Conservative Passivity
One curious feature of so-called “conservatives” is their passivity. Climate change? Do nothing. Covid? Do nothing. School shootings? Do nothing. Just sit there and take it. This conserves effort and thought, but nothing else.
If you challenge them on this, then they will say that climate change, covid, or school shootings are over-dramatized, or no big deal, or aren’t real at all. This denial is defensive; it libels scientists, doctors, and bereaved parents; and it covers up their passivism.
They will also try whataboutism. Whatabout drugs? Or border control? Or crime? One may not like liberal policies about drugs, the border, and crime; but those policies have the virtue of existing. Calling massacres, a pandemic, and climate chaos non-problems is an excuse for complete inaction.
Conservatism is weak.
While I don't entirely disagree, this reminds me of the sentence "we must do something and this is something". Some policies (not necessarily the ones you mentioned, to be clear) can be so bad that no policy would be better. If I had to reach for an easy example, eugenics.
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