American conservatism is at stake

President Trump told the entire country for months that he knew nothing about the payment to Stormy Daniels and that we should “ask Michael,” referring to his personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who had also stated publicly that he made the payment without the president’s knowledge. Then, Rudy Giuliani revealed that the president not only knew about it but repaid Cohen. In essence, it appears that the president may have misled the public, over and over again, about the payments. Among my various issues with Donald Trump since he announced his candidacy, the biggest is that he is not a true conservative. He appears to lack a real understanding of what conservatism means and does not seem to care about values or traditions. It also appears that he doesn’t care about admitting to making mistakes and seeking absolution. As he stated on his campaign, “I don’t like to have to ask for forgiveness.”

The president should recognize that we all fall short of God’s grace and must repent for our shortcomings because no one is perfect. Yet, he does not appear to believe that is necessary. There is nothing conservative about this disposition because true conservatives recognize that humans are imperfect and that it is an innate part of our nature to make mistakes and seek forgiveness.

At this point, it becomes difficult to argue that Trump is hurting not only the Republican Party but conservatism as an authentic political ideology. It is also clear that the silence of many Republicans who have acquiesced to him also are playing a role in the demise of conservative ideology. A lack of a “posteriori” knowledge of conservatism coupled with a lack of “priori” knowledge has resulted in the intellectual decline of conservatism. The experience of the president is not that of a man who has been willing to expand his knowledge of conservatism, nor is it of one who at least has a cursory understanding of the universal truth that human nature is flawed. If it was, Trump would have never believed it was okay to mislead Americans about a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels. Many people believe his word because he is the president and, when a president speaks, he does so with great command. Instead, he has let down each and every one of those people who gave him the benefit of the doubt. When you reflect on the current state of conservatism in the United States, there can be no doubt or confusion about it being an ideology that is in contempt of its former self. Consequently, we must acknowledge its current state of disarray in order to correct its course and preserve it. Conservatism must remain driven by reason and logic as a guiding force for the traditional norms that it advocates, while being careful not to force itself on others indiscriminately. The conservative ideology of today has nothing to do with the real conservative philosophy of Ronald Reagan or great thinkers and writers such as William Buckley or George Will. Instead, it is a worldview that finds itself on an express train heading off a cliff. This is not a result of well-founded critical objections to the original conservative doctrine but because, as Immanuel Kant said, “ignorance, with paralogisms of reason” have combined to create a new ideology of unthinking unreason. My concern for the direction of conservatism as a result of Trump is not out of disdain for the president, because he was duly elected by the people, but out of concern for the future when he is no longer in office. To stay true to its historical and philosophical roots, American conservatism must continue not only to advocate for the limited role of government but also for a return to the values that should govern all men and women, such as the truth. Conservatism must remain rational and informed by empirical facts, logic, and a deep understanding and respect for values and traditions such as decency, respect and the truth, which should govern all people. Conservatism must once again embrace “fact to mystery, limited to unbounded, sufficient to the superabundant and convenient to the perfect,” as once noted by conservative philosopher Michael Oakeshott. In order to survive, American conservatism must represent the highest ideals of our country and of human relations. Yet, right now, we’re an ideology in search of direction.