Conservatism for My Grandchildren

By Oliver W. Porter

There are many shades of Conservatism in our society. This book relates the Conservative principles of the author, and is a good guide for anyone interested in the motivation of Conservatives.

Approximately 36 percent of citizens in the United States currently identify as Conservatives. Much larger than those who identify as either Progressives or Independents.

If you are interested in the governance of our nation, you should want to know the principles that underlie each of these philosophies.

Conservatism is based on the Constitution. That document forged over a period of months, is a work of genius that could only have flowed into the founders’ minds as a gift of God. Considering all that has changed in the years since the drafting of the Constitution, it is a miracle that the document with only twenty-five enduring amendments is still a viable and vibrant guide for our nation.

Conservative beliefs in individual freedoms are strongly supported in a number of sections throughout the book.

Other important areas in the book are the portions that support the economic principles that have made the United States strong and prosperous. Conservatives know that Capitalism and the Free Market are the basis for the country’s success, domestically, and in the world market.

Conservatives believe in limited government, and there are sections on the budget, national debt, deficits, re-distribution of wealth, and taxes.

Conservative views on the important issues of the times are explained. These issues include: Foreign policy, national defense, freedom of religion, and information, the rights of states, voting rights, public safety, sanctity of borders, the environment, education and the media. The book concludes with commentary on the current political administration.

The future of America depends upon our values. Conservatives hold to that which has been tried and succeeded.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Feb 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9798823001243

Oliver W. Porter

OLIVER W. PORTER is the author of four previous books on the subject of more efficient and effective services for local government that accrue from contracting with private industry. Oliver started, or advised, ten new cities in Georgia, and a number of cities and counties in other states. Currently, he is involved with the creation and management of a privately owned entity in Central America that has many of the attributes of a new country. Among his charitable interests have been serving as National Chairman of two major health organizations. Oliver has often been referred to as a Renaissance Man. During his very productive life, he has been a corporate executive, entrepreneur, engineer, consultant, artist, athlete, international lecturer, naval officer, founder and leader of many national, state, and local charities, and, of course, author. Oliver Porter earned a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of South Carolina, and an MBA from Georgia State University.

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© 2023 Oliver W. Porter. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  02/20/2023

ISBN: 979-8-8230-0125-0 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-8230-0124-3 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Prologue

I. Constitution

Conservatives support the Constitution

Conservatives believe that individuals should have the maximum freedom possible within the bounds set by of society.

Threats to the Constitution

Conservatives uphold the Rights of States

Conservatives believe in Patriotism

Conservatives are concerned with the loss of America’s Work Ethic

Conservatives believe in an America First Foreign Policy

Conservatives believe in a Strong National Defense

Conservatives believe in Freedom of Religion.

Conservatives believe in Freedom of Information

Conservatives support the American judicial system

Conservatives want non-political Courts

Conservatives believe in Selection on Merit

Government appointments

Merit in Education

Conservatives believe in Public Safety

Homeless problem

Conservatives believe in the right to bear arms for self-defense.

Second Amendment

Conservatives believe in the right to vote

Conservatives believe in the Sanctity of Borders

Environment

Stamp out the myth of man-made climate change

Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Renewable Energy

Climate Reparations

II. Economy

Conservatives believe in Capitalism and the Free Market

The Elements of Capitalism*

Private Property

Profit

Price

Innovation

Division of Labor (Specialization)

Order

Goods and Services

Consumers and Value

Conservatives believe that Socialism is a failed system.

Socialized Medicine

Conservatives believe that Assets should be Earned in the Free

Market

Re-distribution of wealth

Conservatives oppose progressive tax rates

Conservatives believe in Fiscal Responsibility

Inflation

III. Government

Conservatives believe in Limited Government

Government Waste

Public/Private Partnerships

Government by the Bureaucracy

Agency Over-reach

Environmental Protection Agency

An extreme example of Agency over-reach is found in the Consumer Finance Protection Board (CFPB)

Department of Transportation

Conservatives are aware that the nation is in financial danger

National Debt

Interest

Conservatives believe in fiscal constraint

Conservatives believe in a balanced budget

The Budgeting Process

Federal Budget

Spending

Mandatory Spending

Social Security

Medicare and Medicaid

Discretionary Spending

Military Spending

The Deficit

The Deficit Increases the National Debt

The Federal Government Finances the Budget Deficit by Selling Paper

Government Interference with the Free Market

Conservatives believe in Strong Basic Education

Conservatives believe in the right of parents to be informed and involved with their children’s education.

