Conservative

After the result of the South Carolina primary election for the Republican presidential candidate in the U.S., I have to question what "conservative" means.

Does it mean "homophobic hypocrite"? It could possibly. Newt Gingrich led the howling condemnation of Bill Clinton in 1998 over marital infidelity in the Lewinski scandal. Now we learn he is a swinger, as dubious as that would seem from the looks of him. And, he wins the South Carolina primary on a wave of religious zealots' votes. I suppose heterosexual infidelity is alright as long as a conservative still hates homosexuals, even if some of those homosexuals are more monogamous than Gingrich.

Does it mean "intentionally ignorant"? Perhaps. The rantings of Creationism still echo among conservatives in an age when our satellites are beaming back information from beyond our solar system. I grant you that there are probably no creationists among the intelligent scientists and engineers who made that satellite. Maybe "conservative" actually means "illiterate".

Does it mean "racist"? This occurred to me as I heard a South Carolina "political activist" speak in rage of wanting to see a Republican candidate who could "cut Obama off at his knees". Is sword play part of being a conservative? I thought it was something to do with wanting to be able to have a gun, not a sword. In any case, there seems to be something intrinsically wrong with President Obama in the minds of these South Carolinians, who rabidly fought to keep the Confederate flag flying over their state house not long ago.

I used to think "conservative" meant "politically reactionary". I am beginning to think it means something much darker and more dangerous in contemporary America. Whatever it means, it does not represent anything to do with humanism. It has nothing to do with human progress. It has nothing to do with universal human rights. It seems to be a repackaging of all the old hates and divisions which have plagued our species in the hands of unscrupulous leaders since the dawn of time.