Conservatives: Join, Or Die
By Corey Thompson, filed in Corey Thompson, General on May.07, 2009
“Conservatives: Join, Or Die”
By: Corey Thompson, “The Thirsty Quill”
In 1754, Benjamin Franklin had a pretty radical idea. Following the example of the tribes of the Iroquois League, Franklin proposed that the colonies consider the possibility of unification. He made his point through a very emphatic declaration: a cartoon rendering of a broken snake, each piece representative of a colony (or region), accompanied by the very poignant phrase “Join, Or Die.”
What Franklin was implying was the idea that the colonies would ultimately fail to achieve the heights of their full potential if they lacked a true “unity.” You see, in those days (over two decades prior to the Declaration of Independence), the colonies were not bound together. Sure, they traded with one another, conducted business together, shared a handful of common interests, and had a very “loose” relationship. Yet, there was/were no “United” States at the time, and the prospect of a confederation amounted to nothing more than a distant vision for an aging dreamer like Franklin.
The symbolism and wording within the picture are eerie. We all know just how harmless and ineffective a snake is when chopped to pieces. Further, we know the perpetual fear that is felt when stumbling upon a snake that lies lurking among the thick brush and weeds, poised to strike in an effort to protect itself from danger.
Franklin’s words ultimately proved prophetic. By the 1760s, British oppression had backed the colonies into a corner by which they were forced to bond together, as one. A decade would pass, and each year brought another tax, another regulation, or worse, another set of trampling footsteps upon the liberties of the colonists. Yet, with each passing year, and with every act approved by a Parliament devoid of colonial representation, the colonies gained a better grasp of the ideal that their survival was inextricably tied to that of their neighbors. If the colonies were to make a stand, they would have to do so together. By joining hands, they realized that they stood a chance, albeit a very daunting one. Trying to go it alone meant certain death.
The same can be said of the current conservative movement in America. As I’ve watched the recent uprising among grassroots organizations, the hundreds of Tea Party protests, the resurgence in conservative websites and literature, and a growing chorus of those who seek the opportunity to be heard, I can’t help but to be inspired. Things feel good right now.
Still, I find reason for caution. Just as with Franklin’s rendering some 255 years ago, those of us who are dabbling in political protest and wading through a raging current of frustration, need to be reminded of the importance to stand unified in our efforts.
I see so many groups popping up across the American landscape. That’s a good thing.
However, I am sensing that each group is working overtime to make certain that this is “their time” to shine, and to promote THEIR particular group and leadership. That isn’t necessarily negative.
But I do see a real danger here. I’m recognizing that THE MAJORITY of these groups represent similar ideologies, thoughts, and frustrations. However, there does seem to be a bit of posturing between the groups, almost to the point of keeping similar organizations “at arm’s length.”
On the one hand, I think most conservative groups stand in support of their contemporaries. Yet surprisingly, I’ve heard many discuss their thoughts about not wanting to be “tied in” with anybody else, or with any other group. That, my friends, is a scary prospect.
If the “9-12 Project” doesn’t walk hand-in-hand with the Tea Parties, and vice versa; if conservatives, neo-cons, social conservatives, and fiscal conservatives fail to find common ground and realize that in the end, they’re all “conservatives;” if this conservative movement refuses to be “tied” to that conservative movement; if we can’t nail down a definitive direction and road map to success in a hurry; if we spend more time talking about our relatively few differences than we do on emboldening our vast similarities…we will fail.
If we cannot, as a CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT, come together under the banner of “unity,” select a common platform, and follow a strong set of common leaders, we will be too disorganized and too “separate” to make a difference in 2010 and 2012. In short, I believe that we are already going in TOO MANY different directions. We must look to our left, and to our right, discover the resources that are standing beside us, and maximize those resources for a far greater impact.
Right now, we have an AMAZING group of concerned Americans, numbering in the tens of millions, who are determined to defeat the “Liberal Left” in a little more than a year. But I’m afraid we have “too many chefs in the kitchen,” and a room full of patrons who are just waiting to be served. Think about just how close we are to November 2010…
Folks, here is our chance! Our time for a new “Great Awakening” of the American Conservative Spirit is at hand! Let’s not doom ourselves and prolong our conviction to 2016 because we couldn’t piece together a strong, unified, conservative front! Sure, we won’t agree on each and every issue, but that is what makes us so unique as Americans.
I am already sensing a “lull” in interest since the April 15th Tea Parties. Do not wait until July 4th to get excited once again! Independence Day and September 12th should be mile-markers, not launching pads!