The increasing folly in higher education.

Conservatives support families

Generational values

Conservatives recognize the liberal bias of the main-stream media.

Low IQ celebrities

Social Issues

Conservatives hate lies and we are not very fond of Liars

Biden’s Gaffes

Conclusion

Appendix A: Constitution of the United States with Amendments

Appendix B: List of federal departments and agencies

Acknowledgements

The following individuals are acknowledged for their contribution in editing, proof-reading, and other contributions to the manuscript.

Pat Porter for proof-reading.

Tad Porter for allowing his portrait of me to appear on the cover.

Dedication

To all who believe in American principals and want to make our country return to greatness.

Prologue

This book was started over 15 years ago. It was abandoned at that time because of my extremely heavy work load in establishing new cities in Georgia. I have always regretted not finishing the book. It would have been of more benefit to my grandchildren in their formulative days, but it still may provide some guidance to them as adults.

The book should also be of benefit to anyone who is:

(1) A youth searching for answers.

(2) An adult that wants to know more about conservatism.

(3) A socialist who is ready to repent.

In addition to the purpose of providing guidance, this book is an effort to set forth my personal beliefs and principles, as a Conservative, in a clear and forthright manner. Every man should do that!

Who am I to try to be the arbiter of Conservative principles?

Well, no one, to enunciate rules for everyone, but the only expert concerning my own conservative principles! I have no advanced degrees in political science or constitutional law, but I have 86 years of experience in forming, and living, by conservative doctrines.

I adopted and applied those values to all of my early life, with enough success to be able to retire comfortably at age 53. For the 33 succeeding years, I have been free to serve others in leading and even founding several charitable organizations on a local, state and national level. Maybe, and of most importance, I have had the time and resources to enjoy my family, friends and myself!

For a happy life, I recommend Conservatism.

It seems that I have been a Conservative since birth, at least since I was old enough to spell Conservative. At first that only meant obeying my parents, then the school rules which morphed into honoring the law.

Personal growth and experience brought me to the conclusion that the Constitution of the United States was the greatest document ever conceived for governance. Nothing has happened to lead me to doubt that conclusion.

So, I am an unabashed Constitutionalist, but there is more to being a Conservative than that.

There are many different kinds of Conservatives. For those who profess Conservatism, it is necessary to dig into their principles to understand where they really stand. Since you are reading this book, it is important to understand what kind of Conservative I am. Basically, my conservative principles are in three major areas: I am a (1) constitutional, (2) economic, and (3) governmental conservative. I am not a conservative on all social issues. This book therefore deals with the principles in the nature of the first three areas and not the last.

The content of the book is broken up into three sections that specifically address topics that are relevant, and amplify, these three pertinent areas of Conservatism.

First it is necessary to provide a definition of Conservatism. To properly understand that philosophy will require comparisons to alternative philosophies, such as communism, socialism, liberal, progressive and woke systems.

Definition: Throughout the book the use of various titles will be interchangeably ascribed to individuals, or groups, that are in opposition to conservative principals. These titles are: liberal, progressive, socialist, communist, leftist and woke. To the author, all mean substantially the same. The nexus of all their goals is centralized government.

The dictionary defines conservative as one who holds to traditional views.

Not a bad starting point, but in today’s political scene, conservatism is a lot more. To establish traditional views, one must go back to a starting point. For Americans that point is the founding of our country.

America was unique in its beginning and remains so today, even in the face of many who would erode our system and the corresponding success.

Started by the genius of our founding fathers, the United States is a Republic. While a republic has similarities to a democracy, it differs in this respect. A republic is governed by elected representatives who are expected to represent the will of the people, but also, are allowed to exercise their own judgement in carrying out that will. Sometimes the exercise of that responsibility can deviate substantially from the majority desires of the citizens.

I

CONSTITUTION

Conservatives support the Constitution

Our republic form of government, was drafted by our founding fathers in the form of a Constitution. Passed in 1787, the Constitution of the United States (appendix A) is an amazing document. At that time, it was unique in the annals of history. To this day, it remains the bedrock of our nation’s success. One of its unique and important features is that the Constitution provided a method for changing itself. This feature resulted in twenty-seven amendments to date. The 18th (prohibition) was repealed by the 21st, so effectively there have been only twenty-five enduring changes in the life of the Constitution – amazing.

