For a while, I have struggled with what to do with this blog. My road to becoming an American historian was not an easy one. If you asked me what I wanted to do with my life when I was in high school, teaching at a community college would not have been my answer. In my second semester at Northwestern State University – the fall of 1996, an American history professor changed my life. It also explains why I have such a strong interest in returning to conservative blogging.
During one of his lectures, he blamed the problems faced by the nation in the late 1990s on many groups. The groups holding the country back were veterans, Christians, and others he described as too stupid to understand progressivism. He believed that as long as the nation tolerated those people, it would never become a utopia.
Fast-forward to the past few years…
I feel that something happened towards the end of the second term of the George W. Bush years. There was a strong undercurrent of intolerance growing – but not from the Right. We have seen increasing intolerance from the Left. For too long, Conservatives and our leadership within the Republican Party haven’t confronted it. We have allowed the Left to define what conservatism means. The Left has also defined who conservatives are. And they have labeled us as the enemy of the people and progress. Sadly, we have been silent, not wanting to confront the Left – not even for open discussion about what conservatism means.
Now we are facing an uphill battle. Make no mistake about it – I am a conservative first, Republican second. As a conservative, one of my obligations is to return to conservative blogging.
What I mean by conservative blogging
One of my passions is the study of the late colonial era (1700 to 1775) and the early republic (1775 to about). Many will immediately focus on the nation’s many problems, such as slavery, inequality for both women and those few free African-Americans. My interest is not there; it is the intellectual historybehind the making of the nation.
My book shelves contains writings from John and Samuel Adams, John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington, among others. What interests me is the visions they had for our nation and how they planned to accomplish it. What I find missing in high school and most college history courses is an attempt to explain how the American experiment is a continuation of the Age of Enlightenment. The relationship between the Enlightenment and the American Revolution will be a frequent topic I plan to share on this blog.
Presenting issues facing our nation from a conservative point of view
Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms are removing conservative content as being controversial. Since the mid-1990s, the Democratic Party and the Left have rapidly moved to the Left, and as a result, conservatives appear to have moved further to the Right. Anything in our hyperpolitical time, not center-left, seems to threaten the common good. This fear of anti-progressivism has happened twice before in our nation’s history.
But has the Conservative movement moved further to the Right? As many on the Left claim, is conservatism the movement of racism, intolerance, and hatred the Left wants it to be? Or, as I believe, does conservatism actually have the answers to the problems of inequality, lack of opportunity, and other related issues. I do think conservatives need to explain and educate why our answer to these problems is better and more humane than offered by the various forms of Marxism now being offered.
Highlighting the difference between conservativism and republicanism
Many in mainstream media and on the Left seem to think that conservatives and Republicans are one and the same. It is just as wrong for conservatives to say that all Democrats are Leftists or Marxists (or Socialists). As an American historian, I warn students not to use broad brush descriptions in my classes. I do think there are more conservatives in both parties than are realized. In Kentucky, there are a lot of people who are registered Democrat who have little in common with the national Democrat platform. They are Democrats because their family has a long history of being Democrat stretching back to before the Civil War. Politically, however, they are socially and economically conservative.
Is it that conservatives need their own political party? I do not think a third party is the answer to the problems faced in the nation. Edmund Burke’s quote, “”The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” applies here. We need to empower independent conservative thinkers. It is also time we define ourselves and refuse to be defined by the terms of our political opponents. We also must refuse the scorn and ridicule of the Republican Party leadership, such as Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY). This is why we need to highlight the difference between conservatism and republicanism.
Conservative blogging with a purpose
What I refuse to do is what I see so many other conservative bloggers do – use it as a platform to bash the Left and its leadership. Yes, with the current Biden administration, it is an easy thing to do. But I would rather have the intellectual discussion of why I disagree with Biden’s policies beyond “Biden’s bad for America.” Let’s put things in perspective with what the nation has done in the past, what has worked, what didn’t work, and base arguments in fact rather than emotion.
Frankly, I have had enough of emotion-driven politics. By the end of President George W. Bush’s second term, we already had a taste of it. And it wasn’t just Liberals resorting to it; even some conservative media commentators resorted to emotion-driven politics for ratings. Much like the blundering generation of politicians of the 1840s and 1850s, we are at a national crossroads again. This time, we have the added power of both social and mainstream media that add additional pressures. What we need are more calm voices to bring facts, solutions, and conservative principles to the forefront. And hopefully I can become one of those many voices.
Alan Simmons is an instructor of history at a community college in Kentucky. He has been involved in education since 1999 and has taught in post-secondary education since 2004.
Conservative first, then a Republican is how I have always identified myself. In all fairness, I have always registered as a Republican since my 18th...
Alan Simmons is an instructor of history at a community college in Kentucky. He has been involved in education since 1999 and has taught in post-secondary education since 2004.
