Conservatism is no ideology, and accordingly maintains no formal or abstract dogma or doctrine. It is routinely referred to in contrast and comparison, in effect and form, to liberalism. That notion is singularly mistaken. The more appropriate adversarial opposition to conservative impulses is found in the radical behaviors of man. Properly understood, conservatism is no “ism” at all. Indeed, being conservative is the antithesis of ideology, striving to live in world as it is while others would wrap us in some contrived innovations, forcing upon us their own speculation of civil-social order.
Conservatives see life for all its complexities and complications, opportunities and unfairness, phenomenal beauty and strengthening diversity. And nowhere is the conservative impulse stronger, better understood, or more aptly lived than in the midwestern United States.
This web log is designed in a series of essays (pages). These remarks are shared as perspectives of the world and issues of the day. It is less an instructive machination than an expression of thoughts and means to work out my own system of beliefs. These ideas are explored through a not-so-exhaustive and certainly non-scholarly examination of writers, academics, politicians, and others, as well as (and mostly) my own observations. Throughout, you will see unaccredited references to authors such as Russell Kirk, James Madison, John Adams, and others. Again, this is not a publication as such, and I freely admit to using the words of others – but I mean no plagiarism, in the sense that I ask for no credit. I strive only to share what I have read and learned as it applies to what I have observed in my own life. If I’ve forgotten the source of an idea or quotation, that’s all there is to it – I simply forgot if I read it or invented it.
What are important here are the ideas. Anonymous comments are welcomed, since it seems that the some very powerful thoughts are often those shared with impunity. I sit not atop some high horse demanding the courage of one’s conviction to be measured by his person’s disclosure. Those horses have long since abandon me, as I offer my own thoughts with humility (and, to be sure, no small measure of self-certainty). Again, it is your thoughts with which I am concerned, not who you are – unless, of course, you are running for office.
My thanks to God, America, and to you.
Your servant,
Kris L. Seklur
A Midwestern Conservative
amidwesternconservative