Didn't your mothers teach you that? Conservatives' mothers certainly did. That's why conservative politicians spend all their time talking about "liba-ruls" and "big spenders" and the "democrat" agenda for letting a lot of foreigners into the country, as if these were somehow bad things and not in keeping with conservative values.
What's generally missing from their conversation, in case you haven't noticed, is any mention of EQUALITY and FRATERNITY (even though they like to belong to one) and LIBERTY. Mainly, it's been suggested, that's because these values are originally French--i.e. foreign.
But, I don't think that's the case. As it says in the Bible:
"By their fruits ye shall know them" (Matt. 7:16).
and, if that's correct, then the so-called "liberal agenda" that's being decried by conservatives is really what they want for themselves (and deny to others), but are simply too polite to express. Which tells me that perhaps we progressives, instead of wasting a lot of energy defending ourselves against conservative accusations, should simply return the favor and start paying attention to their values, as demonstrated by their results.
Since I've only just started thinking about this, my list of conservative values is necessarily preliminary and limited. But, here's a start:
debt
destruction
domination
deception
segregation
exclusion
subjugation
[and, above all]
Obedience
While the results of these values are on display in the news from around the world on a daily basis, a generous spirit might well quibble with the assertion that the impulse to segregate is still operative. But, how would you categorize the former Arkansas Governor's suggestion that the victims of HIV should simply be quarantined? What's a quarantine but the segregation of one population from the rest of the community?
For that matter, what's the erection of gated communities all over the country (and in Iraq) but an effort to keep some people in and some people out--i.e. segregation as a private or military endeavor, rather than a matter of public policy (which is what the Constitution forbids)?
While it's become increasingly obvious that the "war on terror" is largely designed to return powers to the agents of government that the civil and consumer rights legislation of the 1960s, especially the Freedom of Information Act of 1966, undermined, that the whole "privatization" agenda was largely aimed at restoring the old order, where the decisions of public officials and the conversion of public resources into private wealth went forward without question or challenge, didn't really become apparent until the promised "efficiency and economy" turned out to be a myth. It's only now that the American people are stuck with a gigantic debt (notes held by the very rich, not savings bonds American families have bought for their kids) that the real big spenders of other people's money are being revealed.
You might well question the inclusion of obedience in this list of conservative values with negative results. After all, how can we fault people following directions and doing what they are told? Isn't that necessary, if the wisdom gained in one generation is to be transmitted to the next? Isn't obedience what authority relies on to be effective? No doubt. And, it's all fine and good, as long as the impulse to obey is not abused. In other words, obedience is good, unless it becomes an end in itself. When it's used to gratify the impulse to dominate and subjugate on the part of people who, despite a total absence of any practical talents or expertise, set themselves up as authorities, then obedience is liable to become the handmaiden of destruction. But, of course, that's just my opinion--an opinion which, incidentally, also leads me to reject the notion that obedience is the guarantor of right action; that those who follow orders can do no wrong.
But what about the conservative commitment to Creation, you might ask? How can we reconcile the conservative subservience to God the Creator with the destruction they leave in their wake? Is it not sinful to destroy what the good Lord has made? You might think so. But, that's where a bit of magical thinking steps in. You see, destruction is good because it provides the Creator with the opportunity to make something new. And yet, it's being reported that the former Governor of Arkansas was moved to veto legislation to provide assistance to the victims of a natural disaster because it was referred to as an "act of God." Which suggests that the conservative God not only depends on humans to provide Him with opportunities to make something new, but needs His reputation to be protected by them. God may have made man in His own image, but the status of man is clearly enhanced by the effort to insure that the image is not tarnished. It's what makes man special, don't you know? If you don't, then you're obviously not one of the chosen ones.
P.S. I used to think that conservatives are opposed to choices because they reject the responsibility (and the possibility of being wrong) that goes along with making them. But if choice is one of the prerogatives of the Creator, then man (let alone woman) making a choice would be grossly presumptuous, in addition to being risky.