Conservatism is a philosophy of compassion that millions of Americans embrace, but communicate ineffectively. Compassion is "to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty." Albert Einstein knew that the way to a person's heart is not logic and facts, but compassion. Compassion is what shows others that you care- actually care. Saying you care is not enough to convince people that you're compassionate. You must embrace and live out compassion. "Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others" (Colossians 3:12-13). Living out compassion politically means communicating our values lovingly with a pointed purpose of helping people.
Most Americans associate the words compassion and empathy with the democratic party and political liberalism. Sadly, conservatives are often labeled materialistic and heartless. Actually, the conservative ideology is far from being evil. Conservatives often express their intent poorly. We often focus on economic arguments, explaining how our policies will grow the economy, lower taxes, and reduce regulation. Of course, I agree with these policies, but I believe as compassionate people we need to change the way we communicate our principles. Instead of sounding as if we are solely for the wealthiest earners in America, we need to express that we also care about ordinary people and have their best interests at heart. Economic arguments should follow compassionate statements, not precede them. People don't care about what you have to say until they know you care. Now it's time to load the cannon of a compassionate philosophy that is aimed at helping lift people out of subsistent poverty and motivate others to achieve their purpose and greatness in life. We will begin with entrepreneurialism.
Republican candidates have a tendency to tell stories of rags-to-riches: how a poor individual became a wealthy executive. However, sociologist Arthur Brooks mentions that most people will never attain that level of material wealth. Instead, Brooks believes we should tell the story of how entrepreneurialism equips ordinary Americans with purpose. The spirit of free-enterprise unleashes the creativity and diligence of people to meet the needs and wants of others. When utilizing our creative talents, we often find greater happiness because we maximize the gifts we were born with. Subsistence welfare only provides people with basic material needs, not dignity and worth that work and entrepreneurialism offer. Academic elites frown upon capitalism, claiming it transfers wealth from the poor and middle classes to the wealthiest in society. This couldn't be further from the truth.
Capitalism requires entrepreneurs to be innovative- to design new products and services that improve the quality of life for millions of Americans. Steve Jobs proved this point when he brought forth the iPhone to the market. He didn't transfer wealth from poor Americans to wealthier individuals- instead, he created wealth. Jobs also raised the standard of living for ordinary people by improving multiple aspects of life, ranging from entertainment, communication, and professional work. He innovated a product that made many tasks in life easier. Your iPhone can record your to-do-list, be an alarm, provide computer-like functions, and communicate with billions of people worldwide. This is the power of entrepreneurialism.
In showing compassion to people, conservatives could talk about how conservative policies promote entrepreneurialism. The entrepreneur spirit is often stifled by regulatory burdens, higher tax rates, corporatism, and many other government intervening actions. The role of the government is to assist, not prohibit, free-enterprise. When tax rates are so heavy for small businesses, the ability to compete with larger corporations who have armies of tax lawyers is stifled. Competition is the driving force behind innovation. By competing with each other, businesses must employ creativity to meet people's needs and wants. Conservatives love to talk about lower taxes, but often fail to demonstrate how lower taxes benefit people. Regulations also affect commercial creativity. Two types of regulation exist, those that have a neutral or beneficial effect on entrepreneurialism and those that harm it. The Government Accountability Office annually reports that millions of tax dollars are wasted on unnecessary regulations. Since regulations impose a cost on businesses because they need to use more time, talent, and money to meet them, eliminating or improving the unnecessary regulations would assist free-enterprise. Compassionate politics would eliminate burdensome regulations. Conservatives could communicate that to America.
When the French aristocrat, Alexis De Tocqueville, visited America in the 19th century, he observed the hard-working entrepreneurial spirit many Americans had. Tocqueville said, "consider any individual at any period of his life, and you will always find him preoccupied with fresh plans to increase his comfort." As Tocqueville observed, America deviated from the conquest ethic, the traditional mechanism to obtain wealth. Instead, America embraced the freedom of democratic capitalism. Through wealth creation, any American with the skills and motivation could earn success. Today, conservatives often pinpoint their mission to reduce regulations and lower tax rates. However, we've failed to persuade others that our policies would help people. Our mission is not to fight government bureaucracy. Our purpose is to help people. Defending freedom and attacking onerous regulations are only tools to achieve the purpose. Encouraging Americans to be independent and find work would be the best way to persuade America that we care. The American Enterprise Institute has observed that work brings more happiness to people's lives than a subsistent welfare check. Conservatives should defend a safety-net for those truly in need but work hard to help people not rely on it. That's how we show America that we care.
The ideology of compassion doesn't end with entrepreneurialism and work. Conservatives also believe in school choice. We believe that parents and students should determine the school best for them. Since the inception of the Department of Education, critical thinking, writing, and mathematical skills have declined. Bureaucracy hasn't helped poor families with its educational system; rather it has been narrowly focused on teacher unions and employees. With school choice, we put the power of education in the hands of the parents and their children. Low-income and minority families should be able to send their children to better performing schools without having the government get in the way. As opposed to focusing on teacher unions and low-performing teachers, conservatives should communicate to America about how we want to help low-income families choose better schools.
Conservatives have a habit of using mean-spirited rhetoric against our ideological opponents. Fighting as an opposition only perpetuates the misperception America has about us. Our philosophy isn't as cruel as many believe, we just fail to communicate our principles effectively. It's time that we fight for people instead of spewing negative messages. Speak boldly, but be filled with compassion. Let's conserve the compassion that our founders held for America!
