well if your'e a facist, white supremacist, a religous nut (who believes by killing the arabs they will trigger the rapture)or a phony white amerikkan (the worst type of bigot) who believes in colorblindness and then is the next sentence use racial code words to win elections or a upper class person who believes that expoliting the poor is a great way to win elections (and for all their anti-crime boasting and belief in class warfare)and using gays and lesbians are social pariahs and there ought to a law discriminating against them then conservatism is for you. but since most white males (who are the ultimate voting bloc in this country not african-americans) 80% of them vote for conservative politicans in every election, is it any wonder that we are going to hell in a hen basket?

In order for life to be fufilling for everyone, everyone must respect one another. To respect, you need to have fundamental beliefs (regardless of what your background) and these beliefs are often defined as conservatism. I know this is a pretty bold statement, but have you ever noticed that when conservatives demostrate, there are far less arrests and far less damage done to property then liberals protest? By the way, the Ku Klux Klan does NOT speak or represent conservative values (afterall, the KKK defeats the true values of conservatism and are just a bunch of ignorant fools). That would be like me saying Move On.org represents all liberals.

I'm shocked at how many of you are confused about what the word conservatism actually means! ~ Definition #1 (a.k.a. the REAL definition): A belief-system similar to that of the Royalists, Reactionaries, Conservatives, Monarchists, etc. embraced in the years following the French Revolution, which is authoritarian both economically and socially. ~ Definition #2 (a.k.a. the fake Yankee media definition): A belief system embraced by the GOP that is similar to that held by the liberals in the years following the French Revolution; it is libertarian both economically and socially (with the exception of a few socially 'conservative' views espoused to pander to the 'Religious Right'.). ~ Definition #1 = GOOD. Definition #2= BAD.

I consider myself a fiscal conservative and social liberal. So I agree with conservatives with low taxes and small government. I am also against affirmative action. However I'm against the war, support gay rights, am against drilling in the artic, and am against mixing religion with politics. Most conservatives today give their blind allegiance to any Republicans running in office. Conservatives seem to agree with every action Bush takes and makes excuse when he does something wrong. I hate the mentality of some conservatives. They believe America is the world's most superior country, America hardly makes any mistakes, and we have the right to invade any country we choose. This blind nationalism is little different than Germans giving their allegiance to Hitler some 60 years ago. Now I'm not saying we should continuously badmouth our country, like many liberals do. But I think a middle ground should be taken. I find some of today's conservative ideas very contradictory. They say they stand for morality, yet they do not mind slaughtering 1000's in a war. They say they are for small government, but approve of additional government interference (CIA, Patriot Act) and enormous increases in government size and debt.

Conservatism: Liberalism with a suit and tie.

Conservatism is the foundation of America. Its what the founding fathers were, and wanted. I see conservatives get bashed all the time for no reason. Conservatives get blamed for being stereotypical, when in fact people sterotype conservatives all of the times. It seems as if the media gives no credit to conservatives and gives them no praise. Liberals love to call conservatives narrow minded. I personally have found just the opposite to be true- liberals are the real narrow minded ones. Not all, but most, especially the ones that make the allegations. A excellent example is Kerry04. Would you ever try convincing him to even THINK about supporting conservative ideas? Conservatives may start wars, but wars do solve the problems. And most of the time we have no other choice. Liberals call us war mongers. I would never call liberals war mongers, after all, LBJ was a Democrat who was involved in Vietnam, which killed 58k+ Americans. In the media's view, if your a conservative, you are automatically a hater, homophobe, facsist, liar, thief, religous nut, and right wing extremist. Much people on this forum are rating Conservatism a terrible rating because of the war in Iraq. Don't these narrow minded individuals realize that major liberals were in support of the war, along with 77% of the public? Conservatives want what is best for as many people as possible. Protecting rights, reducing government, giving freedom to many, and defending our country. I waesn't always a conservative, but the nasty mood of the liberals made me support conservatives more. God bless the conservatives in this country who are fighting for all of our rights.

