Dr Sanity reads a great article by conservative thinker Thomas Sowell. This is a great quote:

Thousands of people in New Orleans will be saved because millions of other people they don't even know are moved by moral obligations to come to their rescue from all corners of this country. The things our clever sophisticates sneer at are ultimately all that stand between any of us and utter devastation.

That perfectly describes why I feel at home under the "conservative" moniker even though I don't have a problem with things that are typically anethma to the social conservative (not a bad word) such as gay marriage or properly managed welfare (re: work programs).

Moral fiber. Not moral relativism.

Dr Sanity has her own point to make:

What has changed in our society, Sowell wonders? Well, to put it bluntly, we have moved from a society of individual personal responsibility to one of infantile entitlement.

And this underscores one of the reasons why I am attracted to the imperfect Bush administration: ownership versus entitlement. If we all had a firm investment in our future, perhaps we would not be so careless with it.

...like building levees that you know are vulnerable, not evacuating in the face of utter destruction and expecting someone else (like the government) to provide for your family.

Posted by Michael at September 6, 2005 08:39 PM