US Political culture

I do miss the very old days when there were spirited discusions between a hard core of US traditional conservatives, and others.
Speaking as someone from an outwardly similar culture, I was able to glean quite a lot about the US conservative mindset.
If set the task of defining aspects of it I would have said that what particularly struck me was their super strong beliefs in -
1. The US Constitution, being a perfect document that definitely wasn't living as many other countries believed theirs to be.
2. The right of people to hold arms to forcibly change the government if they believed it had lost its way. This one was particularly striking, as every other democratic government would call that treason and armed insurrection.
3. Highly Christian religious, despite obvious contradictions between actions and beliefs.
4. Obsessed with "Socialism". Which was a very short step away from totalitarian communism. Despite countries like the Scandinavians, Canada, UK, NZ, Australia and quite a few others having been Social Democracies for a century or so, yet still free and equal.
5. The second amendment. As a registered gun owner in my country this was interesting. I have no problem with well regulated guns, but the idea of an 18 year old just going in and buying a semi auto rifle or pistol was demonstratively stupid.

Anyway, if any US conservatives are still viewing this page, I would respectfully love to get your opinion on Trump's America?

Daryl wrote:I do miss the very old days when there were spirited discusions between a hard core of US traditional conservatives, and others.
Speaking as someone from an outwardly similar culture, I was able to glean quite a lot about the US conservative mindset.
If set the task of defining aspects of it I would have said that what particularly struck me was their super strong beliefs in -

--skip --

2. The right of people to hold arms to forcibly change the government if they believed it had lost its way. This one was particularly striking, as every other democratic government would call that treason and armed insurrection.
3. Highly Christian religious, despite obvious contradictions between actions and beliefs.

I expect that I am more middle of the road, than hard-shell conservative.

My understanding of the Founding Fathers is that they were more Deist, than highly Christian; but there certainly is a segment of the current population that considers themselves highly Christian.

Although Thomas Jefferson said some things that approach #2, the writers were mainly against a standing army and so wrote in the Second Amendment to ensure the population would have a familiarity with guns, if they needed to be called up for immediate defense. Treason and armed insurrection still apply, if they try to overthrow the government; the right is to have arms, not necessarily to use them illegally. See the US Civil War, for example*.

*: I do expect there is a process whereby a state could secede, it would proceed in a similar way to a state joining the union. First a majority would vote in a proclamation to secede and then a bill would pass Congress and be signed by the President to implement that secession. In the actual event, after voting for the proclamation to secede, the state militia took control of all Federal property in the state; even to the extent of firing on Fort Sumter (President Lincoln was very concerned that the Union did not fire the first shot).

There were battles in that Civil War where the winning commander could be elated if his force had only been decimated (lost 1 man out of every 10).

tlb wrote:

Daryl wrote:I do miss the very old days when there were spirited discusions between a hard core of US traditional conservatives, and others.
Speaking as someone from an outwardly similar culture, I was able to glean quite a lot about the US conservative mindset.
If set the task of defining aspects of it I would have said that what particularly struck me was their super strong beliefs in -

--skip --

2. The right of people to hold arms to forcibly change the government if they believed it had lost its way. This one was particularly striking, as every other democratic government would call that treason and armed insurrection.
3. Highly Christian religious, despite obvious contradictions between actions and beliefs.

I expect that I am more middle of the road, than hard-shell conservative.

My understanding of the Founding Fathers is that they were more Deist, than highly Christian; but there certainly is a segment of the current population that considers themselves highly Christian.

Although Thomas Jefferson said some things that approach #2, the writers were mainly against a standing army and so wrote in the Second Amendment to ensure the population would have a familiarity with guns, if they needed to be called up for immediate defense. Treason and armed insurrection still apply, if they try to overthrow the government; the right is to have arms, not necessarily to use them illegally. See the US Civil War, for example*.

*: I do expect there is a process whereby a state could secede, it would proceed in a similar way to a state joining the union. First a majority would vote in a proclamation to secede and then a bill would pass Congress and be signed by the President to implement that secession. In the actual event, after voting for the proclamation to secede, the state militia took control of all Federal property in the state; even to the extent of firing on Fort Sumter (President Lincoln was very concerned that the Union did not fire the first shot).

There were battles in that Civil War where the winning commander could be elated if his force had only been decimated (lost 1 man out of every 10).

I believe there were occasions in 1861 where local militia took control of Federal property BEFORE the state legislature/convention voted for succession.