“But all conservatism is based upon the idea that if you leave things alone you leave them as they are. But you do not. If you leave a thing alone you leave it to a torrent of change. If you leave a white post alone it will soon be a black post. If you particularly want it to be white you must be always painting it again; that is, you must be always having a revolution.” – G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, 1908

In other words, as Jesse Sumpter explains: “The world is always changing. People grow old and things fall apart. True conservatives must be vigilant and active because there is a standard which we are aiming for and we cannot reach that standard trying to maintain the status quo.”

True conservatism is radically active. It knows that liberty can be lost in a generation. True conservatism does hail back to the “good old days” but it keeps them dusted off, repainted, and repaired. It is constantly vigilant. And where a line of defense goes awry, it is quick to re-form the line.

G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

RENEWED BY SHIPWRECKS

What will we save from the wreckage? Chesterton reminds us in Orthodoxy that even in a shipwreck there is hope. Continue reading RENEWED BY SHIPWRECKS

G. K. Chesterton, Memorial of First Martyrs of the Church, Orthodoxy

MEMORIAL OF THE FIRST MARTYRS OF THE CHURCH OF ROME

Let us follow for a moment the clue of the martyr and the suicide; and take the case of courage. No quality has ever so much addled the brains and tangled the definitions of merely rational sages. Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die. Continue reading MEMORIAL OF THE FIRST MARTYRS OF THE CHURCH OF ROME

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