How Most Americans Think
Below is a description of "the conservative woman," taken from the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute. Obviously it applies to men as well; Clare Boothe just happens to be a conservative women's organization. The definition below doesn't just define the "conservative" thinker; it also defines libertarians and moderates.Most Americans identify with the paragraph below, whether or not they call themselves "conservative." I say this b/c we know that only 21% of Americans refer to themselves as liberal; the rest -- 41% conservative and 34% moderate -- lean right. America is indeed a conservative nation. (This is also evident in the massive resistance Obama is getting across the board.) I pasted this paragraph below to help those who know how they think but can't always express it the way they'd like. It may be helpful when you're in a conversation with a left-leaning American.
The Conservative Woman
Conservatism is neither a religion nor ideology, explained Russell Kirk; "it is a state of mind, a type of character, a way of looking at the civil social order ... The conservative is a person who endeavors to conserve the best in our traditions and our institutions, reconciling the best with necessary reforms from time to time." She may be a social networker, but the conservative woman's identity isn't dependent upon a group. She is her own woman.
Her allegiance is to individual liberty and Individualism, the salient characteristic of Western Civilization, and to its economic system, free-market capitalism. She holds absolute the premise that power flows from the Creator to the people, who only loan it to the State.
The conservative woman rejects the social system known as Collectivism and its economic system, socialism, which robs her of her liberty, her social and economic choices, and the rewards of her labor.
Liberals erred when they strayed from respect for individual rights and turned toward collectivism. And that's why many of us who used to be liberal are now conservative.