ann Coulter is mostly about herself to be honest. She makes a living that way so she has to stay relevant.
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Bob, That’s how I’ve always thought of Conservative. Meaning For the Constitution. The founders were extremely socially liberal. We don’t care what you do as long as we don’t have to pay for it or be exposed to it. Also freedom Of religion, and freedom From religion if that’s your thing.
I guess the founders were more libertarian than ‘conservative’.
Republicans want to control people too much and the dems have a field day with it.
I saw a headline yesterday ‘Dan Ackroid thinks that the disgusting racial attacks on twitter directed at Leslie Jones was done by Trump supporters’. The libs have a lot of people convinced the right is racist. It was actually done by some idiot at Breitbart. Probably a plant.
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It all began to fall apart with the decline in education. The uneducated fall for free stuff because they know without it they will never have it. They even feel entitled to it. They don’t care if others have to work to pay for it because the Government doesn’t make money, only spends money. And they don’t feel guilty about it, either. Proud, actually, because they think they’ve beat the system. They’ll demonstrate in the streets if necessary because they know we always cave in. Turning it around will take a complete revamp in our educational system and will take time to accomplish. But right now, we have a much more serious problem in not knowing the number of terrorists in our midst because we’ve witnessed the havoc one lone sole can cause. We need to quit importing unvetted undocumented people, and it probably is too late now anyway. It looks like the only safe and sane countries are the ones that won’t allow Islam or Mosques, like Russia and some of the Asian countries.
Sad, huh? And both our political parties contributed to it, too, because none of the other Presidents closed the borders, either.
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@Z: “Can things turn back?”
No. Time marches forward; Nothing in life “goes back.”
Also, the answer is “No” to anyone asking if I’m talking about the press, or a political party. The Fourth Estate is now the Fifth Column, and I could care less about the GOP. We’re at the front edge of a party realignment anyway. Despite both corrupt parties spewing mostly gibberish, the Democrats can be very conservative about their cherished dogmas, and some Republicans shout out some liberals ideas. Who knows how it ends up?
But all that is garbage. I was speaking abstractly about the broad philosophies of liberalism and conservatism.
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I sense a weariness and resignation in Silverfiddle’s posts. I must confess I have been resigned to the loss of America many times in my adult life. I felt it during the Carter & Clinton Adminstrations, and to some degree, even in the George H. W. Bush & George W. Bush Administrations. Obama’s terms have been the absolute worst!
There are so many liars in the “public square” that divert the culture and narrative away from “The Truth & The Light” – it’s exhausting.
What I decided to do about a year into Obama was this: live my life as righteously as I can. Make conservative decisions & calculated risks. We paid off all our debts and run our company as if we’re breaking even, even though we are profitable. We pull out enough money to pay our taxes. We have not changed our lifestyle one bit, same house, same cars, same ol’ – same ol’. Since there was nothing we could do to change what was happening, we decided to control our own lives, a place where we had the power.
Not sure that was the right thing to do, but even through Obama’s horrid economy, we’ve done well. We just didn’t let that SOB interfere with us doing the right thing.
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A randy little kid lives deep within my essence. He’s very inquisitive and adventuresome, not at all destructive or dangerous. He has this marvelous ability to create alternate realities into which he lures me, usually at night when I’ve created that familiar comforting cocoon with the tiny little air tunnel for breathing.
I go there often.
His skills extend into those overlap regions out under a magnolia with my Aussie Shepherd keeping me safe from various wildebeests and creeping predators . . . and into those afternoon power naps after I’ve eaten entirely too much lunch for a man of my age.
Sometimes I’m young and limberbacked and flatbellied and virtually bulletproof, and at other times I’m my true age (75) but imbued with more-than-natural powers of logic and reason and invention and all those neat things. I particularly like those episodes in which Milady and I are BOTH young and flatbellied and limberbacked.
Surprisingly Obeyme and Mooch and even Dubya and Slick NEVER show up on those safaris into the green world where my humanity and my optimism are rejuvenated. Great fun. On occasion I have encountered celebrities, generally in some kind of rescue mission. Sally Field seems to show up frequently, and she’s usually in some kind of trouble. Southeast Asian women tend to be most prevalent in the adventures.
I also rescued Tamara Taylor (the ME on Bones) from a collapsed building and Genevieve Bujold from some kind of dragonlike threat. She was in full 17th century dress and I was clad in leather breeches with a broadsword and mace as accoutrements.
Better than movies. Just random creations based on stories I’ve read, I’m sure, because virtually none of the scenarios parallel or recoup scenes from movies. Donno what I’d do without that little kid twisting knobs and flipping switches on the master panel in my imagination. I think this is precisely what Mother Nature intended for people to do when their eyes and their knees and their upper-body strength give out on them.