Let that same patriotic fervor wake anew with you each and every morning! Wave that flag! Learn more about our national history! Promote action! Join a cause! Make a difference! Take a stand, today!…and wear that unified, poised, and vigilant Rattlesnake proudly for the rest of America to see…so they will know, that truly, our cause is not a conglomeration of separate pieces, but a strong, unified force that will leave its mark for years to come.
May 7th, 2009 on 10:27 pm
Great Points Corey, I feel the same way. But my feelings are directed at our County as a whole. You know, the “United” States of America. If one political side makes a permanent enemy of the other Political side; what happens when we face a real enemy? As long as the Conservative movement’s first reflex is to call “Liberal” to anyone with a different opinion, then I am afraid we will be seeing most true conservatives on display between the T-Rex and the Spirit of St. Louis at the Smithsonian. Like it or not Conservatives, there are so many people in this country who don’t know which side to go to but know that the KKK was not a leftist bunch, Hitler and Mussolini were not radical left wingers, you rarely hear of a left wing gun nut, or a liberal militant. My point is aligning yourselves with a political ideology is going backwards. If you want to make this country great, do well by your community, on your own, with out a side to defend. It seems a bit utopian, and I know many are disillusioned by the sensationalism in the media, seemingly doom and gloom everyday. But I happen to believe that this is a great time to be an American and if we can join one another and over come the politics that has for far too long divided us, we can once again live out that dream the Franklin and so many other great Patriots envisioned.
May 8th, 2009 on 6:15 am
Very inspiring read, Corey! What a great job!
I have very mixed feelings about the comment posted on 5/7 - it had a great ring of needed truth, but is disturbing, too. Maybe that’s what is needed, I don’t know. I very strongly agree that we need to get over “politics”; but I believe that it is only fair to state that the ‘reflex’ action is a universal problem with all political parties, not just conservatives. I think my reaction was so strong because of some personal experiences I have had lately: I have actually lost ‘friends’ (not really friends if they shun you when they find out what campaign you worked for, right? but it still hurts!) because of my political views - the same friends that I thought were great people because they cared enough to support SOMETHING, even if it wasn’t my candidate. They obviously did not agree. I’ve been labeled by people as an “elitist”, a “closed-minded idiot”, one of my favorites - a “gun-toting pig” (cute mental picture, eh?), but most painfully a “racist” (that is very hurtful just because of my personal heritage and because of some very dear friends that I have). I have had the air let out of my tires and found threatening notes placed on my vehicle because I had a McCain/Palin sticker on it during the 2008 presidential campaign. I’ve had people cut me off in traffic, yell at me, and make obscene gestures at me - because of a “McCain-Palin” sticker. By people who know little more than my name, or by total strangers. Friends and family urged me to remove the sticker, but I refused to on principle. It is a little ‘utopian’ to hope for a unity, but considering these experiences, it is VERY necessary for us to survive.
I’m not an expert on Mussolini or the KKK. Just from the few North Carolina History classes I had in school, I don’t recall that the KKK specifically united themselves with any political party; they were simply aligned by a sick and disgusting hatred. I do know a good bit about the country of Germany, as the majority of my family still lives there and I visit there often. Hitler is not looked at as a conservative by the German people, not the ones that I have had the opportunity to speak with, and many have shared their feelings and experiences about post-WWII Germany with me. He is looked at as a brutal dictator who sought to take the freedoms of all of the German people - not just Jews - because he hungered for nothing more than power. A great part of the German government now is, by definition, socialist, but they enjoy so much more freedom than they did 60 years ago and take a great pride in this. They are very hard workers, are passionate about family, and hold many of the same values as conservatives here in the US do. The name “Hitler” and the word “nazi” is a source of immense pain and shame for the German people, and it’s a little bit of a stab to think that someone feels that a conservative is aligned with such a monster. I do not feel that is true - but if it is - Corey’s message is more important than ever, that we do need to unite and strive for what is best for our country, not just for what is best for our personal advancement or our particular “division” of conservatism is.
Thank you for such a wonderful post, Corey!
May 8th, 2009 on 9:32 am
Corey, I find your allusion to the “Great Awakening” to be a little unnerving. The Great Awakening was a time of great passion, but also a time in American history where logic and sensibility flew out the window and was replaced by religious sensationalism; people burned their neighbors at the stake just to ensure that their way of life was preserved.
Is that the mentality that you are looking for this movement to acheive?
Or is that the mentality that our public has now versus the conservative right?
