I used to describe myself as being conservative because I weigh the alternatives before acting, I do a rough cost-benefit analysis before purchasing, and I consider the consequences before deciding. Clearly, I am not impulsive. Doesn’t that inherently mean that I am a “conservative”? Lately, I have started to wonder. There are plenty of impulsive actions coming out of our Conservative Party. Then, how can they call themselves “Conservatives”? Could it be that there is one definition for fiscal and social conservatism and another for political conservatism? I looked to Merriam-Webster for answers.

Merriam-Webster definition of “conservative”

Merriam-Webster defines political conservatism as a philosophy preferring an existing situation to change and lists die-hardism and traditionalism as synonyms and open-mindedness and progressivism as antonyms. I like to think that I am open-minded and progressive, not someone who does something just because it has always been done that way.  Therefore, I must be politically liberal and socially and fiscally conservative. But why wouldn’t the term “conservative” mean the same thing in all instances?

Conservative versus Liberal – What’s the Difference. www.walled-in-berlin.com

What the term “conservative” means to Americans

According to my research, there is no agreement whatsoever on the definition of the term “conservative”. In a 2012 Atlantic Magazine article, Conor Friedersdorf questioned members of the American public and ended up with twenty-one definitions for the meaning of the word. Here are what Americans said “conservative” meant to them:

1. An aversion to rapid change; a belief that tradition and prevailing social norms often contain within them handed down wisdom; and mistrust of attempts to remake society so that it conforms to an abstract account of what would be just or efficient.
2. A desire to preserve the political philosophy and rules of government articulated in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
3. A belief that it is imperative to preserve traditional morality, as it is articulated in the Bible, through cultural norms.
4. A belief that it is imperative to preserve traditional morality, as it is articulated in the Bible, using cultural norms and the power of the state.
5. An embrace of free-market capitalism, and a belief in the legitimacy of market outcomes.
6. A belief that America is an exceptional nation, a shining city on a hill, whose rightful role is leader of the free world.
7. A belief that America should export its brand of democracy through force of arms.
8. The conviction that government should undertake, on behalf of the American society, grand projects that advance our “national greatness” and ennoble our characters.
9. An embrace of localism, community and family ties, human scale, and a responsibility to the future.
10. A belief that America shouldn’t intervene in the affairs of other nations except to defend ourselves from aggression and enforce contracts and treaties.
11. The desire to return to the way things once were.
12. Affinity for, identification with, or embrace of Red America’s various cultural cues. (For example, gun ownership, a preference for single-family homes oriented around highways rather than urban enclaves organized around public transit, embrace of country music, disdain for arugula and fancy mustard, etc.)
13. Disdain for American liberalism, multiculturalism, identity politics, affirmative action, welfare, European-style social policies, and the left and its ideas generally.
14. A desire to be left alone by government, often coupled with a belief that being left alone is a natural right.
15. A principled belief in federalism.
16. The belief that taxes should be lower and government smaller.
17. The belief that the national debt and deficits put America in peril.
18. The belief that whenever possible, government budgets should be balanced.
19. Consciousness of the fallibility of man, and an awareness of the value of skepticism, doubt and humility.
20. Realism in foreign policy.
21. Non-interventionism in foreign policy.

No wonder we have trouble communicating if we can’t even agree on the underlying meaning of the words we use. This is election time! What does that say relative to our voting behavior?

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic or current events, people, places or food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.