We need more left wingers! Conservatists are good. We need people to look out for the rights of the individual. This great country was founded so that every person could obtain what he is entitled to. Liberals seem to think that america is not made up of millions of people, but one entity. Well, the division isn't in simplest form! America is for the man, not the machine.

The current US Administration is the only evidence necessary of the moral bankruptcy of conservatism.

Whenever there is a conservative president(i.e. Reagan, Nixon, G. Bush, G.W. Bush), this country is in trouble. Whenever there is a liberal president(i.e. Clinton, Carter, Kennedy), this country thrives.

whoever said in here that when a liberal is president the country is terrible (wtf? we were doing FINE under Clinton) and that conservative presidents cause our country to thrive is stupid. helloooo major economoic problems right now, job loss, etc. not to mention how SCREWED over in Iraq we are now. don't believe me ... turn on the news. nuff said.

All the cool people are on the right... come join the dark side.

A losing battle. Though conservatism has temporary spikes in popularity (currently: aging baby boomers), it is slowly dying. Here's how it works: conservatives get old and die, then their children are a litlle less conservative, etc. Just compare this country 50 years ago to today. Not to say that conservatism is going to cease to exist, but it is going to keep moving leftward in the long run.

leads to the subjugation of the people for huge businesses and to dictatorship, 1984 style.

The ideology of Conservatism is, by definition, opposed to change. How could this possibly provide for a healthy political environment in our ever-changing world? Conservative notions of supporting traditional values (even to the point of harming society) are thoroughly outdated and undemocratic. Conservatism also opposes the government's use of active power to be involved in the affairs of the community. This is equivalent to the government resigning itself to ignorance and inaction, when in fact the government should be getting involved and solving the problems of the community at large. Nothing good has ever come from neglecting the people's needs. All in all, Conservatism is simply a hindrance to effective, democratic government, and rarely serves the purposes of anyone but bureaucrats with little understanding of what it means to be an ordinary citizen of a nation.

I suppose the conservatism is sensible if things are just fine and dandy the way they are, but that is seldom the case. Abraham Lincoln once said that "a conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who is unable to walk forward." It seems like a good short-term policy depending upon the situation, but as a permanent political ideology it is fundamentally flawed.

For the most part I'm a pretty conservative guy. I agree with the high moral standards, earning what you get in life, and strong military priority associated with conservatism.

Whenever there is a conservative president(i.e. Regan), this country thrives, whenever there is a liberal president(i.e. Clinton or Carter), this country is in trouble.

Conservatism is a romantic ideal and it could work well in a small country with a homogenous population, but right now conservatives are stubbornly holding onto a past that won't work in a big country with an increasingly diverse population. "Compassionate conservatism" in theory is a step in the right direction, but is a far cry from something that will resonate with voters of all socio-economic and ethnic groups (Bush lost the popular vote in 2000 and would likely lose in 2004 if the democrats had a real candidate).

Are you a Neo-conservative or a Paleo-conservative? Research it out on the internet for yourselves but believe me there is a BIG difference, as many American conservatives are just beginning to find out. It is important and you should know what you are voting for and if that party really does represent your values and beliefs.

I give it a 2 because i support about 2/5's of conservatives ideas.I like thier defence of the second amendment, I like thier opposition to a strong central government.Contrary to popular belief, republicans are not conservatives,true conservatives support the things I just said, plus they want to "coserve" our natural resources.But Dubya wants to Drill for oil in Alaska, He also wants to censor the media and go into a full scale war, both of which are signs of a strong central government.

Conservatives have some good ideas about morals and ethics and self-control. But I don't care for their mantra that if it IS broke, let it rot 'cause it ain't worth fixing. I believe in a free market, but something needs to police it to discourage a social Darwinist society. And although they claim to be morally superior to even moderate liberals like myself, a sad number of them are carrying on like boorish troglodytes regarding the Europeans and who is and isn't a "patriot". I support the ouster of Saddam (though I hate war), but I can find no excuse for saying that because one does not care for our President, one is automatically an evil subversive.

