American conservatism

Resubmitting on a Wednesday because it mentions transgenderism.

• What does it get wrong?

• What does it leave out?

• What does it mischaracterize?

• What isn't presented in good faith?

Why is a huge portion of the US right wing conservatives?

Hello, guys. I'm a Malaysian who is interested in US politics, specifically the Republican Party shift to the Right.

So I have a question. Where did American Conservatism or Right Wing politics start in US history? Is it after WW2? New Deal era? Or is it further than those two?

How did classical liberalism or right-libertarianism or militia movement play into the development of American right wing?

Was George Wallace or Dixiecrats or KKK important in this development as well?

Let me begin by saying I'm not American. I make this post because judging by the impression I get from reddit, conservatives just straight up "oppose" anyone who is not a straight white male. Every time I hear about conservatives it's between opposing abortion (unless it helps them), passing transphobic laws, or being racist. Is that just what conservatism is about?

Is there nothing more than that? Are the conservatives just hateful, religious Americans who cannot accept anyone different from them? What are the opinions and world views of non radical conservatives? Or are the MAGA crowd considered normal conservatives?

I mean in my country there are many instances where I can understand the arguments of both sides of the problem, but it seems like in America it's always like "Why should we give a woman control over her own body?", "What if we just didn't allow trans people to exist?", "If climate change is real, why is it cold in the winter?" And legitimately the only issue that can have actual debate (at least from my view) is gun control (and it's not strictly a right/left issue). I refuse to believe that pretty much all of their views are just based around hate, ignorance and religion so PLEASE change my view.

Not just asking about the GOP. From inaction on climate change, increased resistance to Covid mitigation, to promoting widespread gun use, and supporting greater inequality, it seems like the answer when combined is yes and that’s not even including the fascism.

But I could be wrong so I’m asking

The moral panics, the scapegoats, the us vs them naratives, the abhorrent nationalism, the idea of once great nation(maga etc), the right wing populism, all that is very present in mainstream conservative discourse rn, and it's also characteristics of fascism, so can we classify American conservatism as Fascist?

The former Bush (43) speechwriter and token conservative on the Atlantic staff today outlining how modern Trumpian conservatism differs from the historical intellectual tradition of conservatism as defined by Edmund Burke.

Brooks' idea is that classic Burkean conservatism is based on community, family and tradition, and that strong social institutions do a better job of creating good citizens and societies than ambitious plans concocted by technocratic elites.

However, he also admits that the seeds of the type of authoritarian conservatism practiced by Trump and Fox News are also present in traditional conservatism. The conservative emphasis on community can turn into xenophobia; its reverence for the past can stifle necessary social and economic change.

I've personally long though that the intellectual tradition of conservatism as described by Brooks was created by Buckley et al. in the 1960s in an attempt to smooth the rough edges from the burgeoning American conservative movement and make it more palatable to the American political establishment.

On the other hand, Brooks' descriptions of traditional conservative values have given me an insight into conservative communities (especially the rural communities that are the backbone of modern conservatism) that I had not previously considered. His arguments for the virtues of community and tradition are very persuasive.

Was the decline of Burkean/Buckleyan conservative ideals into Trumpism inevitable? Is it possible to have traditional, community-centered politics based on classical liberal ideals without xenophobia, anti-intellectualism and authoritarianism?

EDIT: I posted this question in two subreddits: and , and I changed as a little wording as possible. I think it is interesting that both questions were largely downvoted in both subreddits despite no objections to the actual phrasing of the question. The responses I got were also very telling and well-worded, and to me ultimately demonstrated moral differences with respect to what America's place in the larger global community -- both equally valid, I may add.

Question Background: I actually found this one kind of baffling. I mean I get it, there's a rift between the neoconservative and the traditional conservative and every subfaction in between, but the Ukraine war is one that really throws me. You'd think that the liberal establishment, after all this talk of "pulling out of wars" would be against intervention, whereas the conservative establishment would see an opportunity to fight against a principle enemy in Russia. Instead we've all flip-flopped what I expected.

Personal Background: I'm probably best described as a centrist. My liberal friends would say I lean conservative and my conservative friends would say I lean liberal. I'm of the "leave me the fuck alone variety", but I am also a military man and see Russia and China as existential threats. Regardless of whether I end up swinging totally conservative or totally progressive, I will always view Russia and China with special derision. Call me Cato the Censor -- "Carthago delenda est."

I am not keen on intervening in another conflict without some long-term plan. Afghanistan and Iraq were, in my opinion, huge wastes, and the quick pull-out was catastrophic. When I look at Ukraine, though, it seems like this is the perfect opportunity for America because:

1. We do not have to expend American lives in a foreign war

2. We get to contribute to ebbing away at one of our main existential threats

Notice I didn't discuss the Ukrainian people or independence in emotional terms; it's all realpolitik. The "freedom for Ukraine!" and "fight against Putin" lines are all window dressing, in my opinion. If Russia invaded China, we'd let them have it out without contributing a single dollar even if China was defending it's territorial integrity.

So my question to the conservatives: why is the conservative establishment now largely against this proxy war where such unabashed opposition was not present for our more direct interventions a la Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, etc? Do we not want to take the opportunity to further degrade one our main adversaries?

This is a follow-up to a about tankies I made yesterday.

I used to be a conservative for a while because they portrayed themselves as supporters of freedom. They always claim that they support freedom of speech, freedom to protest, freedom of the press- human rights in general. In fact, I was apolitical at first but got exposed to conservatism during the Hong Kong protests. I got interested when conservatives *seemed* like they really cared about police brutality and oppression. This was how they reacted to the lockdowns and the masks.

Then in May 2020, the BLM protests were in full spring throughout America (and the world). Suddenly, conservatives suddenly tried to justify police killings. They then "Back the Blue" while complaining about lockdowns throughout states. This made me realise that conservatives don't care about human rights at all- they just want to own the "libs" and "leftists" (two different things). I also found out that conservatives were easily butthurt- if you mock religion, support LGBT rights, support anything conservatives oppose, they will try to cancel you. Conservatives cry about how liberals and "SJWs" call everything they disagree with as Nazis, but they frequently compare socialism or the lockdowns to Nazism. Finally, as shown by my post about , it seems like conservatives care more about fear-mongering than facts.

Although I don't disagree with *every* conservative/right-wing opinion, this was why I left conservatism and adopted more centrist/centre-left cultural opinions. Just my two cents.

Im of the perspective that that is its primary purpose, if not its only purpose.

Through that lens, it seems weird to think conservatives want Trump to be a king or a dictator or whatever just because they worship Trump or something. It seems like they want Trump in power because they want someone to put the undesirables back in their place/disallow them from participating in democracy.