Excellent summary, Manning, and an excellent division of the sheep from the goats.

To clarify the motivation and possible self delusionment of those wannabee elitists who are promulgating the bad rather than good, those who would substitute Evil for the good in our land, I'm posting a summary from a 2014 Christian Post:

Conservatism vs. Progressivism; The Good Versus the "Feel Good"

According to pervading political stereotypes, Progressives are the group concerned with and committed to the betterment of the "common man" while Conservatives are characterized by a parochial desire to preserve the institutions and traditions that have served the interests of the white majority for the last few centuries.

This is the narrative being promulgated by the gatekeepers of American political and pop culture, and these are the assumptions informing the attitudes and beliefs of students at America's most elite institutions of higher learning.

Engage a self-proclaimed "progressive" on any of the hot-button social issues of the day, and these stereotypes immediately come into play. The greatest impediment to "progress" on issues of social justice, they insist, are bigoted, r****t, and misogynistic "old white men" who cling fervently to an antiquated worldview in which women, the poor, and other minorities are consigned to second class status. Because these enemies of e******y still wield enormous political and economic power, they insist, America's promise of liberty and justice for all remains unrealized.

In order to change this, Progressives are convinced that the old order and everything it represents must be o*******wn. So long as even one person "feels" stymied, excluded, or shamed by prevailing social, cultural, and moral norms, our nation is not living up to the true meaning of its creed.

The gay teen seeking acceptance, the single mom with no family or friends to support her, the tomboy who wants to try out for the football team, the t*********red man who wants to use the ladies' room at his workplace, the starving artist forced to wait tables or sell insurance in order to pay his rent, the feminist determined to eschew the constraints of marriage and family in exchange for a life of unbridled self-seeking. . . these are the faces of the Progressive crusade to demolish the moral, cultural, and political norms, the assumptions that have informed the social order for hundreds of years.

If one considers these issues carefully, however, it quickly becomes apparent that the good of the commons is the least of Progressives' true concerns. Not only are the "social justice" issues they champion boutique at best, the policy solutions and moral/cultural paradigm shifts they advocate are positively harmful to the average run of men.

In the January 2014 issue of First Things, editor R.R. Reno examines this phenomenon in some detail, in the context of the recently passed Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which "prohibits discrimination on the basis of an 'individual's actual and perceived sexual orientation or g****r identity.'"

"Progressive elites," he suggests, "set themselves above and apart from the culture and society they inhabit. They view themselves as superior to the average person, and thus uniquely qualified to use wh**ever means at their disposal to advance their agenda in the name of the common good."

Wh**ever one thinks of gay marriage, one has to admit that "the great civil rights issue of our time" addresses the needs of a very small, miniscule even, number of people. The same goes for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. It concerns the world of the one percent (1%) and their navel-gazing about 'sexual identity.'

This does not mean that elites are completely selfish or self-centered. Elites can be philanthropic and committed to social causes of all sorts, often thinking in terms of therapeutic, legal, or economic interventions designed to get the best results. What it means is this: "As I stand at a distance from particular cultures and communities, I constitute myself..."

They emulate the Biblical "good" Pharisee's self love, but unfortunately, lack his dedication to even abiding by the letter of the law, or of obeying the spirit of the Ten Commandments.

Thus political correctness, is perhaps the most telling feature of today's elite culture. The politically correct are invariably those who think of themselves as the best of people. Unlike the ordinary run, they have risen above xenophobic patriotism, r****m, sexism, classism, heterosexism, and every other "ism."

"We're inclusive!" Political correctness compliments the vanity of elites. It's a confirmation of their moral right to rule.

At the same time, political correctness serves as a powerful weapon with which to destroy competitors for power and status. If a traditional Christian doesn't disagree with what they deem to be the ruling consensus; he's a homophobe. A parent who opposes sex education for ten-year-olds doesn't have moral standing to speak; he's benighted (intellectually and morally ignorant).

Others get dismissed as economically naive, or as unable to recognize cultural differences. The cultural progressive believes he knows how traditional authority works – will to power, patriarchy, heteronormativity, - or wh**ever occurs to them. Anybody with a "real" education is in the know about these things. The people who don't "get it," or in today's vocabulary are not "woke," are by definition unqualified to rule.

Prominent historian and social critic, Christopher Lasch, was an implacable enemy of this elite hauteur. He came to believe that cultural progressivism of the sort that wants to tear down existing forms of life to rebuild them in accord with new and supposedly better principles "boils down to a deep contempt for ordinary people."

Failed postwar urban planning provided one of his favorite examples. Were he alive today, redefining marriage might be another.