"Conservatism: A political philosophy or attitude emphasizing respect for traditional institutions, distrust of heavy government activism, and opposition to sudden change in the established order. " This is the official definition of Conservatism. I am giving this a 4 star rating because I am not rating the Republican Party- I am rating the political ideal of conservatism. Let's analyze each facet of the above definition to establish an intellegent rating rather than a rating full of partisan nonsense. First of all "emphasizing respect for traditional institutions". I assume that I am on safe ground in stating that one of those traditional institutions is the Christain Church. As a Christian myself, I respect everyone's first amendment right to freedom of religion, as long as we maintain the neccessity of seperation of church and state. As Thomas Jefferson said when the United States was first established, "The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.". I believe that everyone is entitled to their own religious beliefs, and to publically express those beliefs, as long as it does not interfere in the operations of the government. Now, let us move on to "distrust of government activism." Now I believe that the government must get involved in some areas, but I can see where the Conservatives are coming from when they become wary of heavy government activism. I believe in the government "helping the people help themselves", but I do not believe in government programs which promote the taking away of taxpayer's money and giving it to people in the form of Welfare without demanding responsibility from those people. Heavy government activism in the lives of its citizens often leads to the loss of civil liberties. So in a free society, there are some areas which are not subject to government involvement. Now finally, "opposition to sudden change in the established order." In the case of Women's Suffrage and Civil Rights, things needed to be done. Now I realize that you cannot change the way that people think. However, during the 1860s, slavery ended in a rather abrupt manner, and it needed to be ended. That signified an abrupt change in the "established order". During the 1910s.... we saw women get the right to vote with a quick amendment, and that needed to be done. During the 1960s, African Americans were guaranteed the same rights as White Americans, and that needed to be done. If something needs to be changed such as in those cases, I could care less about a "sudden change in the establishment". If that establishment allowed unequal oppurtunity for African Americans and women, then it does not deserve to go through a "gradual change". In the final analysis, the idea of Conservatism makes sense to me based on its opposition to large government activism and its preservation of the Christian religion and defending the 1st Amendment. However, when a change is needed, a change is needed, and the change should be implemented without concern for the "establishment".

For traditional family (christian) values.

Often wrongly regared as Nationalism* or Right wing. Like things as they are or use to be, look to the past for solutions that have worked and support traditional family values. Anti-radical. Some class Reactionism, Racism and Strong Religious attitudes as Conservative. Can be Hard headed. Extreme Conservatives (Top-line) are called Arch/high/Alt-consevatives. Its opposite, Radicals (root or bottom-line) means change. Politically it favours the progress of human society toward desirable ends through natural process &/or by human effort till ultimately we achive Utopia. Radicals also believe in changes to laws and society as a whole and to try out new ideas (that haven't yet worked or are untested). It favours reforms. It also favours promiscuity, homosexuality, feminism, abortion and legalization of drugs. Has been called progressive. Ussually anti religious, anti-racist, rebelious and anti-conservative. Some class Pacifism as Radical. [Falsely labled as extremists, anarchists, terrorist and left-wing (socialist). There are extreme and ultra-right radical groups that believe in Utopia.]. Between the two are called moderate. I am Moderately-conservative.

They get two stars because without them, I'd have no one to argue with. Conservatism is leading our country down the road of intolerance and war. The current administations actions regarding foreign policy have spawned hatred for the US and bigotry within the US.

In Australia all Non-Socialists are falsely regarded as such.

