By: J. D. Longstreet
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I have a burr under my saddle today. Actually it’s been there for some time. So, I’m going to sound off on it.
Question: Why are there so few conservatives leaving comments on conservative blog sites???
I surf a lot of blog sites a day and I see scores of comments from lefties all over those sites, mine included, but seldom do I see a conservative comment.
There used to be an expression, which I cannot remember verbatim, but the gist of it was that: “Conservatives eat their young.” It was, of course, just another way of saying that conservatives do not, as a rule, bond together to defend their positions, or advance their positions. I have learned, as a Conservative Blogger, there is much truth in that statement. If you are a conservative, and you take a position… you may, very well, find that you are on your own!
I participate in a number of conservative web rings and blog rolls and, frankly, I can’t see that they do a bit of good.
Look, conservatives are “against the wall” in today’s world. There is an all out drive to rid the world of us. The only group standing for sanity and reason, on the globe today, are the conservatives. The only group standing for traditional values in today’s world are conservatives. Yet, we will not stand shoulder to shoulder, with other conservatives, to defend our positions, or to advance our cause! There is something seriously wrong with that.
It is not difficult, it is not hard, and it is not even “trying” to bond with fellow conservatives. So… why aren’t we doing it???
I understand there are degrees of conservatism. There used to be degrees of liberalism. Unfortunately for the US, and the world, those degrees of liberalism have all dissipated… save for the extreme leftists, the socialists. And they have control of their political party and the US government.
As a conservative, I know it is extremely difficult to visit left wing blog sites and expose oneself to the acrid hate emanating from those sites. It’s akin to being held over the pits of hell and letting the flames scorch one’s toes. It is somewhat like being in a room with a rotting corpse. The odor is nauseating. But... we may find it necessary in order to fight back, or to take the fight to them.
Isn’t it time we fought back? Isn’t it time we demonstrated we have the courage of our convictions???
OK, so I’ve said it. I am under no illusions that it will do any good, but heck, I feel better!
J. D. Longstreet
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J.D. this is an excellent article and I’m glad that you had the courage to write about the conservative problem. I think that there are many reasons as to why conservatives fail to leave more comments. (1) For the last few years the left has had dominance on sophisticated internet techniques and conservatives have been playing catch up. (2) Conservatives are rugged individualists that actually believe in the work ethic and that means that they are fiercely competitive whereas the left usually act in unison like millions of little lemmings. (3) Conservatives lack political leadership and the $$$ invested to create sites that would compete with the likes of Daily Kos etc. (4) Of late conservatives have been running with little direction to a variety of social networking sites in the hopes of creating some form of social unity. (5) You hit the nail on the head when you wrote about the conservatives distaste for commenting on lefty sites. Conservatives, by the nature of the word, are not nasty and openly confrontational like the left. Unless conservatives can come to grips with their inability to do more than preach to the choir, the conservative cause will die.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!!!
Thanks for echoing my sentiments.
ReplyDeleteWe conservatives are not a confrontational or argumentative lot.
It makes being a conservative blogger a lonely game, indeed.
I am resolving for 2009 to comment in support every time I read an opinion I agree with!
I hope your readers and my readers will do the same.
:)
Jane Q
You are right, and I don't have any idea how to fix it. Conservatives complain about the Liberal bias and their stranglehold on political discussion, but do nothing to combat it. It seems to me that most Republicans have been brainwashed by the PC Squad. The Liberals are not going to give us that level of respect, so why tie our hands. I'm not saying be nasty for the sake of it, but do something before it's too late.
ReplyDeleteFive years ago, when I was getting ready to have my son and stop working, I decided to take a stand. You see, I'm a political artist. For years, I've heard Conservatives, Libertarian and Republican, complain there is no Conservative art. Great, I thought! A virtually untouched market. I knew it would be hard to get started, but had no idea to what degree. Needless to say, Liberals typically resent my work. Frustratingly, Conservatives don't seem interested in supporting it. You can't complain about a situation if you don't do something to change it. I am doing something, and I challenge Conservatives to do the same, whatever their outlet may be. I realize that my work doesn't appeal to everyone, but I can't count the times people have told me how great it is. Like any other business person, I have to make a profit to keep working.Right now I put every spare penny into supplies, and I've sold one painting. A Liberal told me once on my blog it's because I have no talent. That may be so, but given some of the 'art' I see people buy, I doubt that's much of a deterrent.
If Conservatives want to get a movement going, and change the political future of this country, they will have to support each other and invest time and money to do it. That is why I started painting about politics, and now, blogging. We can't sit back and complain that noone is doing this for us. Why would they?
My art: www.machinepolitick.com
My blog: http://machinepolitick.blogspot.com/
I would love to hear what everyone thinks, and I welcome criticism. That's how I know what to paint when I'm looking for a dofferant perspective.
J.D., Faultline and Janeqrepublican, this article is exactly on bullseye as are your comments back.
ReplyDeleteI almost NEVER comment at a Liberal site because I do not want to be spammed.
Conservatives are more the "doers" than the talkers. There are plenty of great conservative blogs, and most trudge on with only a very few comments - some, no comments at all. We tend to "write," not to "talk."
May I cross-post? I'd love to see this discussion get around.
I also tend not to post comments on liberal blogs. They're just so rude. But we do need to band together. Great post.
ReplyDeleteI agree totally with Faultline's statement that "Unless conservatives can come to grips with their inability to do more than preach to the choir, the conservative cause will die." This, to me, is absolutely key.
ReplyDeleteI disagree that conservatives don't tend to comment on conservative blogs. If you go to redstate.com (to name just one) it is full of conservative comments.
The error JD is making, I think, is confusing people who are conservative with people who agree with him on issues.
I consider myself a conservative. I believe in smaller government, personal freedom (and in the personal responsibility that comes with it), and the principles our country was founded on. And yet I don't agree with most of what JD writes, especially his extreme (in my view) anti-American leanings. That doesn't make me leftist. It just makes me, well, me.
The first step to being able to do more than preach to the choir is to have good, reasoned discussions among ourselves.
I've left comments on left 'leaning', and falling over left, sites. Usually, I'll ask for some clarification on something said....and it starts. WHAP! Luckily, they don't tend to come to my site...mostly. But I'll get some of the most emotional, irrational responses. It's just easier NOT to leave comments. Let 'em rant to each other. I'd rather have an honest discussion.
ReplyDeleteOne thing we must remember, as conservatives, we are not all the same. Some are conservative in a few issues, libertarian, in others and even down right left on something else. The one issue conservatives do drive me nuts though. :/
Why do we need a leader before we come together?!
ReplyDeleteI don't need a leader to argue my ideas. If the last election taught us anything it is:
1) that a bottom-up movement can win an election (so, maybe tomorrow's great conservative leader is today a virtually unknown state legislator); and
2) conservatives must be more inclusive. The above commentator just wrote off women, minorities, and people who live on the coasts. The GOP must be more than the party of rural, white men.
That said, I think we do have conservatives who can lead. I'm a big fan of Newt Gingrich and think 2009 might be a comeback year for him. There are several great governors who are fast rising: Jinal (of Louisiana) and Robinson (of Utah) are two I personally like.