General Discussion

kpete

(72,018 posts) Sat Apr 28, 2018, 09:24 AM Apr 2018

Conservatives Will Never Get the Respect They Crave. They Don't Deserve It.

Conservatives Will Never Get the Respect They Crave. They Don’t Deserve It.
by David Atkins April 28, 2018
...............

Conservatism is fundamentally about preserving current in-group power structures and maintaining established social hierarchies. It keeps the powerful in power, and keeps the downtrodden underfoot. Insofar as government helps keep rich, powerful white men rich and powerful, conservatives love it and rally around the flag. Insofar as it helps equalize the balance of power, they despise it and want to drown it in a bathtub.This has always been the case for conservatism throughout history across the globe (replace “white” with “relevant regional powerful ethnic/religious majority” and it applies in all cases), and it has never been more true than of American conservatism today under Trump.

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And just what are these traditions the modern conservative wants respected?They’re very rarely stated out loud, and when they are it’s usually in code: family, God, country. But dig deeper and it’s the sort of deplorable stuff that no one involved in the creation of culture would ever want to countenance: that women should serve as obedient reproductive vessels; that white men are biologically and culturally superior to others; that the ability of corporate executives to get rich from polluting air and exploiting workers is a greater freedom than that of communities not to be poisoned and abused; that it’s the inherent right of powerful countries to bomb less powerful ones and steal their resources; that being rich is a sign of divine favor, and the poor deserve their plight; and so on.

These are bad ideas. They are deplorable. They appeal to our baser instincts, and they preserve the power of society’s abusers at the expense of its victims. In every case, the hindsight of history looks with displeasure on those who defended such things. And in every case, the heroes are not only the activists, but also the culture bringers who pushed slowly but surely to drag societies into a better place.

It doesn’t matter how many elections conservatives win, or how much power they hold. Politics is downstream of culture, and they will never get the cultural respect they crave.

They don’t deserve it, those who shape our culture will never give it to them, and with the rise of a more progressive generation than ever, even corporate power is shifting to acknowledge the views of its customers. The battle for the soul of America is already over until the next realignment, and today’s conservatives know it. It’s just going to take a few more elections for it to filter through the system.

the rest:
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2018/04/28/conservatives-will-never-get-the-respect-they-crave-they-dont-deserve-it/

11 replies

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Highlight:

Conservatives Will Never Get the Respect They Crave. They Don't Deserve It. (Original Post) kpete Apr 2018 OP

Conservatives are hell-bent on destroying our country to further enrich the oligarchs. dalton99a Apr 2018 #1

Thanks for write-up and bringing articles to DU... SWBTATTReg Apr 2018 #2

Like it or not, there are tens of millions of conservatives in this country elocs Apr 2018 #3

"conservatives" is an Cha Apr 2018 #4

I have a friend who is conservative Phoenix61 Apr 2018 #5

They're impossible to reassure anyway, like any revolutionary power. Mc Mike Apr 2018 #6

K and R BadgerMom Apr 2018 #7

Righteous rant on Wonkette about this: tanyev Apr 2018 #8

That was great. Bill Maher's open letter to Roseanne was great as well. Initech Apr 2018 #9

Great essay. Great post ProfessorPlum Apr 2018 #10

They don't crave respect, they crave power. CrispyQ Apr 2018 #11

dalton99a

(81,591 posts)

1. Conservatives are hell-bent on destroying our country to further enrich the oligarchs.

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Sat Apr 28, 2018, 09:34 AM

Apr 2018

They are treasonous scumbags who deserve a one-way ticket to Russia

SWBTATTReg

(22,166 posts)

2. Thanks for write-up and bringing articles to DU...

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Sat Apr 28, 2018, 09:34 AM

Apr 2018

All through out history these so called 'conservatives' have abused the meaning of what being a conservative is, and are now attempting to paint all of them as 'conservative', when in short, they are racist, don't want to pay any tax what-so-ever, don't serve this country as so many others do but instead, feel like they are entitled to bitch and moan about everything. Hypocrites.

They have tarnished the conservative brand forever more, by not stepping up to the plate and speaking out against the current ongoing excesses of this republican congress and idiotic president. I guess the only things that will work is a GOTV blue tsunami, criminal convictions by the dozens, and protests by the thousands constantly ...

Don't preach to me anymore...hypocrites.

elocs

(22,609 posts)

3. Like it or not, there are tens of millions of conservatives in this country

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Sat Apr 28, 2018, 09:37 AM

Apr 2018

and they're not going anywhere. And if Liberals and the Left are not vigilant, conservatives will be back in power again because for many if not even most Republicans, voting is a duty and not just something they do if they are motivated or excited. If the Left breaks into little factions because too many believe the Big Lie that both Democrats and Republicans are just the same, conservatives will be back in power. But even when not in power, conservatives will be here so we had better be prepared to deal with it.

Cha

(297,692 posts)

4. "conservatives" is an

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Sat Apr 28, 2018, 09:39 AM

Apr 2018

euphemism for traitorous assholes who steal from the poor to give to the billionaires.

Phoenix61

(17,019 posts)

5. I have a friend who is conservative

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Sat Apr 28, 2018, 10:36 AM

Apr 2018

He's not a bad guy but has spent his life wearing blinders. We got to talking about the Andy Griffith Show. He said things were better back then. People had morals, respect for government, etc. and asked me if I agreed with him. I told him they were better for white males but not for anyone else. What followed was an energetic conversation. He is fearful of the world changing into a place he doesn't understand or know how to navigate. He sees the 50's as a time when rules were clearly defined and strictly enforced by society. Sadly, he doesn't recognize how those rules he admires negatively impacted everyone who wasn't a white male. I'm hopeful he'll get it one day.

Mc Mike

(9,115 posts)

6. They're impossible to reassure anyway, like any revolutionary power.

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Sat Apr 28, 2018, 10:37 AM

Apr 2018

BadgerMom

(2,771 posts)

7. K and R

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Sat Apr 28, 2018, 12:21 PM

Apr 2018

tanyev

(42,618 posts)

8. Righteous rant on Wonkette about this:

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Sat Apr 28, 2018, 12:32 PM

Apr 2018

You’re right, I DO DISRESPECT YOU. But not because I’m on The Blue Team and you’re on The Red Team. I look down on you because your ideas are TERRIBLE. I don’t want #ConservativeTears. I want you to stop being selfish assholes who think that your right to carry an assault rifle, freeload off the nation’s healthcare infrastructure, and teach your kids that the Sky God opposes premarital sex is more important than our collective safety, health and education.

You could have stayed the party of John McCain. You chose to be the party of Sarah Palin. You chose race baiting and gay bashing. You didn’t want to pay for schools, so you demonized teachers. You didn’t want to pay for healthcare, so you pretended being able to go to the doctor was an assault on liberty. You didn’t want to piss off the fossil fuel companies, so you invented an evil cabal of scientists perpetuating a global warming hoax. And you didn’t want to be subjected to a real debate, so you got Fox and Sinclair to flood the plain with invective and lies.

And you were so good at it! You actually convinced people that they could have $25 VCRs and a viable American manufacturing sector. That we could buy strawberries for two dollars a pound that were picked by American citizens. That raising the minimum wage would actually make people poorer.

Only you overshot and wound up with Trump. And he is burning your house to the ground.

Read more at https://wonkette.com/633162/we-dont-want-conservativetears-we-want-a-functioning-government#2IeWt0ZfkAuWE4DH.99