Conservatism is classical republican liberalism in the tradition of Edmund Burke (Who as a member of Parliament supported the American Revolution but utterly rejected the French Revolution.). It is the safe moderating appreciation of what has gone before and the rejection of artifice and false-faced novelty. Conservatism is the testing and keeping of the good and discarding of the bad. It is sensible realization that men and women are much the same as their Fathers and Mothers and that nothing really changes in the human heart. Wickedness and Virtue are the same now as they have been since the dawn of time.

At best, it's an ideology that people keep getting confused about. At worst it's a vague, hypocritical ideology that is not so much an ideology as a social club for rich elitists.

I'm a proud member of the right-wing conspiracy.

Conservatism is all about the values that made our country great to begin with. It is about faith, family, gratefulness and belief in the individual to become all they can be apart from government interference. I cringe when I hear the total misunderstanding some people have about conservatism. I'd like to address some of those misconceptions. First of all, conservatives do not lack compassion for the poor. Many conservatives give great amounts of money to charity. The myth that conservatives don't care about the poor comes from the fact that they disagree with the way the government handles money and creates a dependency cycle among the poor. The solutions the government provides are not compassionate at all. Secondly, conservatives are not racists (or sexist, etc). There may be people who call themselves conservative that are racist (as well as liberals for that matter) but racism is not part of conservatism. Conservatives just believe that racism is a personal issue that people need to deal with and that hypocritical liberal politicians use race as a way to get votes. By doing so they stir up hatred and racial tension, fueling the problem they pretend to be against. Thirdly, conservatives are not pro-war. Conservatives believe in a strong military because they realize we live in an evil world and the best way to prevent war is to be prepared against attack. I could go on but there is not room to write a book here. The point is, conservatism is about faith in God, prayer, the sanctity of life, justice, equality, compassion for the poor, belief in the ability of the individual, limited government, honesty and integrity. Don't believe any lie to the contrary.

All right, boys and girls, it's time to review our lesson on "Everything You Need to Know to be a Good Conservative" a Rateitall comment by TheFreak. Please pay close attention, because many of you WILL be tested on this. Here are some of the things you need to know: you have to believe that 1) Reagan was the greatest presidnt of the 20th century and maybe of all time, and all the people he killed with his oblivion toward the AIDS virus don't matter because they were not God's chosen. 2) Clinton was the worst president of the 20th century and maybe of all time, even though HE tries to pursue equal liberty and justice for all. Atheists, gays, and many others don't deserve it anyway. 3) In order to preserve thousands of little 16-cell embryos that we could fit on the point of a pin and are never going to grow into children anyway, we must not conduct life-saving stem-cell research. 4) Homosexuality and atheism and pacifism are the cause of all the murder and crime in the world, but guns are just a method of self-defense, and nothing else. 5) Public schools are all atheistic propaganda posters and should be eliminated, but the religion in parochial schools is not going to affect anyone. 6) Clinton is a terrible, sick criminal, and the fact that Dubya has two DUI convictions is just one of those things. 7) Books that offend you are un-American, and thus should be used as firewood. 8) The "liberal media" is out to demonize "compassionate conservatives", but Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura, Mona Charen and Cal Thomas are just nice, normal people without a speck of prejudice for anything but liberals and what they believe in, and the liberals deserve what they get. 9) We should bomb Afghanistan out of the universe for killing about 7,000 people, but the hundreds of thousands of innocents that Ronald Reagan ignored while they suffered from AIDS and finally died don't need to be avenged; they caused their own deaths anyway. 10) RateItAll is for conservative Repblican US citizens only, and anyone who does not meet this criteria should be verbally abused and hassled until they are forced to leave. 11) The US is the best country in the world, and Afghanistan knows it, so we have every right to do whatever the f*** we want to them. 12) R.E.M and Queen and the Beatles and the Stones are vile, evil groups who's purpose is to liberally brainwash the young, but *NSYNC, even with the crap they produce, is all right because they "write" songs with no "vulgar" lyrics. 13) "Imagine" and "Brige Over Troubled Water" should be banned from the radio because they encourage peace, and no one wants to hear about that peace crud at a time like this. 14) Satanists in the US should be expelled from school and executed for treason, because anything that threatens our religion is a threat to humanity. 16) Jesus, even though he taught everyone very thouroughly to "love their enemies", hates gays, so they have to be disposed of. 17) TheFreak has no brain because she hates Ronald Reagan but loves AIDS victims. All right, that is our review. Tests will be held at random times. Not all conservatives are like the one above, but many are, and I could give a couple of names on this site. Thanks for listneing to me rant and rave, and take care, everyone!

