A Legacy of Compassionate Conservatism

George H.W. Bush, 41st President of the United States, has died at the age of 94.  As I write those words, in my head I hear the voice of Walter Conkrite pronouncing them as though introducing the lead news story on the NBC Nightly News.  Although President Bush has lived quietly for a number of years now, his passing marks an end to a remarkable life.  I won't attempt to provide a biographical sketch of the man here as it is available all over the Internet.

In some ways, President Bush epitomized what I thought a U.S. leader should be -- at least to all public appearances, he had the good of the nation at heart in all that he did.  He was a patriot of the first order but, he had a global outlook.  He first brought the phrase "compassionate conservatism" into the mainstream.  It is a view I believe we all should take during our current struggle between nationalism and globalism.  It is the middle road.

To me, compassionate conservatism acknowledges that those who have much should care for those who have little.  It is a social responsibility that gives flesh to the tenants so clearly laid out in the Bible in the words of Jesus.  It is both a national view and a global view that doesn't sacrifice one for the other, but seeks to raise all.  It is not based in a socialist approach that takes from one group in order to redistribute, but instead calls on the higher road of moral responsibility for ones fellow man.  It also is not a system of greed that seeks only to accumulate and to hoard.  It calls on each of us to contribute through our labor which gives meaning to our own life, while blessing those around us with the fruits of that labor.  It spreads wealth voluntarily, not forcefully.

We as a nation are struggling with self-identity.  In that struggle, we must remain aware that our blessings draw contempt and envy from those who have not participated due to various reasons -- location, ignorance, historical disadvantage, ability, or victimization.  We must see the world with compassion while being good stewards of what God has allowed us to accomplish and to produce.

I pray that the legacy of George H.W. Bush will be his call for compassionate conservatism.  It is not isolationism and it is not globalism, it is faithful stewardship of what we have in a way that blesses and raises all with whom we come in contact.  We must be the bright and shining light upon the hill, not an unattainable light, but a beacon of hope for the world.