Anthony Esolen touched on the same exact issue, albeit in a radically different context, in an article for Public Discourse in which he examines the relationship between collegiate sports and the common good. Taken to task by a colleague for diminishing the public significance of women's hockey, Esolen took the opportunity to examine the corrupting influence of Progressive ideology on college sports:

"If a college really believed in the camaraderie that sport helps to foster and the excitement of watching one's friends struggle to win fair and square – if its administrators truly believed that such benefits should be extended to as many students as possible, regularly and in a wide variety of ways – then it could take a tiny portion of what is now spent on coaches, recruiters, physicians, staff, and travel, and dev**e it to promoting club sports and a robust program of intramurals."

By and large, this doesn't happen. Esolen has a theory why:

"Club sports cannot serve the political end that women's sports are meant to serve..."

The public appearance of e******y must be adored above all, even if it implies a staggering ine******y in other respects; unequal access to precious space on campus; and unequal opportunity to win a scholarship.

The whole interchange has demonstrates how little concern anyone in our time evinces for the common good. We worship abstractions... But if we looked at young men and young women and the common good, and not abstractions, we might begin to think of other things besides the ratio of members of each sex participating in this or that activity.
We might think about love for them, and concern for their well being.

It is rather odd, when you think of it that way-when you move away from regarding everything, even women's hockey, in a political light. You see that the first thing that the "political" lose sight of is the polis (citizenry)... "Worship politics, and you lose the polis."

Both of these men are worth quoting at length because they both articulate so brilliantly the concern for the common good that is at the heart of the true conservatism, and conversely, the lack of concern for the common good that characterizes so much of Progressive ideology.

Conservatives recognize that for most people, having a married mother and father is a good thing; that being married yourself, to a member of the opposite sex, and raising a family, is a good thing; that celebrating the natural and innate differences between male and female, and allowing society to reap the respective strengths of each, are good things.

Not only are these things practical goods, they are metaphysical goods. This conviction, of course, flows from the belief that man is a created, contingent being. In other words, there is someone who knows us better than we know ourselves because he made us, and he knows better than we do what we need. Conservatives believe that metaphysical goods should be promoted, defended, and preserved.

Of course, this can, and should, at all times be done in a respectful and appropriate way. Civil dialog is always better than straw man attacks and rhetorical bomb throwing. But these discussion need to be had, and conservatives shouldn't shy away from engaging on these issues in the public sphere. The future of the American republic will be determined by how readily we embrace what's truly good for us, not merely what "feels good."

Conservatism's Main Line

This post dates back to 2017, but I wanted to show the plusses and minuses between Conservatism and the Liberal/Progressive strain we are trying to cope with in simple words.

The essence of Conservatism in government is to preserve and reinforce the good things, good ideas, and good laws in the nation, and to work diligently to eliminate the bad things, bad ideas and bad laws as permanently as possible.

While these things, ideas and laws are not precisely all good or all bad, the tendency is to group them into good and bad lists, with the understanding that in the process of undoing a bad thing, idea or law, its good part will be preserved by government as nearly as possible. As in most cases in life, the Devil is in the details.

So, you are a Conservative if you sign up to:

