George Washington Was Not a Conservative

[Keith Broaders]

A Conservative is an individual who desires to preserve or maintain a particular set of values. Whether being a Conservative is good or bad depends entirely upon which set of values you are attempting to preserve. George Washington was dedicated to achieving independence by overthrowing his government. This certainly was not the position of a conservative.

The terms liberal and conservative are labels that divide people into political factions. These factions seek special benefits and privileges for themselves that are denied to others.

In the 1770′s, a colonist who supported King George and the British Parliament would have been classified as a Conservative and those who opposed him would have been considered liberals. In the 1860′s, the supporters of slavery would have been labeled conservatives and the Abolitionists would have been considered the liberals.

Before the American War for Independence, it was believed that Kings and Queens ruled by divine right. This principle led to tyranny and human bondage. To accept the status quo would have been the position of a conservative.

After the ratification of the Constitution, a new set of principles were established in America and then any individual who embraced the Declaration of Independence was called a conservative. Declaring that someone is a conservative without stating the principles they believe in, doesn’t tell anyone anything.

Anyone opposed to the principles articulated in our founding documents is simply trying to divide and confuse the people in order to control them. We need to stop identifying ourselves with political labels such as “liberal” or “conservative” and start defining ourselves by the principles in which we believe. No more names or classifications.

I am not a liberal or a conservative. I am not a Republican or a Democrat. I don’t lean to the right or to the left. I simply believe that we were “endowed by our Creator” with the right to life, liberty and property. I believe that “governments derive their power from the consent of the governed” and are created to secure our unalienable rights.

Today, we are taught that to rebel against tyranny and injustice is radical, but in the 1770′s it was considered Patriotic. We are no longer taught that we should always do what is right, or that it is morally repugnant to God to obey unjust laws and submit to tyranny.

We are not conservative or liberal or progressive. We are “The People”.