TWIST!
May 8th, 2009 on 9:44 am
Excellent Points Kristie, my point (while grossly overstated) was a perception I have about the average, non political, American. Not at all to paint good God fearing Conservatives with the same brush as the shameful groups mentioned. Allow me to present a virtual example for a simplification of my point.
We have two lines down main street USA.
1 has all the people and groups throughout history who consider themselves right wing.
The other that is for people and groups who consider themselves left wing.
I think your average American sees one side as more compassionate, all be it disorganized, and though the left side has its share of bad guys, no real monsters compared to the other side.
Myself, I prefer to get with the Quill, Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich, and some other (Also considered Crazies) and start the Modern Transpartisan Line. I guarantee the baggage would be allot lighter thus empowering the leadership of such a movement to not be hampered in the same way the two party (or wing) system is.
Also, I would like to apologize for whatever scumbag; flattened your tires, called you names, disassociated with you, all of these things are crazy to me and I hope they don’t sour your view of your common citizen here in the greatest country in the world.
May 9th, 2009 on 6:22 am
Andy, I beg to differ. As Corey suggests, you may want to pick up the following book, “Liberal Fascism” by Jonah Goldberg. An exerpt from a review:
“Behind the insults and the self-righteousness is the assumption that politics runs on a continuum from far left to far right; that if David Cameron were to keep moving rightwards, he would end up a Nazi. Goldberg sets out to knock down this false paradigm and show that much of what Americans call liberalism, and we call leftism, has its origins in fascism.
I say “knock down”, but that is too mild a phrase. Liberal Fascism is not a clean blow to the jaw, but a multiple rocket launcher of a book that targets just about every liberal American hero and ideal. The title comes from HG Wells, the most strenuous intellectual advocate of totalitarianism on the early-20th-century British left. “I am asking for a Liberal Fascisti,” he told the Oxford Union in 1932, “for enlightened Nazis. The world is sick of parliamentary democracy. The Fascist party is Italy. The Communist is Russia. The Fascists of liberalism must carry out a parallel ambition of a far grander scale.”
Wells saw no difference between communism and fascism and Goldberg puts a compelling case that neither should we. Mussolini began as a socialist agitator. The Nazis were a national socialist party which despised bourgeois democracy and offered a comprehensive welfare state.”
Just because liberals think that they have been successful in casting conservatives as fascists doesn’t make us so. Liberal “leaders” are counting on revisionist history or the ignorance of their constituents. Your first comment suggests an ignorance of what the real history of this country is: “Like it or not Conservatives, there are so many people in this country who don’t know which side to go to but know that the KKK was not a leftist bunch, Hitler and Mussolini were not radical left wingers, you rarely hear of a left wing gun nut, or a liberal militant.” Both sides have their fruits and nuts, granted. I think it’s more a psychological condition, that we have these folks that are extreme (think Timothy McVey and the Black Panthers). Liberalism is seductive. Liberals, progressives, and moderates see themselves as non-judgemental, and I find them to be judgemental, righteous, and narrow minded.
Mussonlini made the trains run on time, after all. Obama is attempting to do the very same with this obscene spending. The brown shirts aren’t far behind. That is what we “Tea-partyers” are attempting to prevent.
Moderation is not what America wants or needs. We just ran the most moderate Republican for POTUS ever - and he lost. It wasn’t because of Sarah Palin, it was because he was moderate. Conservatism will win every time.
May 11th, 2009 on 10:09 am
Sounds like a great read. I will drop in into my queue along side: The Audacity of Fabulous “Why are Gays so scary” and It s only Kinky the first term “Your guide to being a conservative senator”
All in good fun my dear. I hate it came off as ignorant, my opinions and all. I was giving a personal opinion based on an overview of how I see the current political landscape. I don’t claim to be as historically sound in research as “The Quill” but neither am I a revisionist. It seems to me that time after time we (conservatives and liberals) always accuse the other of what we are being accused of. Everyone’s a radical fascist it seems. My desire is past all of that, and not only do I think it is possible, I think it is happening. Conservatism is changing in and of itself; and by the very definition of conservative this diminishes much of what it stands for. That is why I say its time for a new party. No more all encompassing definition words like (L/C) (R/D) just concerned, compassionate, American Citizens who want to leave a better world for their children.
May 13th, 2009 on 6:24 am
Whoa - is there really a book called “It’s only kinky the first term - your guide to being a conservative Senator”? We need to send that to Lindsay Graham!
(Still rolling on the floor laughing - that is pure genius!!!)