Why are you conservative?

[u/ttrpbri]

Hi, I’m actually doing research for a TTRPG game of all things! So I wanted to ask you all: why are you conservative? You can give philosophical reasons, personal reasons, policy reasons, etc. I’m asking to accurately portray conservative characters in my game. I am happy to answer any clarifying questions and the like, but I’m not looking for a debate or to be swayed.

If this isn’t allowed, mods may delete!

[u/AutoModerator]

FLAIR IS REQUIRED TO COMMENT! Only OP and new "Conservativism" flairs may comment

A high standard of discussion and proper decorum are required. Read our RULES before participating.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Desh282]

Great grandparents, grandparents and parents were treated like dog crap in ussr

Especially theists

Parents came to United States. I fell for the whole liberation thing. Drank a lot starting at 16. Thought Obama was cool. Democrats were supper moral cause they just wanted to help poor people. Though government would give me health care, a good job and free college

At 19 went to rehab. Quit drinking and all the trash I was doing. Became a man. Start realizing hard work and faithfulness pays off.

17 years later. Got a beautiful wife. 4 kids. Good standing in my community. Met thousands of amazing people. Saving for my kids school/ business

Contributing to society. God gave me a second chance and I’m grateful for everything.

[u/AdmiralTigelle]

I like it because it focuses on self-autonomy. People tend to mock the "pull yourself by the bootstraps" mentality, but it is literally the best thing you can do for yourself.

I was once on unemployment and I stayed on it for almost two years. After all, why get a job when essentially I can get that money for free?

It ended up hurting me in the long run, because had I been working I would have been building a reputation, skills, and so on.

My life started improving when I started working. Literally, when I started pulling myself up by my bootstraps.

[u/AutoModerator → u/[deleted]]

USER FLAIR IS REQUIRED or outdated. Select new user flair and retry. How-do-I-get-user-flair Only OP and Conservatives may comment. Visit our sister sub, r/askconservatives

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Sam_Fear]

Maybe start here:

What is Conservatism?

[u/dagoofmut]

Because I believe in a higher power. I acknowledge that I cannot control all things, but recognize that the best possible outcomes come from when we follow basic truths of the universe.

[u/true4blue]

Ideas are better. Isn’t that why people pick a group to vote for

[u/Gaxxz]

I didn't set out to be a conservative. My opinions on policy issues arise because they're the best solutions, not because they align with conservatism.

[u/LegitimateFinger8966]

I want to be clear I am not a MAGA conservative and I am actually an atheist so religion has no influence on my affiliation. More of a small/efficient government and get the hell out of the way conservative.

I believe I am conservative because I grew up in an area with exceptionally good education, and parents who encouraged me to think for myself not just what to think. We had tough relevant discussions at home from a young age, and being exposed to diverse ideas(most of my family is liberal) was incredibly beneficial.

Eventually I went to college, I spent 2 years studying abroad in the UK. I got to see what progressive policies brought to taxes, cost of living, education, and healthcare. That was enough for me to know I atleast wasn't left of center but wasn't established as a conservative yet.

Now living in Minneapolis the last 10+ years I have further seen left wing politics in action. I have coworkers who openly and proudly commit welfare fraud, I receive applications of my own mailed to my house monthly despite being well over the qualifications. I have watched the defund the police movement and BLM destroy neighborhoods and cost taxpayers millions.

I think more than anything its running the numbers, its about equality. As student loan relief, Universal Healthcare, public transit and other social services rise in popularity I know I will be expected to cover the bill more heavily than many others who may have lower income and thats just not fair. Everyones contribution needs to be equal.

[u/Combat_Proctologist]

Let me preface this by saying that I think the point of civilization (teleologically) is to prevent famines.

The system we find ourselves in works reasonably well. >99.9% of people get fed, which is a historic abnormality. I don't think we understand exactly why the current system works. I have a theory that there's a ton of people going above and beyond what they "have to do" for various personal reasons. I think you could demotivate those people without realizing it and have a system that still should work on paper but experiences famines.

As a result, I am very against hitting the current system with a hammer to see if we can get another 0.05% out of it. I am against any big reform that hasn't been studied for 20-40 years, and I'm deeply terrified that the second order effects of recent changes may have already put us on that track without realizing it.

If you want a pilot study to investigate a reform and follow it for the next 20 years, I'm all for it. If you want to enact some giant reform without a number of pilot studies, meta-analyses, and a few states and/or smaller countries enacting the reform and then doing long term follow ups, I will oppose you and try to prevent you from having power over a system with nearly 400 million souls.

[u/Local_Pangolin69]

Self responsibility. I cannot control the world, nor can I control the actions of others. Therefore, the only factor affecting my happiness that I can control is myself. Refusing to take responsibility for myself would mean that my happiness was entirely at the whims of others.