But Why Isn’t It?
Every once in a while I read a tremendously thought-provoking book. I find myself stopping every few pages, or even every few paragraphs to digest and process. Nancy Pearcey’s Total Truth was one of those books and it looks as though Rod Dreher’s Crunchy Cons is shaping up to be one as well. All of that to say, expect quite a few posts in the coming weeks dealing with ideas presented in Dreher’s book, beginning today!
Let me preface just by giving a very broad overview of Dreher’s book. He argues that there is a large group of social, economic and political conservatives who simply don’t fit well within the Republican Party. He calls these people “Crunchy Cons,” drawing from the label of many earth/family/agriculture conscious people as “crunchy” and he notes that as soon as many say they are concerned with organic foods, free-range poultry and the like, many simply label them as liberal. Deeper still, Dreher is arguing that the shell the modern Republican Party wears is actually far removed from true conservative thouht, but more on that later.
At one point, Dreher remarks that “This should be a moment of triumph for organized conservatism in America. we have a Republican in the White House, Republicans are in control of both houses of Congress, and the forces of political liberalism are in disarray.” Yet, as Dreher concludes, “It’s a good time to be a Republican, all right . . . so why do I feel so lousy as a conservative, so uneasy about America’s future?”
Dreher follows with an interesting analogy, first noting, “For all our successes at the ballot box, the trajectory the country is on does not inspire confidence”:
“A few years ago, livestock scientist Temple Grandin discovered that many cattle being led to slaughter in a conventional straight-line chute would act up on their way to their demise, but if you presented them with a bovine via dolorosa in the form of a long, gentle curve, they’d move along without protest. The idea is that they couldn’t see far in front of them, and thought they were progressing safely.”
Following on this analogy, Dreher lists several areas of concern. For all the critique of John Kerry as a “flip flopper,” there is an amazing discongruity between what many political conservatives profess and what they live. For example, as Dreher notes, “We conservatives say we value the traditional family, but we don’t act like it. Both parents work in many families, leaving our kids to be raised by day care and the culture.” Or, looking at the broader cultural spectrum, he laments that “We complain that the entertainment media are coarsening our children, but we let them devour television, pop music, video games and other junk culture as if resistance were futile.” Dreher also complains that “We right-wingers grimace at the lust celebrated by mainstream culture, but we rarely stop to think that greed is no less deadly a sin.”
In other words, though “conservatism” has had many recent political successes, the fact that it is based on a shallow foundation ultimately means that the state of the country is no better. Truth be told, it doesn’t matter which party is in control because the “mainstream” is equally corrupt on both sides, simply erring on differing sides of the scale, but that is another discussion altogether.
Dreher’s fundamental argument is that true conservatism resembles very little of what the mainstream Republican Party has come to represent and that is why the country is no better off under Republican control, in fact we find soaring deficits and plummeting approval rates; indeed, something’s rotten in Denmark (or at least D.C.). Ultimately, the problem is that the (almost) purely economic approach to mainstream conservatism not only solves nothing, it creates problems, giving license to big business, alienating the poor.
Much of the problem stems from the fact that many look to conservatism to change people’s lives. Rather, true conservatism flows from a person’s life. Yet many have a legalistic approach to politics, arguing that if we can simply follow certain guidelines then everything will be alright. In the meantime, we sanction the neglect of the family, foster greed and destroy the environment. I’m not so sure it is a good time to be a Republican and we see the nation’s dissatisfaction apparently concurs.
While I won’t argue that everyone should adopt the moniker “Crunchy Con,” wear Birkenstocks (though I do) and homeschool (though we do), we must understand the disconnect between what true conservatism preaches and what mainstream conservatism lives.
Wow! Our family must be crunchy cons. We eat organic when possible; more for health reasons than social reasons. We are not animal rights activists but have several pets and help animals when possible. I can’t recall the number of times we have stopped to help a turtle across the road. My wife once stopped traffic on Hwy 377 to carry a huge turtle across the road! We are environmentally conscience and believe being a good steward of God’s creation goes far beyond not littering.
On the flip side, we did home school for five years but now send our kids to a private Christian school. We never put our kids in day care, and we limit their TV, computer, and video game time and are very involved in what they watch and listen to.