Good Things, Good Ideas, and Good Laws

1. T***h and Honesty

2. Freedom and Liberty

3. Morality and Moral Rectitude

4. Christian Religion, Charity and Religious Tolerance

5. Natural Law

6. Natural Rights

7, Natural Duties

8. The Declaration of Independence

9. The Constitution of the United States (Read Plainly)

10. The Federal System: A Sovereign Nation with Sovereign States

11. Checks and Balances on Power in Government

12. An E*******l System as Prescribed by the Constitution

13. Customs, Traditions, and Institutions Designed to Preserve the Nation

14. Individual Responsibility

15. Common Sense and Practicality; Rejecting Collectivism

16. Fiscal Responsibility and Frugality in Government

17. Balanced Budgets Yearly, with Debt and Debit Reductions Included

18. Prudent Changes to Laws as Needed

19. Prudent and Humane Foreign Policies

20. An Adequate and Modern Defense Force

21. Subsidiarity: Make Decisions at the Lowest Level of Government

22. Free Market System with Adequate Regulation and Tariffs Where Needed

23. Fair Trade and Mutual Defense Treaties with other Nations

24. A Space Policy and Program to Keep the Nation at the Forefront

25. A Judicial System that is Bound only to Interpret the Laws of the Nation

26. A Legislative System that can Extend the Laws at the Will of the People

27. The Will of the People is Represented Properly

28. Prudent Stewardship of the Nation’s Land and Natural Resources

29. Strict Maintenance of the Sovereignty of the Nation

30. Participation in Global Efforts to Improve Other Nations

31. Effective Immigration Policies and Procedures

32. Government Seed Money Properly Used

33. Social Conservative Principles, i.e. Ant-A******n, Anti-SSM

34. Just K*****g (Death Penalty), and Just War

35. Care for the Ill, the Disabled, the Old, and the Handicapped

36. Majority Rule with Minority Protections


Eliminating Bad Things, Bad Ideas, and Bad Laws

1. Lies and Dishonesty in Government

2. Government Restrictions on Freedom and Liberty

3. Moral Relativity and Indiscrimination in Every Way Possible

4. Full Secularization and Depressing Religions

5. Laws Impinging on the Natural Order

6. Laws Impinging on Natural Rights

7 Shirking Natural Duties

8. Bending the Declaration Improperly

9. Bending or Subverting the Constitution Without Due Process

10. Increasing Federal Power at the Expense of the States

11. Subverting the Checks and Balances

12. Championing a Fully Democratic E******n (Meaning No E*******l College)

13. Trashing the Existing Customs, Traditions and Institutions Without Proper Cause

14. Collectivism: Socialism. and C*******m---Halting Attempts to Gain Power

15. Flights of Do-Good-ism, Irrationality, and Undue Humanitarianism

16. Tax and Spend and Tax and Spend ad nauseam

17. Deficit Spending Year-in and Year-out

18. Imprudent and Hasty Changes that End Up Being Counterproductive

19. Uneven or Detrimental Policies towards the World of Nations

20. A Mediocre, Out-of-Date or Deficient Military

21. Keeping Decision-Making at a Very High Level Unnecessarily

22. Overregulation or Even Collectivizing the Economy

23. Looking Inward not Outward

24. K*****g the Space Programs

25. Judicial Activism and Allowing Foreign Influences in Decisions

26. Government that Ignores the Will of the People

27. The Will of the People is Actively Thwarted

28. Poor Stewardship of our Natural Resources and Land

29. Allowing Foreign Influences to Impinge on our Sovereignty

30. Ignoring the Plight of Other Nations

31. Not Solving either Immigration Problem: I******s; or Desirables.

32. Government Takeover of Industry

33. Social Hedonism

34. Unjust K*****g and Unjust War

35. Minimizing the Care Needed by the Unfortunate

36. Minimizing Minority Protections

If this topic posted by me offends anyone because it was already posted please except my apologies. This situation is extremely dangerous for the U.S. and all of us! As an aside I copied a comment by a real patriot who loves this country like most of us do. Its well worth the read.
Mike

https://youtu.be/oojQydmdsOs

What They Want You To Believe:
That the Man who proclaims “America First” is bad for our country.
The Man who fights against The Swamp, is the corrupt one.
The man who facilitated the US to become Energy Independent for the first time since 1957, lower all fuel prices and create many new energy jobs, does not care about the working people.
The Man who says we should stand for the National Anthem, is a tyrant and a dictator.
The Man recently nominated for four Nobel Peace Prizes is an existential threat to the World.
The Man bringing US troops home and brought peace to the Middle East, doesn’t care about our Military
The Man who fixed the VA thinks people wounded or k**led in battle, are "losers and suckers".
The Man who increased funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, is a R****t
The Man who created Opportunity Zones to revitalize distressed inner-city communities, h**es minorities.
The Man who champions School Choice, h**es the poor.
The Man who presided over the largest increase in low and middle-income workers’ earnings in decades, only cares about the rich
The Man whose policies helped lift millions of minorities out of poverty is, yes, a R****t
The Man who created millions of low- and middle-income jobs, (prior to C***D), does not care about working people.
That the Man who saw his net worth go down while in Office – the first in history to do so - only took the job to enrich himself and his Family.
The Man who doesn't take a salary as President, only cares about himself
The Man who instituted prison reform and criminal justice reform is a R****t.
The Man who had a record number of small donations to his Campaign is owned by Wall Street and the Billionaire Elite.
The Man who began closing the Wealth Gap is only in it for his own financial gain.
The Man who became the first President to appoint an openly gay person to his Cabinet, is h********c.
The Man who held C*******t China to account, was wrong to do so.
The Man that created more favorable Trade Deals, to help the US Worker, is dumb
The Man who attempts to enforce existing laws, is a dictator.
The Man that banned travel to-and-from China in Jan, 2020, was a “R****t and Xenophobe” for doing so
The Man who followed the Constitution and allowed the States to create their own C****av***s Policies – and then provided them everything they needed – is to blame for all C****av***s deaths.
The Man who created the strongest US economy in history – and now has the economy back to just 6.9% unemployment - is not capable of leading us out of the C***D Recession
The Man who told his supporters to “v**e in person”, to avoid possible c***ting, is trying to steal the e******n.
The Man that has been investigated more than any other President in history, is a crook
The Man who has been the most t***sparent President in history, has not been straight with the American people
The Man who has a dev**ed patriotic following, who had hundreds of campaign rallies with thousands in attendance, received less v**es than a rival who rarely campaigned, who rarely left his basement, who relied on a teleprompter whenever giving speeches, who made serious gaffs nearly every time he spoke, who rarely gave interviews over 5 minutes and who's best rally attendance was a couple handfuls of people in their cars honking their horns!
The List goes on……….
This is what “THEY” want you to believe about president Donald Trump!
Don’t act like sheep!
Wake up!! Please feel free to add to and share!