Conservatives, which do you value more. Patriotism or reason?

Question

Would you support any and all US policies out of patriotic duty?

Like the Germany, 1939 crowd.........?

Answer 1

Reasonable Patriotism, its not a black or white question. The mistake that Liberals tend to make is that they assume that our beliefs come from blindly following our leaders. Just because we have different beliefs than you doesn't mean we are unreasonable, just that we disagree.

Answer 2

In order to really have Patriotism, I believe you must reason things out first. Once you have reason, you can then develope patriotism and even then, it would depend on what kind of country you are in to be able to have Patriotism. Patriotism can only come by having reason. A person, whether liberal or conservative, must have reason in their life first before being able to be called a real Patriot. People need to stop bashing one side or the other and reason things out for themselves and find out what is really going on and then act accordingly. I do not support all U.S. policies. It is actually somewhat Patriotic that I don't support all U.S. policies, because alot of the policies of today do not go along with the Constitution and the Constitution was made for a free United States of America that was supposed to be for the people and by the people. What the Bush Administration is doing is taking away more of our rights instead of making things better.

Answer 3

first I don't call myself a conservative anymore that has gotten so watered down it doesnt mean anything.. I call myself a patriot that believes our founding fathers did an amazing job and the principles that our country was founded on are second to none. It is not necessarily patriotic to support all US policies. for example the current administration is very liberal in most things and somewhat moderate in others. I do not feel that supporting policies that will harm America, such as prosecuting border agents that are doing their job, is patriotic. I thing it is more on the treason side of the fence.

Answer 4

This from a speech in the movie "Judgement at Nuremberg"1961:

(Ernst Janning is a judge being tried with others: "There was a fever over the land. A fever of disgrace, of indignity, of hunger. We had a democracy, yes, but it was torn by elements within. Above all, there was fear. Fear of today, fear of tomorrow, fear of our neighbors, and fear of ourselves. Only when you understand that - can you understand what Hitler meant to us. Because he said to us: 'Lift your heads! Be proud to be German! There are devils among us. Communists, Liberals, Jews, Gypsies! Once these devils will be destroyed, your misery will be destroyed.' It was the old, old story of the sacrifical lamb. What about those of us who knew better? We who knew the words were lies and worse than lies? Why did we sit silent? Why did we take part? Because we loved our country! What difference does it make if a few political extremists lose their rights? What difference does it make if a few racial minorities lose their rights? It is only a passing phase. It is only a stage we are going through. It will be discarded sooner or later. Hitler himself will be discarded... sooner or later. The country is in danger. We will march out of the shadows. We will go forward. Forward is the great password. And history tells how well we succeeded, your honor. We succeeded beyond our wildest dreams. The very elements of hate and power about Hitler that mesmerized Germany, mesmerized the world! "

The tribunal judge replies: "this trial has shown that under the stress of a national crisis, men - even able and extraordinary men - can delude themselves into the commission of crimes"

Will "good" Republicans be silent as Ernst Janning-and many others-did "for the good of the country"? People in Germany thought it only temporary and gave up power, never thinking the power would be used as it was. They were united against many enemies-Socialists, Communists....here it's Democrats. We're not there yet, but this is how it began...

Answer 5

They are simply afraid to question the acts and motivations of our government, I feel.

I must admit, it was a sad say when I realized that our government is so corrupt. It is easier to exist in the safety of a patriotic bubble than to face the cold and hard truth. I think that's why conservatives remain so patriotic and never EVER question our government officials (unless of course, they are Democrats!!!)

Bob Dylan once wrote something that reminds me so much of Bush and this whole administration:

"Patriotism is the last refuge,
To which a scoundrel clings,
Steal a little and they throw you in jail,
Steal a lot and they make you king..."

Answer 6

Not a conservative.. but I think we all should support REASONABLE patriotism... love your country.. but realize that it, like the people in it and that run it, will not always make the right decision.. the US will make mistakes... admitting that and trying to work on it is a greater show of patriotism than bulldozing headlong into failure.

Answer 7

First, you have to make the distinction between Conservatives an neo-cons. A Conservative acknowledges that patriotism and reason are inseparable, as reason leads to patriotism. It is the neo-con who follows blindly even in contradiction to reason.

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Answer 8

Corporations and business magnates have been hamstrung by archaic laws long enough. Let's truly free the free market. Unshackle the movers and shakers of our capitalist economy and the American Empire will blow the doors off the rest of the world. We are only consuming 25% of the world's resources now. America needs to buckle down and significantly increase its share of the world's bounty. Since the other 97% of the world's population is comprised of terrorists, savages, Socialists, non-Christians, and non-Caucasians, they need to yield to the moral imperative of the Christian God and further enrich the American Empire.

Minimum wages, Child Labor Laws, mandatory extra pay for so-called "overtime", legislation prohibiting discriminatory hiring practices and sexual harassment, and ridiculous protections for the disabled need to go. Our children have too much free time on their hands; idle hands do the work of the devil. Blacks and other minorities need to buck up and deal with it if Whites feel uncomfortable hiring them. Women need to develop a thicker skin and realize that sometimes keeping their job requires a little "extra effort". If someone is blind or wheelchair-bound, we have no obligation to accommodate their weaknesses.

Clean air and water are luxuries Americans can no longer afford. Endangered species need to go the way of the Dodo if they can't hack it anymore. The Bible clearly defines man's dominion over this planet. If Mother Earth has a problem with the way we are treating her, she can take it up with the Man Upstairs.

Answer 9

You were in Germany in 1939? BTW,my father fought during WW2. He was a dem. More then likely he'd say the dems are weenies today.

Answer 10

I would have not supported slavery or the Killing of the American Indians. I do support the current war.