The Constitution lives on almost two and one-half centuries after being approved, as the most innovative and important governmental document ever created. It has been able to stand the test of time, weathering, and even benefitting from intensive debate, and sometimes, opposition by individuals and groups of learned people. One unique characteristic of the constitution is that the drafters had the vision to include the possibility for changes, and methodology to accomplish such changes, by future generations. They also showed wisdom in making it difficult to amend foolishly. The requirement for three-fourths of the states to ratify an amendment has eliminated short term shifts in political control and ill-conceived policies from being able to amend the fundamental law of the land. This inherent path to amend was, and, I believe may still be unique among the nations of the world.

As a new and unique form of government our nation had to prove itself. Not only did the U. S. survive, but it forged ahead to become the world leader in economic and political matters. We sought to be- in the terms of President Reagan – a shining city on the hill, a beacon for the free people of the world.

There was a brief decade following the second World War in which the U. S. had the opportunity to rule the entire world. As the only superpower standing after the war, and the only country with the atomic bomb, the U.S. could have by military and economic might, have demanded the subjugation of any and all other nations. Our country did not choose to do so. The first time in history that any nation made that choice.

Instead, we used the country’s resources to rebuild other nations, both enemies and allies, that had been devastated by the war.

History will decide if we made the right choice.

So, the basis for holding conservative views; one that upholds tradition is the Constitution. Beyond that Conservatives are pragmatic. We hold to that which has worked. In economic terms, the free market and capitalism have proven to be the best systems to provide for the welfare of the nation. The aphorism a rising tide lifts all boats is true. As the nation’s economy has prospered with the free market and capitalism, the citizens have experienced improvements in their circumstances. The poverty level in the U. S. would be the envy of many countries whose citizenry struggle to reach the level of the poorest in this nation.

In contrast, other economic theories have proven to be failures; communism, and its companion socialism, have never provided the standard of living to the citizenry as have been experienced under free market capitalism.

The undergirding principles of communism and socialism are central planning and redistribution of assets In the U. S., the Democrat party tried for years to substitute liberalism as the label for their system instead of communism or socialism. This has apparently not been successful in hiding their real nature, so a recent attempt has been made to re-brand liberals as progressives. They seem to think that progressive has a more positive sound to it.

It is putting lipstick on a pig.

There is no one, or group, in the world that has proven to be competent to do central planning for a major economy. The complexities of the market and potential externalities make the task overwhelming. Yet, the progressives keep trying to take the U. S. in that direction. A short anecdote: some years ago, after I had implemented a number of new cities in the state of Georgia, a delegation of government officials from the Republic of Georgia visited with me. After I briefed them on my model of providing all city services through contracts with private industry, instead of the traditional method of establishing a bureaucracy, they asked me who did your central planning?. When I responded no one, they then asked how did you know how to do it? My answer was I didn’t, I just did it. It was inconceivable to those high-level government officials, being only a few years removed from behind the Iron curtain of communism, that anyone could have that kind of freedom.

Which brings us to the heart of our nation’s success – freedom.

Above all else, our nation’s founders treasured freedom and tried to ensure it in the Constitution.

Conservatives believe that individuals should have the maximum freedom possible within the bounds set by of society.

Economic and political freedoms have allowed, and encouraged, individual creativity, innovation, the accumulation of assets and risk taking. All of these elements have under-penned our growth as a nation. Most of these elements are self-evident, but to be a positive factor, risk must of necessity be coupled with reward. Our economic system offers the opportunity to gain and maintain assets when the taking of a risk pays off. Inferior systems such as socialism fail because they take away the reward for innovating and risk taking, and therefore the incentive to work, be a creator, or take risks.

Re-distribution of wealth defies all the principles of Conservatism, a discussion of the dangers of the re-distribution of wealth that will be outlined, and covered in more detail later in the subsequent sections of the book. (Page 53)

Threats to the Constitution

The great danger to the Constitution is the liberals’ tendency to ignore the supreme law of the land as well as state and local laws. Rather than seek to overturn laws by proper means, they simply choose to flaunt the law: either by misinterpretation, or outright breaking of the law. Such behavior is justified by them on the statement that times have changed or that some greater moral code exists that by their thinking over-rides the law. Such is the basis for anarchy that will, if left unchallenged, bring down any society.

We have seen the evidence of that behavior in the past several years (2020 – 2022) years, as unlawful demonstrations have been allowed to grow into riots and even the occupation of major areas of some of our more liberal cities.

The genesis of this movement toward a disregard for the law began in the 1960’s. Prior to that time, there was more patriotism and unity among our citizens. Then the parallel civil rights movements and