All that to say we might be considered liberal if you only observed certain behaviors. I have become “disenfranchised” from the Republican Party as they say. Many Republican politicians seem to believe they can simply say they hold to Christian and family values and then assume all Christians will pull the lever for them on election day. It is quite hypocritical. At least when the liberal Democrats tell poor people and minorities that they will get all kinds of government handouts when elected to office, they follow through!
sb
Brent,
I do not know if you remember my father-in-law. He is a military man, flat top and all. He is also a democrat. WELL, I remember not long after he got to know me he said,”Kyle, You really are something! Here you come in lookin like a hippie(still had the LONG hair and bushy beard), but then you open you mouth and all of this cnservative mumbo jumbo starts pouring out!”
Still haven’t read the book, but it is at the top of my summer reading list.
I’ve lost all faith and trust in the republican party and deeply regret voting for Bush in both elections. I would never have voted for Kerry though and I think the two party system is ruining real dialouge in this country and the media and other mouthpieces in our culture pander the right or left keeping every one nice and divided into manageable little groups that the elite can control.
Rich and poor. Gay and straight. Secular and sacred. Liberal and conservative. Men and women. Blacks and white. Legal immigrants and illegal immigrants.
Though there are certainly important issues to discuss and debate (and then ACT on) there seems to be little or no action on the federal level except to further burden American citizens with increased federal spending and deficits and the bankrupting of the future for our children coupled with giagantic violations of our constitutional rights via the Patriot Act and domestic wire-tapping.
I think it’s a giant mess and I hope that Christ returns very very soon.
and no I am not a libertarian. I have no idea what political party I fit into now.
argh. thanks for letting me vent. love your blog as always.
Jeremy;
Why aren’t you a Libertarian?
I’ve been reading Harry Browne’s “Why Gov’t Doesn’t Work”. It’s interesting and has great points and even greater ideas about shrinking government but I believe based on the current scope and power of the 2 party system that there is really very little chance (if any at all) that things will change politically here in America without some sort of major event to shake people out of their zombie-like coma and start to demand goverment reform and down-sizing.
People are distracted by personal debts, rising energy prices, healthcare costs (or lack of health care coverage), poor education, an avalanche of illegal immigrants, and general fear during this dark time of “terror”. And I think that people will continue to eat out of the hand that feeds them the false security and false leadership that so many have been duped into supporting in recent years. I think 8 years of Clinton and 8 years of Bush are pretty such the same d@!m thing. That’s assuming Bush doesn’t tear this country into shreads before the end of his term.
I am probably being too pessimistic and should try to believe in the system working and people striving for change by rallying to a noble cause…but alas…look at the next generation and how indebted they are and the general consensus that there is nothing to believe in. It’s a sad and dying scene out there, culturally speaking. But then again the baby-boomers didn’t really lay too solid a foundation. We’re all guilty I think.
So many issues seem to be at a boiling point right now. Gas prices, immigration, Iraq, Iran, declining value of the US Dollar, soaring value of the Chinese Yuan and steady climb of the Euro, the dissappearing Bill of Rights and Constitution, wide-spread fear mongering, etc etc…
It just seems like too big of a behemoth to bring down without some serious painful times ahead that we will all feel.
I’ll vote for anyone that leads a charge for real reform. But who is there?
argh.
So, Pastor, is there a party for Crunchy Cons? I feel like a Crunchy Con, but don’t think I can handle that title! I too cannot tolerate the leadership that I helped elect. The list of complaints is very long, beginning with the ongoing lack of Govt. pressure regarding Chinese oppression of Christians. Darfur. Etc. We who are Crunchy Cons are going to need to think of an alternative name fast! I cannot write that label one more time.
Good Essay. Thank you.
I am attracted to the Libertarian party too, but is that a realistic option?
I don’t like the name “Crunchy Con” either, but at least it’s a good starting point for discussion.
As for the Libertarian Party, I do think that they are becoming more of a realistic option, even if they’re not there yet. Other than that, at this point I’m a one-issue voter. I will vote Pro-Life, and at this point, that I deal with the long list of valid complaints, at least until there is a better option.
I agree with Pastor Brent. Abortion is the single most important issue for me as well because I think so many other areas of our culture are affected by it. Look at what has happened with euthanasia. I don’t believe we would be battling this issue at the state and federal levels if we upheld the sanctity of life from conception.
That is the only reason I have not jumped to the Libertarian party already. I find myself in agreement with most of their platform.
sb