Conservative is, I think, a misleading moniker. It evokes – at least in me – the image of someone who wants to preserve the world, who – at least in principle – places a high value on life. And indeed, many self-described conservatives won’t tire of telling everyone that they want to preserve life, that they are pro life. Of course, when they say pro life, they really mean pro human life – they seldom are vegetarians.

Well, no, actually they mean pro unborn human life. Unborn only – because most conservatives don’t give a damn what happens to the baby once it is born (at least until, as George Carlin pointed out, the baby has grown old enough to become a soldier).

So it seems that few conservatives really have an interest in preserving life. Indeed, to my eyes the opposite is true: a conservative mindset destroys life.

Christian/Jewish conservatives like to point to Genesis 1:28 –

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.”

That is their main reason for being pro life. As a result, fundamental believers breed like rabbits. With similarly devastating effect. We already have filled the earth and subdued it. It’s a fact that the single, most effective way to preserve life on Earth is for humans to breed less. Neither reducing carbon emissions nor cleaner energy will save the planet. Only spawning fewer children will. But that is what conservatives are vehemently opposed to. They say they want to preserve life? They don’t. They destroy our habitat by mindlessly keeping their old traditions and way of life.

Conservatives aren’ big on preserving life. They are big on preserving their lifestyle.