I consider myself basically a moderate conservative as I do not condemn all pure liberal thought nor do I agree with all things considered to be conservative. And, while I can find things that irritate me from both liberal and conservative viewpoints, I subscribe to the idea that there are as many definitions and variations of both liberal and conservative as there are people in the world. Where you fit in that morass comes down to your own personal outlook. In my case this definition has shifted and evolved along with personal growth and changes in the society in which we currently live. Contrary to popular far left thought, as a conservative person I respect and believe in preserving natural resources, as long as we're talking peaceful respect I also immensely enjoy the diversity of cultures and races within my country and community, do not like, dislike, hate or love people based on their skin tone or religious beliefs, respect anyone's right to worship whatever they care to and declare themselves to be whatever they would like - whether that be atheist, scientologist, Buddhist monk or lion tamer. I believe in equal rights for ALL citizens and think that extreme far left OR right views tend to point to dangerous self-indulgent fanaticism far more than they speak of total commitment to a cause. On the other hand I also respect human life in any form and, while I love animals and understand their importance in the overall balance of life, I believe human life and existence must be top priority. I support medical research, but do not believe that just because it is possible or profitable that it is necessarily a good or moral thing to do. I think that following your heart is something we all have to do, but following every hedonistic whim and self-indulgent thought can lead to many otherwise avoidable problems. And most of all, in this time of enormous concern, I believe that actions speak much louder than words and that those who are speaking the loudest are the ones who have been digging in and physically doing something instead of attempting to blow smoke. That point of view is very simple. Total commitment to this war on terrorism and justice for the outrageous assault to our country and internal security is the only thing that makes sense to me. Based on the wimpy, indecisive, immoral garbage I have seen coming from the liberal sect for so long, it is also why I now identify with a more conservative point of view.

These people are ruled by the likes of Nixon and Reagan-white, straight supremicists. Nixon was the most unscrupulous president of all-time. I mean, bombing Cambodia secretly without merit. Not to mention Watergate. I have recently discovered that Reagan was even worse! He is responsible for countless deaths between AIDS victims and guerilla revolutionists in Latin America. Both horrible, horrible men. That, in itself, is enough for me to hate this philosophy. They are religious people that advocate the execution of people not proven innocent, racial profiling, the free flow of guns to everyone, and a denial of a woman's right to make decisions about her own body. They want no diversity and no progress at all.

Many say conservatives are close-minded and uncompassionate. I say hogwash. But it is difficult for the majority of Americans to disagree because all they hear of political issues are from the liberal media telling them how to think. They convince themselves they don't NEED to believe otherwise. Another issue anti-conservatists cannot stand is their stance on trying to uphold the moral status of our country. "But" you may say, "you don't understand how it feels to be pregnant with a 90% chance the child’s eyes will be blue. An abortion is the only option there is."

Since the left has been particularly strong -- over the last thirty years in particular, but really through most of the 20th century -- in eroding a lot of traditional institutions and moving the status quo into the realm of an activist government, conservatives are now in the strange position of aggressive reformers, pointing the way to private solutions to problems that have only grown under supervision by public authorities. There are some elements of conservativism that irk me, but their most articulate advocates are compelling in their logic on 99% of the issues. For people who think that these folks are by nature stuffy and unfun, you should check out Jonah Goldberg's great column on National Review Online (where most everything is amusing and on-target at the same time).