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Introduction
Conservatism is the aesthetic, cultural, social, and political philosophy that embodies the desire to conserve traditional social institutions, held to be either good in themselves, or better than the likely alternatives, or at least safe, familiar, and the objects of trust and affection.
The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the traditions and values of the culture and civilization in which it appears. In Western culture, conservatives seek to conserve a range of things such as organized religion, property rights, parliamentary government, family values, the social order, the rule of law, the culture of life, the natural environment, and classical and vernacular culture. Adherents of conservatism often oppose modernism and seek a return to traditional values.
The first established use of the term in a political context originated in 1818 with François-René de Chateaubriand during the period of Bourbon Restoration that sought to roll back the policies of the French Revolution. Historically associated with right-wing politics, the term has since been used to describe a wide range of views. There is no single set of policies regarded as conservative because the meaning of conservatism depends on what is considered traditional in a given place and time. Conservative thought has varied considerably as it has adapted itself to existing traditions and national cultures. For example, some conservatives advocate for greater government intervention in the economy while others advocate for a more laissez faire free market economic system. Thus conservatives from different parts of the world—each upholding their respective traditions—may disagree on a wide range of issues. Edmund Burke, an 18th-century politician who opposed the French Revolution, but supported the American Revolution, is credited as one of the main theorists of conservatism in the 1790s. (Full article...)
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In a close and controversial election, Bush was elected President in 2000 as the Republican candidate, defeating Vice President Al Gore in the Electoral College.
A series of terrorist attacks occurred eight months into Bush's first term as president on September 11, 2001. In response, Bush announced a global War on Terror, ordered an invasion of Afghanistan that same year and an invasion of Iraq in 2003. In addition to national security issues, Bush promoted policies on the economy, health care, education, and social security reform. Bush successfully ran for re-election against Democratic Senator John Kerry in 2004, in another relatively close election. He was a highly controversial figure internationally, with public protests occurring even during visits to close allies, such as the United Kingdom.
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The real division is not between conservatives and revolutionaries but between authoritarians and libertarians.
— George Orwell, in a letter to Malcolm Muggeridge (4 December 1948)
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On August 11, 1984, United States President Ronald Reagan, while running for re-election, was preparing to make his weekly Saturday address on National Public Radio. As a sound check prior to the address, Reagan made the following joke to the radio technicians:
Though this was not the first time Reagan had joked prior to giving a speech or address, the Soviet official news agency, TASS, condemned the joke, declaring that "USSR condemns this unprecedentedly hostile attack of US President" and that "this kind of behaviour is incompatible with high responsibility the heads of nuclear states are bearing for the destinies of their own people and the mankind".
Did you know...
- ... that Luís Alves de Lima e Silva (pictured) was a Brazilian military hero praised for his victories in the Paraguayan War, and that his birthday is celebrated annually as Dia do Soldado?
- ...that in his 1968 Declaration of Perth, British Conservative leader Edward Heath pledged his party's support for Scottish devolution, a policy later reversed by Margaret Thatcher?
- ... that at the United Kingdom general election on 6 May 2010 Helen Grant became the first black female candidate to be elected as a Conservative MP?
Selected anniversaries in August
- 1993 – the European Young Conservatives is founded by the former national chairman of the UK's Young Conservatives, Andrew Rosindell.
- 1988 – presidential candidate George H. W. Bush utters the phrase, "Read my lips: no new taxes," during his acceptance speech of the Republican nomination. The phrase was used later by Bill Clinton to defeat Bush in the 1992 presidential election campaign.
- 2008 – Sarah Palin becomes the first female Republican Party nominee for Vice President of the United States.
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