What does it mean to be a real conservative in America today? For rational people, it has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with personal values and personal choices. It has to do with the voluntary decisions of individuals and families and communities.
The things in America which are worth conserving were built on the social values that I still believe in. Personal morality. Voluntary choice. Individual responsibility. The Protestant work ethic. Trust in neighbors. Strong families. Giving and charity.
Those are not political issues. Those are personal choices that individuals, families and communities voluntarily lived out over many years as they built this country.
There were plenty of poor choices, too. There were plenty of evil and selfish people who were part of the story. But without conservative social values at the core of families and communities, the best parts of America never would have existed.
The morally powerful nation which grew on this continent from a mixture of ethnic and national origins came together in spite of politicians, not because of them. Everything that was good about America came from the bottom up — from those with conservative personal values.

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