Cuba Segundo Milenio

Definition of Conservatism: “a political or theological orientation advocating the preservation of the best in society and opposing radical changes”.

A case can be made that 2012 may have been the year of the unofficial death of Conservatism in the United States. I had been personally anticipating it for a long time, yet I did not think that it would happen so soon. In order for this to occur, many elements had to be in place and I sincerely felt that some of those elements still remained distant from the American landscape, though they were rapidly approaching. I must admit that I was wrong. The required ingredients for the culmination of the Perfect Storm did come to fruition in 2012 and this turned out to be the year in which we bade farewell to the societal concept of Conservatism, although the emblematic Party along with its jesters still remains.

It was the year, or period, in which we saw the pendulum of principle swing irrevocably to the left, outweighed by accumulative decades of uncontrolled dependency, superfluous mentalities and suffocating syndicalism. Liberalism kept gaining momentum under the deceptive banner of the Democratic Party, while the conservatives, under the misconstrue Republican label, found themselves resigned to the hopeless task of redefining their message to the masses, frequently compromising and even surrendering their core values. As the world became a smaller place with the phenomenon of “globalization” and humanity diluted itself into abstract, much less rigorous and yet more vociferously demanding patches of existence, there was very little room left in man’s psyche for the absorption of any message containing any form of austere or traditional value. At the very same time, opportunistic leaders of defunct ideologies emerged and resurrected degrading and habitual human tendencies, seizing the new levels of vulnerability and indulgence exhibited by modern societies. Conservatism was extinguishing.

It should be made clear that not all the jesters who constitute the remaining vestiges of the Grand Old Party are despicable buffoons, but even the ones who seem to persist and insist in the conservation of the core values of their institution find themselves condescending and, at times, even expressing solidarity with a most implacable, unscrupulous adversary. Desperation and the realization that -most likely for a few generations- Conservatism may remain just a memory of when America was noble and proud, may lead some of our rightwing leaders to incur in ridiculous forms of behavior. These clumsy antics have become the target of mockery and laughter by the opposing, empowered left in America. Almost every day is a field day for the mainstream media who constantly condemn conservative views as they glorify and exalt the eccentricities and lusty behavior of our faction of government led by civility offenders like Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Al Gore, the Clintons and the Illusionist in Chief. An indulging, uninformed mass completes the firing squad that now just waits for the “coup de grace” against the fatally wounded right side of America.

The recent outcome of the Fiscal Cliff negotiations proved the lopsided disparity in leverage between the parties, as Obama and Co. walked away with most of the higher value chips, while the disoriented republicans resorted to feud among themselves over the pending monies for the recovery from the damages caused by storm Sandy. CNN and most other networks feasted on the news as the public rejoiced, not faced by the consequences of the agreement which –among other calamities- has already reduced the take home amount of their paychecks starting with this past Friday’s payroll. Since most of the legal workers in the United States get paid every two weeks, the bigger outrage may come next Tuesday, January 15^th. It occurred to me that, in this age of customary aloofness, direct deposits and often unchecked personal balance sheets, many Americans may still not realize that their salaries have shrunk until weeks from now when they stumble upon an overdraft or the inability to complete a charge or debit due to the insufficiency of their funds. By then, however, the Illusionist in Chief would have elaborated yet another “illusion” to convince the masses that it all has been the conservatives’ fault and that all he needs at that point is the full support of all Americans to increase our national financial obligation, by raising the Debt Ceiling. The second part of the circus-like negotiations shall result in a forgone victory for the “Artisans of Pilfering and Squandering”.

The gullible horde of a liberal majority will not just accept the call of the Master but will proceed to grin, disdainfully, in the funeral of the vilified Conservatism.