Conservatives Are On the Wrong Side of History

A conservative is, by definition one who wants to stick to the old ways of doing things and opposes change. The long arc of history is toward more freedom, more liberty and more equality. The conservatives have always been on the wrong side of history in the fight for change and greater human rights and equality.

In the 1860's, the conservatives opposed freeing the slaves. The Republican Party of the 1860’s was a liberal party, calling for protective tariffs, freeing the slaves and a progressive income tax where the rich paid more. The Democratic Party was the party of “NO” back then. History has proven that the conservatives were wrong.

The right of women to vote didn't happen until 1920 and was bitterly opposed by conservatives. Some conservatives are still fighting against basic voting rights for women; for instance, Sean Hannity sits on the advisory board of the male supremacist Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny (BOND), founded by Fox News contributor Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson who famously said, “allowing women to vote was one of the greatest mistakes America ever made”. The struggle for full equal rights for women in the employment and reproductive areas still goes on and is opposed by most of today's conservatives.

Conservatives opposed the minimum wage, child labor laws, the 8 hour work day and sick leave that was established by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Conservative warned that the minimum wage and labor standards would collapse the economy; sound familiar?  Conservatives are still trying to undo the minimum wage and oppose increases to keep up with inflation. Conservatives were wrong then and they are wrong now.

Conservatives by definition tend to oppose change and while every change is not necessarily for the better, consider the overall progress of civilization over the thousands of years and consider where we would be if the conservatives had succeeded in keeping us stuck in a brutal past. History has proven that the conservatives were wrong.

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