Legislating Virtue

In my post Conservative Fundamentals, I listed three general categories that comprise what Conservatives believe. One of them was Virtue. I attempted to make the point that virtue is a requirement for a Free society.

But Jagwio asked in a comment: "These parts are what I can't wrap my head around: virtue should not be enforced by the state, so it is more of a day-to-day philosophy. How do you intend to spread virtue?"

The irony here is that Conservatives understand that Virtue is a prerequisite for Freedom, because a functioning Free State of Free Citizens requires all sort of presupposed and intrinsic honor system agreements between citizens, and between citizens and government.

When that honor system breaks down it results in more and more laws...which is society's attempt to regain the equilibrium—the Virtue—required for a fully functional Free State.

Of course, the net result is less freedom: The More Laws The Less Freedom.

The further irony is that Conservatives, understanding Virtue to be a prerequisite for Freedom, do not seek laws that coerce citizens to be virtuous after the fact, but seek, rather, to inculcate it culturally.

Indeed, Conservatives find themselves fighting a two-front war in this regard:

1) fighting against coercive laws proposed by Liberals that encourage immorality, unfairness, and non-Virtue

2) then fighting against subsequent coercive laws proposed by Liberals that seek to control the non-virtuousness they themselves legislated, and the vicious cycle of increased immorality and more and more laws to deal with it, resulting in the reality in which we find ourselves today: hedged in by laws, rules and regulations controlling our every act, word and thought.

For example: By insisting on the quota system called Affirmative Action, Liberals coerced people by law to hire and admit into college, unqualified Black people. This is, by definition, a non-Virtuous act of unfairness both to those thrust in positions they are not prepared to cope with, and those who lost jobs and educational opportunities—through no fault or failing of their own—to people less qualified.

Employers and professors became aware that these people were unqualified—unable to meet accepted standards, and acted on this knowledge in ways that sometimes made the unqualified Black people feel bad—they didn't promote them, they didn't pass them, they didn't graduate them, because their performance in work or school did not meet minimal requirements.

The Liberal solution was two-fold 1) make more laws to force people to stop acting in ways that made unqualified Black people feel bad, and to 2) lower standards so that unqualified Blacks were able to meet them—i.e., subsidizing incompetence.

The net results are 1) unqualified Black people with positions and degrees they don't deserve; 2) all Black people under the cloud of suspicion that their degrees or positions are unearned and unmerited; 3) intrusive laws censoring and controlling the speech, actions and thoughts of citizens, in an attempt to prevent them from making unqualified, incompetent, and under-achieving Blacks feel bad.

Race relations have deteriorated, more blacks than ever are failing to meet the even lower standards to graduate high school, and everyone has the yoke of more law on their necks determining what they can do, say and think. This is the inevitable and invariable result of Liberal governance—the after the fact attempt to legislate (their notions of) morality, while steadfastly refusing to culturally inculcate Virtue in the form of a strong work ethic, personal responsibility, industriousness, self-reliance, discipline and the desire for excellence.

What you subsidize you get more of. By legally subsidizing failure, irresponsibility, laziness, dependence and incompetence—non-Virtue—Liberals make more of it, and then pass more laws to manage it, which makes yet more of it, which requires more laws...a vicious cycle of bad behavior and an ever-increasing body of laws that do nothing but inhibit and limit liberty.

Conservatives are against the initial immoral, non-Virtuous act of Racial Quotas, and against all the controlling, invasive laws that proceed from it. Their solution is 1) create an environment in which unqualified Blacks that wish to, can become qualified through their own effort, 2) that Blacks who are qualified be hired or admitted to college fairly and without prejudice as their qualifications merit, 3) retain the high standards that ensure excellence, thereby leaving no doubt that any Black who meets them, is indeed, excellent!

The net result would be the undeniable recognition that Blacks can succeed equally; that all Blacks with college degrees would be assumed to have earned them rather than suspected of being unqualified beneficiaries of favoritism and lowered standards; that Black employees would be hired on merit and ability like everybody else, contribute equally to the workplace, and never be resented by co-workers or employers for inability, incompetence or preferential treatment.

From this flows a natural human recognition of equal ability, achievement and excellence, and the commensurate respect.

And all this can be done without passing a single law. The greatest reformers do not pass laws. They change minds. The call to higher good, virtue, decency and morality is strong—and changes hearts. And a change of heart is the only thing that will change a person or a people.

Conservatives do not propose laws to force people to go to church. But Liberals pass laws to force people to hire transvestites.

Conservatives to not propose laws to make it illegal to have sex outside of marriage. But iberals pass laws that force children to be taught about homosexuality in 3rd grade.

Conservatives do not propose laws to make it illegal for gay men to have sex with each other. But Liberals pass laws that force society to recognize gay marriage.

Conservatives do not propose laws controlling private legal behavior. But Liberals pass laws that force the owner of every business to forbid smoking in his privately-owned establishment, regardless of his wishes or those of his customers.

Conservatives do not propose laws forbidding Atheist evangelicals from preaching their faith in public schools. Liberals pass laws forbidding Christians to speak a word of their belief in public schools.

Who is legislating morality? Who is attempting to coerce, through the power of the State...i.e., at the point of a gun, people to act in ways they deem morally virtuous?

Liberals.

They regularly violate the liberty of millions of people in their crusading quest to disallow anything that contradicts their narrow, twisted idea of morality. They seek to control our actions, our speech and even our thought. And they have largely accomplished it.

It is true that virtue cannot be legislated. But it is also true, in contradiction to Liberal protestation to the contrary, it is they who attempt it endlessly. And when they can't win their way in the legislature, they turn to the court to enforce it by fiat.

The role of Conservatives, as always, is to stand and say "NO!" to this undermining of our principles and the Virtue requisite for a Free People. Almost everything proposed by Conservatives involves rescinding a law, repealing a law, or decreasing the power or reach of a law. They what to de-regulate, de-tax, repeal speech codes, repeal smoking bans, repeal restrictions on trade, repeal Affirmative Action quotas, repeal the confiscatory Social Security laws, remove government's ability to seize private property, eliminate the Federal Department of Education, refuse to bail out irresponsible companies and people, remove undue restrictions on the Free Market.

Conservatives believe that instilling the Virtues of truth, honor, courage, fidelity, discipline, industriousness, self-reliance and compassion necessary for a Free People into our children is the best and most natural way to guarantee the survival of our great American Cultural Heritage.

Liberals obstruct that process at every opportunity. They forbid truth if it is deemed "offensive" to anybody. They distort the truth of the glory of the West and capitalism, the demonstrable failure of socialism, the role of Christianity in advancing civilization and science, and the billions of people murdered, countries plundered and cultures ruined by Atheists. They disdain honor and courage as bellicosity and warmongering. They define patriotism and fidelity as jingoism and tribalism. They ban discipline as harmful to self-esteem. They undermine industriousness by awarding indolence. They compel dependence on the State and "authorities" and punish individual action and initiative. And they transform compassion for the truly needy into the "right" of favored interest groups to take what rightfully belongs to others.

This is what happens when Liberal politicians legislate "morality". The highest, best and necessary virtues of a Free People are sacrificed on the altar of Political Correctness. And we end up with citizens who are ignorant, cowardly, disloyal, indolent, dependent and whiny.

Sound familiar?

The Gunslinger