"As the great political philosopher William Joel once asked, "Who needs a house out in Hackensack? Is that all you get for your money?" This was in response to wise old Mama Leone's sage counsel: "Sonny, move out to the country." After all, working too hard can give you a heart attack (ack-ack-ack-ack-ack). The name of the song? Aptly enough, "Movin' Out.""
"Modern American conservatism is about hearth, home, and rootedness while at the same time representing dynamism, growth, and opportunity. "Go West, young man" and "I'll be home for Christmas." Mayberry and Wall Street, even if in the current moment we are seeking to emulate Russell Kirk more than Gordon Gekko. As a political movement, we on the right contain multitudes."
"What I would, however, like to remind my fellow conservatives is that we are in large part a political movement. That doesn't mean conservatism is only political. It is proper for even non-libertarian-tinged forms of conservative thought to remind people that there is a limit to what can be accomplished through politics. Don't immanentize the eschaton. Or as Samuel Johnson put it, "How small, of all that human hearts endure, That part which laws or kings can cause or cure.""
Conservatism combines commitments to home, rootedness, community stability, and a separate commitment to dynamism, growth, and opportunity. Young people facing high local costs confront choices about staying put or relocating for affordability and opportunity. The movement contains conflicting impulses that resist complete reconciliation. Political action has limits and cannot solve every personal or cultural dilemma, yet public policy can address structural economic barriers when government functions. Personal financial advice and political remedies are distinct; policy should target genuine constraints while respecting individual responsibility and the plurality of conservative values.
Read at The American Conservative
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