We will soon (after spring break) be dwelving further into ideology--at least my 2301 classes will. It'll be useful to bring up a few things that have fallen out regarding Ann Coulter's comments regarding John Edwards at the Conservative Political Action Conference yesterday.
Suffice to say that her comments would not be out of place among 8th graders.
First, it is interesting to note that this seems to be something the blogosphere, but not the mainstream media, cares about. Take that how you will.
But of special interest are criticisms levied by more serious conservatives who are worried that the newer generation lacks any understanding of the principles the movement is based on. For them, conservatism seems little more than focused hatred on a handful of people who are alleged to be liberal. Here's a cover story from the American Conservative bemoaning the trend, but it is worth considering whether this is simply the way things go.
When liberalism was in ascendancy there certainly came a moment when its supporters lost track of what the liberalism stood for and instead merely supported it because the movement's political strength provided them with material advantages--jobs etc... (Remember that during the disputes surrounding the country's founding that each side argued that the other carried less about principle than about self-interest).
Now it appears that conservatism has come to that point and perhaps the pendulum will begin its inevitable swing leftward.
To summarize thoughts by one of the bloggers in question, young conservatives ought to look less to Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter for their thoughts and ideas and more to those of the modern movement's founders: Richard Weaver, Robert Nisbet, and Russell Kirk.
Maybe then take look at the work of Edmund Burke.
