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A Conservative Response to a Liberal/Leftist Beliefs – Chapter 1 of 5

Recently, Ron Howard, a very talented Hollywood actor/director and self-identified Liberal, wrote a summary of his beliefs on Facebook. Many of his fellow liberals (leftists/progressives) commented expressing their enthusiastic agreement. Doesn’t this offer a perfect opportunity for a conservative response?

The following column is the first of 5 chapters of response to Howard. A response to all 16 of Howard’s statements would make one column too voluminous. Chapter 1 is a response to the first 3 of 16 beliefs expressed in Howard’s Facebook post.

The purposes of these 5-chapter responses are to increase clarity, education, opportunities for critical thinking and avoid personal attacks. Ideally these chapters will result in liberals and conservatives identifying areas of agreement, reducing animosity, and encouraging additional healthy debate.

Definitions

If we want clarity, let’s agree on clear definitions. These are from Merriam-Webster and ChatGPT. See if you agree.

• Liberal: A political philosophy based on the desire for progress. It also expresses the essential goodness of people, and the need for freedom from arbitrary authority and tyranny.

• Progressivism: A political philosophy that prioritizes the advancement of the public good primarily through government programs. Progressives believe government plays the primary role to meet social, economic, environmental and other needs especially for marginalized groups.

• Leftist: A political philosophy consistent with progressivism. Leftists seek equality of outcomes through government intervention and redistribution of wealth. This contrasts with Free Market Capitalism which seeks equal opportunity. Leftists seek economic equality through taxation of the wealthy, social welfare giveaways, and stronger protection for workers through government regulations. A leftist often sees free market capitalism as a barrier to economic success and the cause of economic inequality.

For simplicity, I will use the term Leftist to refer to all three of these terms.

• Conservative: A political philosophy which embraces principles based on wisdom. Their purpose is to favor the preservation of time-tested traditions and established institutions. This person prefers gradual change (continuous improvement) rather than radical change. Any changes adopted are preferred to be based on the established scientific method. A conservative prioritizes personal responsibility, law and order, national sovereignty, self-management, and limited government for solving society’s problems.

• Assertive Conservative: A bold, respectful and unafraid method of expressing time-tested principles and their application to everyday problems.

Ron Howard clarifies his beliefs are consistent with those of “the majority of liberals”. Here are Ron Howard’s beliefs (Leftist) and one Assertive Conservative’s responses. Which position can you embrace?

Ron Howard:

“I’m a liberal, but that doesn’t mean what a lot of you apparently think it does. Let’s break it down, shall we? Because quite frankly, I’m getting a little tired of being told what I believe and what I stand for. Spoiler alert: not every liberal is the same, though the majority of liberals I know think along roughly these same lines:

1. I believe a country should take care of its weakest members. A country cannot call itself civilized when its children, disabled, sick, and elderly are neglected. PERIOD.

Conservative:

We can agree, we must be responsible for the weakest among us. A conservative would ask, “who is the ‘we’”, individuals, churches, or government? The Bible has over 100 verses calling for individuals to help the poor (weakest). There are no explicit verses demanding government charity for the poor.

Second, a conservative would ask about efficacy. Billions of dollars of waste and fraud have been uncovered recently in government spending. Churches, non-profits, and individuals create a higher level of accountability whereas government does not.

One measure of Federal Government effectiveness for “taking care of the weakest among us” is the amount of fraud and waste. Independent reporter Nick Shrley, Elon Musk’s D.O.G.E efforts, and Vice President JD Vance’s efforts have uncovered billions.

• D.O.G.E claims to have found $214 billion
• Nick Shirley claims to have found $170 billion in California and $110 billion in Minnesota
• JD Vance’s committee has claimed to have found $229.9 billion.

Leftists and Conservatives can argue about the actual possible savings. But can we agree this waste and fraud is unacceptable and is not worth choosing bigger government over individual action? The concept of “subsidiarity” is consistent with the Bible and is a much more effective method for solving problems while avoiding waste and fraud.

Mr. Howard, what is stopping you from practicing subsidiarity and giving to your local church or non-profits if you care so much?  That’s what I do and what Conservatives do much more than leftists.

