“Conservatism” has become a euphemism akin to “dog whistles” of bigotry, elitism and cronyism. Some hear conservative values as a call to favor the will of the majority and denouncement of the minority and those living at the margins of life. Too often, they are told to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Unfortunately, that reason presupposes all have equality, and all have boots.

To others, conservative values are a clarion call to those at the top of economic food chain to continue their insatiable greed. You see that played out today with the disparity of wealth between the top 1 percent of Americans to the bottom 99 percent.

Some people hear conservatism to mean “only people like us can be trusted to make decisions about us.” One presidential candidate says the Constitution is a literal document, not a living one interpreted to adjust to societal changes. He proclaims it a bastion of conservative values, and that a Democratic president can’t be trusted to appoint a Supreme Court justice that won’t comport to his beliefs.

If the Constitution is not a living document, how could its framers know, as they guaranteed “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” in the Declaration of Independence, it would address the ideas expressed in the “Black Lives Matter” movement? How could they have known those who might be denied “liberty” without a court-appointed attorney? And how could they have known “pursuit of happiness” would mean children of all races and ethnicities could play together? Lest we are consigned to the same errors of our blighted history, let’s not make labels the worth of persons.

The issue of “states rights” comes up frequently in debates where contenders would not state an opinion on social issues but would rather defer to states to exercise their rights under the Constitution. Can states be trusted to always do the right things? I still remember when my state defied a Supreme Court’s holding to integrate public schools “with all deliberate speed” and took 10 years to initiate the decree. My classmates and I continued to use torn, tattered books. Our science labs lacked the necessities for instruction and safety. My governor and the Georgia General Assembly in the 1960s voted to close public schools rather than integrate them.

Additionally, many Republican-governed states have passed sweeping legislation making it harder for minorities to exercise the right to vote. The Georgia General Assembly offered a bill to issue special driver’s licenses to thousands of “dreamers” protected by a DACA decree with the words “illegal alien” written on it. This would become the new “scarlet letter” or “star of David” to scorn many Georgians who were either born here or brought here by their parents as small children.

You see both past and present times when states had opportunities to do the right thing but rather chose to do the expedient and political thing. I believe a strong federal government has to be in place to ensure states properly exercise their constitutional rights with responsibility and care for all. My parents required a measure of maturity and responsibility before they granted me and my siblings any rights or privileges. That seems to me a perfect course of action for states.

Robert B. Thorpe
Gainesville

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