Conservative blogging – my return
Alan Simmons Off Commentary, Off the cuff,
What brought me here – a reintroduction
For a while, I have struggled with what to do with this blog. My road to becoming an American historian was not an easy one. If you asked me what I wanted to do with my life when I was in high school, teaching at a community college would not have been my answer. In my second semester at Northwestern State University – the fall of 1996, an American history professor changed my life. It also explains why I have such a strong interest in returning to conservative blogging.
During one of his lectures, he blamed the problems faced by the nation in the late 1990s on many groups. The groups holding the country back were veterans, Christians, and others he described as too stupid to understand progressivism. He believed that as long as the nation tolerated those people, it would never become a utopia.
Fast-forward to the past few years…
I feel that something happened towards the end of the second term of the George W. Bush years. There was a strong undercurrent of intolerance growing – but not from the Right. We have seen increasing intolerance from the Left. For too long, Conservatives and our leadership within the Republican Party haven’t confronted it. We have allowed the Left to define what conservatism means. The Left has also defined who conservatives are. And they have labeled us as the enemy of the people and progress. Sadly, we have been silent, not wanting to confront the Left – not even for open discussion about what conservatism means.
Now we are facing an uphill battle. Make no mistake about it – I am a conservative first, Republican second. As a conservative, one of my obligations is to return to conservative blogging.
What I mean by conservative blogging
One of my passions is the study of the late colonial era (1700 to 1775) and the early republic (1775 to about). Many will immediately focus on the nation’s many problems, such as slavery, inequality for both women and those few free African-Americans. My interest is not there; it is the intellectual history behind the making of the nation.
My book shelves contains writings from John and Samuel Adams, John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington, among others. What interests me is the visions they had for our nation and how they planned to accomplish it. What I find missing in high school and most college history courses is an attempt to explain how the American experiment is a continuation of the Age of Enlightenment. The relationship between the Enlightenment and the American Revolution will be a frequent topic I plan to share on this blog.
Presenting issues facing our nation from a conservative point of view
Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms are removing conservative content as being controversial. Since the mid-1990s, the Democratic Party and the Left have rapidly moved to the Left, and as a result, conservatives appear to have moved further to the Right. Anything in our hyperpolitical time, not center-left, seems to threaten the common good. This fear of anti-progressivism has happened twice before in our nation’s history.
But has the Conservative movement moved further to the Right? As many on the Left claim, is conservatism the movement of racism, intolerance, and hatred the Left wants it to be? Or, as I believe, does conservatism actually have the answers to the problems of inequality, lack of opportunity, and other related issues. I do think conservatives need to explain and educate why our answer to these problems is better and more humane than offered by the various forms of Marxism now being offered.
Highlighting the difference between conservativism and republicanism
Many in mainstream media and on the Left seem to think that conservatives and Republicans are one and the same. It is just as wrong for conservatives to say that all Democrats are Leftists or Marxists (or Socialists). As an American historian, I warn students not to use broad brush descriptions in my classes. I do think there are more conservatives in both parties than are realized. In Kentucky, there are a lot of people who are registered Democrat who have little in common with the national Democrat platform. They are Democrats because their family has a long history of being Democrat stretching back to before the Civil War. Politically, however, they are socially and economically conservative.
Is it that conservatives need their own political party? I do not think a third party is the answer to the problems faced in the nation. Edmund Burke’s quote, “”The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” applies here. We need to empower independent conservative thinkers. It is also time we define ourselves and refuse to be defined by the terms of our political opponents. We also must refuse the scorn and ridicule of the Republican Party leadership, such as Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY). This is why we need to highlight the difference between conservatism and republicanism.
Conservative blogging with a purpose
What I refuse to do is what I see so many other conservative bloggers do – use it as a platform to bash the Left and its leadership. Yes, with the current Biden administration, it is an easy thing to do. But I would rather have the intellectual discussion of why I disagree with Biden’s policies beyond “Biden’s bad for America.” Let’s put things in perspective with what the nation has done in the past, what has worked, what didn’t work, and base arguments in fact rather than emotion.
Frankly, I have had enough of emotion-driven politics. By the end of President George W. Bush’s second term, we already had a taste of it. And it wasn’t just Liberals resorting to it; even some conservative media commentators resorted to emotion-driven politics for ratings. Much like the blundering generation of politicians of the 1840s and 1850s, we are at a national crossroads again. This time, we have the added power of both social and mainstream media that add additional pressures. What we need are more calm voices to bring facts, solutions, and conservative principles to the forefront. And hopefully I can become one of those many voices.
Alan Simmons
Alan Simmons is an instructor of history at a community college in Kentucky. He has been involved in education since 1999 and has taught in post-secondary education since 2004.
More Posts - Website
Follow Me:
Related
Comments
Tags: Commentary, Conservatism
Related posts
Artificial America and the superficial culture
Conservative first, then a Republican
About The Author
Alan Simmons
Alan Simmons is an instructor of history at a community college in Kentucky. He has been involved in education since 1999 and has taught in post-secondary education since 2004.