So far my conscious mind has no problem separating reality from fantasy. But I think I know where I’ll be spending much of my time in future if HRC is elected. It’s nice there. The occasional monster to fight, damsel to rescue, disaster to avert . . . . and I make a difference, unlike in the real world. And there are no cellfones and no rap “music,” EVER.
Rod Serling, eat your heart out.
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Bocopro, you sound like the male lead character ‘Tom Ballard” played by Graham Crowden, in the British sitcom, “Waiting For God”! I love that show. It runs on Saturday mornings on PBS. You should catch it, hilarious!!
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@ Fairest Witness:
What I decided to do about a year into Obama was this: live my life as righteously as I can. Make conservative decisions & calculated risks. We paid off all our debts and run our company as if we’re breaking even, even though we are profitable. We pull out enough money to pay our taxes. We have not changed our lifestyle one bit, same house, same cars, same ol’ – same ol’. Since there was nothing we could do to change what was happening, we decided to control our own lives, a place where we had the power.
Wise words. Of course it was the right thing to do, and that is what I have been doing. I gave up blogging because I found myself saying the same thing over and over, only louder and with more anger. I am much happier. I would probably achieve Nirvana if I could unplug completely from the blogisphere and the Infotainment-Media Complex.
Sartre observed that “hell is other people,” but jaded people like me also should recall another quote of his:
“Like all dreamers, I mistook disenchantment for truth.”
Everyone reading this post should take their cue from you and adopt the old humorous pseudo-Latin motto…
“nil carborundum illegitimi”
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Bocopro: I love it (and I can identify…)
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@AoW o/t – Our Warren?
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I agree. The rot is too deep. It’s like when you open a peach with just a few bad spots and find it’s bruised and worthless to the pit. It’s one thing to come off your foundation. But to celebrate that is death. As bocopro said, no reconciliation between the takers and the makers.
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Thanks for all the comments; I think everyone has great points.
And I also have to say that, not necessarily including here, but on Radio, TV, etc., I have NEVER EVER put on Republican venues so much only to hear Anti REPUBLICAN rhetoric…’They should have known about the plagiarism but they’re probably lying’…today Medved’s uproarious and disdainful over some AWFUL thing Trump said to the NY Times…TRULY awful…the discussions about Cruz are painful to listen to….etc etc. Cruz, the ‘Republican’ or “Conservative” who supposedly doesn’t want Hillary and says what HE DID last night? ARE YOU KIDDING MEEE? You know how many Cruz voters will write HIM in? Does he even understand that’s a vote for Hillary? DOES HE? Kasich doesn’t SHOW UP? that’s Republican/Conservative unity and HOPING TO NOT ELECT HILLARY? REALLY??
I have NEVER known any Democrats to be SO self-critical, so hateful toward other Dems..EVER EVER EVER. ever.
I’m getting to the end of my interest at all in this election.
And I’m REALLY REALLY tired of great Conservative friends saying, SO OFTEN< "Z, I just can't vote for Trump….did you HEAR what he said about…?" "Ya, I did….I know…I know………just PLEASE consider the Supreme COurt!" "Yes, but …"
And then we have Republican SENATORS like Susan Collins saying SHE wouldn't close to the door to voting Hillary because she doesn't support TRUMP? REALLY?
Ya, this isn't a good time…..even those who have to vote Trump, like me, who look for every KERNEL of something GOOD about him other than he's not Hillary, are getting SO discouraged.
If he gets TYPICAL in order to impress that crowd he loves in the Convention Hall tonight, he's done…he needs to stay TOUGH, talk CLEARLY, NOT INSULT ANYBODY, NOT TELL US HOW RICH HE IS….just tell us HOW HE'S GOING TO GET THINGS DONE..I am HOPING AND PRAYING FOR SOME GOOD TONIGHT. Please, Trump, do NOT dash my hopes again. I wish he could read this, I really do.
I wish one of his sons was running, frankly. Or Ivanka. Calm, professional, smart…appealing..
I LOVE to see that very loving look on Trump's face for his kids…and he did something wonderful raising them……….and then he does something SO AWFUL, that I wake up.
So sad.
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By the way, I am SO HOPING Tim Kaine is picked as VP for the Bit**…..
he is a PERFECT Biden clone….REALLY REALLY nasty, sarcastic, very ugly little man. I’m for HIM!! Except his media’ll cover up all that ugliness.
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I call her Marie-Antoinette hoping her political head will roll. Note I said “political head” e.g. she’ll be sent to the retirement home.
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Just watched the Trump acceptance spech. Teleprompter for sure, but I’m down with it 101%.
No criticisms at all.
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Me too, Kid! If was magnificent!
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Just technically, he was SO much better on the teleprompter tonight..quite good.
Good speech, definitely. Hurrah!
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The polls keep showing him behind but I’m hopeful he will keep narrowing the gap and jump ahead by election time. Nail biting time, folks!
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