What's a Conservative?

There are many ideas of what makes a political conservative in the U.S. This could be the topic of endless debate. I thought that as my first blog it is important to give my definition of a conservative. This will give you an understanding of why I take the stances that I do.

A conservative in these particular beliefs: that all men and women are endowed with inalienable rights. These rights go as far as someone else's rights begin. The sole purpose of government is to protect these rights. There is very few legitimate actions government has beyond protecting these rights. It is legitimate for government to provide certain things that are necessary for the survival of a society and cannot be provided by the free market. For example, providing a currency is a legitimate function of government.

There are four major elements that makeup conservatism in the United States: strong defense, free market, small government, and traditional values. These issues provide the coalition of people that raised Ronald Reagan to the presidency.