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Entry: The Pragmatism of Russell Kirk Link: http://www.takimag.com/site/article/the_pragmatism_of_russell_kirk#3665 Post contents: Hasn't conservatism in many ways only become an entrenchment of yesterday's revolution? 1950s conservatives (e.g. Kirk, Weaver, Buckley, et alii) opposed the civil rights movement, opposed desegregation, opposed miscegenation, and opposed the very concept of political equality; Weaver openly defended the KKK. Neocons and mainstream "conservatives" today, and the occasional Sid Cundiff, however, preach the opposite, defending a perverted form of 1950s liberalism, the very thing conservatives originally opposed. Just read National Review writers defending MLK, equality, human rights, diversity, bla bla bla, and condemning racism, nativism, bla bla bla. Of course I'm saying nothing new here. Paleos have written many articles on this very topic. But if conservatism is something more than defending yesterday's revolution (a form of 1950s liberalism), then what is it? Some want to regress into a form of 'culture', but 'culture' is largely a creation of the 19th century (e.g. by the likes of Matthew Arnold, et al.). Perhaps there is not _a_ conservatism, if it is based in tradition, but various forms, based in various traditions. Cicero inevitably equated his natural law in Roman ancestral tradition (the mos maiorum), with 'ancestral' being the operative word here. If conservatism is to be greater than yesterday's revolution, then why not turn towards the venerable traditions of our ancestors? Perhaps for some such traditions will be Anglo or Celtic, for others Germanic, et al. Regardless, as products of the UK or Europe, we certainly have more in common with each other than we do with many others, especially the third-world invaders that are taking over our country. Although some non-Westerners may appreciate Western Civilization, it is not an ancestral tradition. For us Westerners, it is both a source of appreciation and an ancestral tradition. I'm rambling on here, and will stop, as non of the above ideas are adequately developed, but maybe you can get a sense of what I'm saying. Traditional conservative societies always had a respect for the 'ancestral'. Perhaps it's time to bring this back. Sent at: 2008 09 06