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Conservatism: The Next Generation by Ryan Wynn (8/13/04)

The Need For New Conservative Heroes

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Almost everyone deeply mourned Ronald Reagan’s death. Political leaders from all over the world gave stirring speeches about how Ronald Reagan helped to end the Cold War and saved the world from the threat of nuclear annihilation. American politicians and commentators of varying ideologies joined together to praise and remember Ronald Reagan as a great man, American, and leader. Conservatives were the most deeply affected group of people; Reagan, the man who represented the greatness of the modern conservative movement, had died.

Sadly, not all conservatives mourned Reagan deeply. I am a staunch conservative; I believe almost all of the arguments and positions of modern conservatism. However, I did not truly mourn Reagan’s passing because, unlike most conservatives, I have no recollection of his presidency. I am eighteen years old; I never directly witnessed any of Reagan’s great speeches. I didn’t know what the Cold War was. I had no idea why so many people were excited that a wall collapsed in Berlin. I didn’t know anything about communism. People under the age of 23 or 24 aren’t old enough to truly recall Reagan’s greatness; people my age have had to form our own opinions on Reagan through spoken or written accounts by our elders. Through my eyes, Ronald Reagan is a historical figure; I am too young to know the true man.

The new generation of conservatives cannot possibly appreciate heroes such as Reagan, Whittaker Chambers, or even Bill Buckley as much as older conservatives do. These men, and others like them, were the heroes of conservatism for elder conservatives. They resurrected conservatism and founded the modern conservatism ideals that have thrived for almost half a century. Reagan’s presidency was the king of these conservatives, the culmination of three decades of struggle by dedicated conservatives to institute their beliefs as America’s policy. Reagan gave modern conservatism its leading icon and showed how well conservatism works when it is given command over America.

Unfortunately, these great men have less influence over people of my generation than my elders. We do not remember the Cold War; our generation is the first that never really experienced the fear of nuclear war that our predecessors felt. The people and events of the Cold War are history to us, things we study in history books, not things we remember from our own experience. My generation has to face a new war, the War on Terror, along with an ever-changing world in which America is held in low regard by countries that we protected during the Cold War.

Conservatism’s great heroes cannot be the primary heroes for my generation; revisionist history and secondhand accounts of these heroes dulls their influence upon us. The new generation must produce new heroes for this new era. Conservatism needs new Reagans, Buckleys, and Thatchers. We need a new Reagan to win the War on Terror; President Bush, although a great man and leader, has not yet earned the status of a hero. We need new commentators, writers, and activists to help maintain the intellectual strength of conservative thought and to help convince more people of my generation to adopt a conservative worldview. The new generation of adults could be the most conservative generation America has ever produced. Many people of my age condemn the activities that youth movements undertook in the 1960s; many realize the danger of irresponsible living. Many of us know that we must take responsibility for our actions and ourselves. We embraced the patriotic spirit that was reawakened after 9/11. We know that the “establishment” and morals are good things. With this knowledge, the new generation has great potential to change America and the world for the better, but we need new conservative heroes to lead us there. The only conservative heroes that my generation knows of aren’t real to us; they are part of history’s shadow.

My generation needs our own heroes to ensure that conservatism adjusts to meet the problems of the present and future. These people need to lead the free world to victory in the War on Terror, just as our forefathers did in the Cold War. Conservatism needs heroes in order to survive, the modern conservative movement was considered dead until people like Bill Buckley resurrected it in the late 1950s. Before Buckley’s time, there had been no true conservative hero only conservative devils, such as Herbert Hoover and the John Birch Society. Although conservatism is in no danger of dying, it can only remain powerful if new members are willing and able to step up and voice the logical arguments of conservatism for all to hear. These people must step forward to provide a strong voice for conservatism in order to ensure that conservatism continues to influence American policy. These heroes must continue to applying logic, morals, and other conservative beliefs to new problems, thus allowing these problems to be solved, and perhaps to gain a few converts as well.

This new millennium is much different from the old one, and it will be up to young conservatives to provide America with a loud, unwavering conservative voice. The problems we will encounter in this new century will be up to us to solve. We must do our part to advance America and the world by effectively promoting conservative ideas. In order to accomplish these missions, we must have true heroes to lead us. We must have people that can present the arguments of conservatism persuasively and intelligently. Americans will only support the conservative movement if it has effective leaders.

If no heroes emerge from the younger generations, then conservatism may regress to the weak state it was in during the early 20th century. Without strong leadership, conservatism will split apart and become weak. Conservatism is a great political force only when all conservatives are united. Disunity among conservatives in the 20th century kept conservatives from gaining much political power until Nixon and Reagan were elected president. During much of the Cold War, conservatives were split and weak. However, America finally triumphed after Reagan applied conservative ideals to American policy. Reagan’s application of these principles will continue to provide conservatives with an effective plan for American policy. Conservatism must remain united in order to deal with the new dangers of the world. If conservatives retain power in America, the War on Terror might end within the next decade. If conservatives split due to a lack of leadership, America might become embroiled in a war as long as the Cold War.

New heroes must arise to lead the next generation of conservatives through the dangers and advancements of the new millennium. They must ensure that conservatives remain united and that America remains strong. Our conservative predecessors have given us a strong conservative movement to inherit. It is our duty to increase conservatism’s strength and become stewards that will lead America and the world into an unknown future.