Why VFR rejects Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment

Ronald Reagan, whose wisdom and virtues should always be remembered, famously said that Republicans should not attack other Republicans. A corollary of Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment is that conservatives should not attack other conservatives. Needless to say, that is not VFR’s position. Reagan’s commandment may have made sense in Reagan’s time, when the culture was more intact, and the line between liberal and conservative was perhaps more clear. It does not make sense in our time, in a culture that has been systematically radicalized, a culture in which conservatives themselves unthinkingly subscribe to the prevailing liberal attitudes. Therefore, as difficult and uncomfortable as it may be for us, the survival of a genuine conservatism—and of our very culture—depends on our criticizing other conservatives, as I discuss here.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at December 17, 2006 03:55 PM | Send