Guest author: Heather Barlow
For many conservatives, regardless of where they fit under our “big blue tent”, the negative stereotypes that portray conservatives as uncompassionate and heartless is extremely frustrating. In our society, the Left continues to perpetuate untrue stereotypes about the conservative movement and the people in it and because these labels that surround the left vs. right on the political spectrum have become so ingrained in the minds of individuals no matter their level of political engagement and understanding of issues, it is automatically assumed that the centre-right and right of the spectrum equals a group of out-of-touch individuals in relation to any and all social issues. You don’t need to dig too deep to see that that so many conservatives continue to advocate for and introduce policies that fundamentally care for all people and our planet.
While starting the book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate, I was furious by the way Naomi Klein, author and polarizing climate justice activist, labelled conservatives as a big group of “right-wingers [whose] opposition to climate change has become as central to their belief system as low taxes, gun ownership, and opposition to abortion.” This is a completely unsubstantiated argument. I would argue that while there are conservatives who deny climate change, the number of individuals who actively deny climate change is a small minority of conservatives. If anything, conservatives believe in the importance of conserving the environment and the beautiful nature that is abundant around the world. In fact, it’s even right in our name. Regardless of what you might think or feel about climate change and the threat that it poses to our planet, I highly recommend giving this thought-provoking book a read.
My thought when I put the book down for the first time was that anyone who reads this book is going to automatically believe that all conservatives couldn’t care less about the environment and preserving it for future generations. In the days following, I continued to think and came to realize that these negative stereotypes about conservatives and our movement are not going to disappear on their own. The Left will continue to twist and distort our policies that seek to make life easier for the middle-class and we cannot rely solely on conservative political parties and prominent conservative activists to change the narrative about our movement either.
It’s up to all of us to change the narrative and get rid of the labels that surround the conservative movement.
Let’s take for example the Conservative Party of Canada and the provincial conservative parties that have already increased their presence at events such as pride parades in cities across the country with our own elected officials and leaders marching in them. Our presence at events such as these combined with policies that reflect our commitment to the environment, Indigenous rights, and gender equality (among other social issues) while staying true to our conservative principles and values of course, will go a long way in breaking the untrue stereotypes that exist.
The most powerful tool however, that conservatives have to reverse these labels is through our individual actions and interactions with our peers. In all future discussions, debates, and conversations that concern politics or government policy, all conservatives, especially young people, have an important opportunity to respectfully share our commitment to leaving our world in a better place for future generations with our peers. Our words and actions that are shared regarding conservative policies and our movement have a larger ability than we might think to positively or negatively influence those around us.
Just like one of our core values of personal responsibility, let’s take this individual responsibility that we have to work hard and shatter negative stereotypes that surround conservatives through all of our future interactions.
Disclaimer: Story of a Tory is in no way affiliated with the Conservative Party of Canada or any other political party, be it federal or provincial. The views of each author are independent of all other authors.
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