Conservatism Between Parents and Children

Our country today is extremely liberal, and when I say liberal, I don’t necessarily mean the common political definition. The liberalism I speak of, is the idea that our society is based off of freedoms. Freedoms such as the freedom to chose, to question the government, to have free speech, a free market, so on and so forth. The USA in particular is continually focused on freedoms, as well as the notion of moving forward. This theme of change is even found in our recent election, where president Obama continued his campaign on CHANGE and moving FORWARD. The fact that he won using these ideals as support, is a symbol of liberalism in The United States of America today.

If this is so, are all aspects of American life then liberal? or of liberalist nature? I would argue though many aspects are, there is one specific area where conservatism is found, and that is in the relationship between parents and children.

The ideas of conservatism I wish to talk about, stem from the political ideologies of Edmund Burke. Conservatism is defined as, “a political and social philosophy that promotes retaining traditional social institutions,” and in the relationship between parents and children in society, this notion of conservatism holds strong.

In society we expect parents to discipline their children. We have specific expectations about how a child should behave. These expectations have stemmed from long standing traditions that haven’t changed much over time. We still believe that children are supposed to be quiet, kind, respectful, able to share, and be polite. They are not supposed to have tantrums in public, or disrespect elders in any way. If a child does not live up to these standards, they are often seen as rude, unruly, and are ostracized from their peers, and rejected by adults. Furthermore, the parents of these children are then seen as unable to discipline their children, and as bad parents. Edmund Burke would argue that this basic relationship between parents and kids must be conservative in order for society to function smoothly. This idea is deeply rooted in traditional social institutions, that if children were left to run-a-muk, there would be chaos in society, and children would grow up not learning important lessons, and skills, that are needed for society to prosper.

One may ask then… what about parents who let their children do as they please? Parents who, in a sense are very “liberal” in their parenting and don’t display much discipline or authoritative demands onto their children. Are they still conservative? The answer is yes. No matter how liberal ones parent or guardian is, he or she is still part of an unequal relationship with their children. It is a parent’s responsibility to watch over their child, and make decisions for it. Take a baby; a parent must feed it, put it to bed, and sooth its cries. Little babies are unable to take care of themselves, therefore, they must have someone watching over them. It is a tradition that has been passed on throughout the years, that is necessary for the next generation to survive. If a parent said to his child, “ok baby you have the decision to eat whatever you want”, a very liberalist idea, the child would have no idea what would be good for him or not good for him, or if he was young enough, he may not even have the ability to get to food, therefore leading to potential harm to the child. This unequal relationship, starting young, creates an authoritative bond that only grows over time. No matter how entirely liberal a parent is, they still must look over, and care for their child, which in turn creates this conservative relationship.

As children grow, parents begin to use what Edmund Burke would constitute as regulated freedom, in order to keep their children safe, keep them in line, and gain trust with them, so as the children matures, they can be allotted more liberties. This idea of regulated freedom is defined as, liberty and choice being necessary and good, but only if it regulated by an authority figure.

Lets look an example

Pretend a child gets a car. They technically have the liberty to drive it. However, the authoritarian figure (the parents) place regulations on the child’s liberty to drive the car; saying that the child is only allowed to drive the car if he drives it safely, and drives it when the parent says it’s ok.

Now, lets say that these conditions are not seen as fair in the child’s eyes, and he wants to discuses a sort of Constitution, and His Rights with the car, now that he is old enough to drive it, and has acquired his license.

Burke would say that this is, “ an act of ignorance” on the child’s part. He would say that the parents are in the right in placing regulations on the child’s liberty to drive the car, due to the fact that his parents have been regulating their children for years, and it has lead to a great many good members of society.

Well then… what if this teenager decides to revolt against his parents, then coerces the rest of the teenagers in society to revolt. What would then happen? Well according to conservatist ideas, it is mostly likely be the case, that after they revolted, and were seemingly on the same playing field as their parents, they would be confused in manners like paying bills, taking care of the house, going to work, etc. and society would be unable to function at an optional level.

Therefore, Burkes notion of regulated liberty and conservatism is inherently necessary for a not only a child’s safety, but also for society to work and function properly. The conservatism notion that a revolt just leads to chaos can be proved inherently when thinking through what would happen to society if teenagers indeed revolted.

Edmund Burke’s ideas of conservatism may not be relevant in today’s political structure, as traditional authoritarian government has been overshadowed by liberalism and CHANGE. But, in respect to the relationship between children and their parents, his conservative notions continue to hold true, and will most likely continue on throughout time, as this type of relationship is a necessity for our society to prosper and function optimally in the future.