"Liberals show tremendous compassion in pushing for government programs to help the neediest people at home and abroad. Yet when it comes to individual contributions to charitable causes, liberals are cheapskates." – Nicolas D. Kristof 

Ron Howard:

2. I believe healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Somehow that’s interpreted as “I believe Obamacare is the end-all, be-all.” This is not the case. I’m fully aware that the ACA has problems, that a national healthcare system would require everyone to chip in, and that it’s impossible to create one that is devoid of flaws, but I have yet to hear an argument against it that makes “let people die because they can’t afford healthcare” a better alternative. I believe healthcare should be far cheaper than it is, and that everyone should have access to it. And no, I’m not opposed to paying higher taxes in the name of making that happen.

Assertive Conservative:

What is the definition of healthcare? Is healthcare having a right to see a doctor anytime you want for any reason and have someone else pay? Does it include breast augmentation? Trans surgery? Nose jobs? Abortions? Emergency surgery from an accident? Should it be available for illegals or just citizens? By what method do we pay for it? You want it cheaper? What method can we use to make it cheaper? If healthcare includes any service at any time, how can we possibly make that an affordable right?

The right to healthcare is not in the Constitution. The right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are. The Bill of Rights does not include even a suggestion of healthcare. The Constitution makes clear in both the Ninth and Tenth Amendments that any rights not enumerated in the Constitution are retained by the people or the states. Perhaps Ron Howard desires a Constitutional Amendment or perhaps a different country for this belief.

Furthermore, our country doesn’t have healthcare. We have sick care. There is evidence the medical industry, in cooperation with the food and pharmaceutical industries, is creating a system that keeps us sick and addicted to drugs and processed foods. Is it unsophisticated to claim healthcare as a right when it’s not in the Constitution and absorbing the costs of such a belief will severely damage the economy for everyone?

U.S. healthcare has grown from 5% of GDP in 1960 to 18% in 2024.  Is it responsible and sophisticated to just claim “healthcare is a right” without clarity and without evaluating the consequences of such a belief? Liberals want to prioritize the public good, but doesn’t that also mean avoiding severe consequences?

Instead, what if the incentives encouraged self-management and self-sufficiency of healthcare? Can any Leftist give me an example when “let people die because they can’t afford healthcare” occurred? Doesn’t this belief encourage a “dependence on government”? Where is personal responsibility in healthcare?

What if everyone was encouraged (incentivized) to protect their individual immune systems? What if the government published research into what Big Food and Big Pharma could do better to boost everyone’s immune systems? Oh wait, isn’t that what Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and MAHA are doing? Isn’t MAHA uncovering and fixing the root causes of the harm that’s been caused by our dependence on Big Pharma and Big Food and Big Government? Isn’t the best way to lower costs of health care to encourage self-sufficiency and discourage dependency? Isn’t “subsidiarity” applicable again?

Ron Howard

3. I believe education should be affordable. It doesn’t necessarily have to be free (though it works in other countries so I’m mystified as to why it can’t work in the US), but at the end of the day, there is no excuse for students graduating college saddled with five- or six-figure debt.

Assertive Conservative:

Is it true that Leftists cause problems and then declare an emergency?  College education is just one example.

Federal Student Loans expanded significantly in 1965 with the Higher Education Act.  Can someone on the left (Ron Howard) explain why private and public college tuition has increased 2,790% while the Consumer Price Index has increased only 960% over this same period?  Is this a coincidence or is government involvement a root cause explanation?

Approximately 40% of college students drop out before graduation. Dropouts are still responsible for their student loan debt and the interest on the debt continues to grow. How is this making education more affordable?

Whenever the Federal Government attempts to solve a problem, it either gets worse or surfaces other problems. Then, the Leftists demand to fix what their original strategy created. Isn’t the concept of “subsidiarity” the best strategy for problems, even education?

Summary

Do you see a clear contrast between the two positions? Howard and Leftists embrace dependency on big government solutions. Conservatives encourage self-sufficiency and personal responsibility.

In belief #1 we can agree both want to take care of those most vulnerable. Howard wants government to do it. Conservatives want the private sector to do it.

In belief #2, the Left claims healthcare is a right. Conservatives remind them that the Constitution doesn’t include healthcare. Once again, the Left wants a government solution. The Conservative wants self-sufficiency and personal responsibility.

In belief #3 the Left wants affordable education. Once again, government involvement has caused a lack of affordability and an unhealthy dependency by attempting to fix a problem. Government solutions haven’t worked and often only make things worse. For example, since 1965 the government has invested ~$30 trillion and yet the poverty rate remains at 15%.

Stay tuned for Chapters 2-5. Will the contrast continue?

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