Essay:Conservative Benefits

There are significant personal benefits to conservatism:

1. it recognizes that ideas, and particularly political ideas, do have serious personal consequences
2. it recognizes that politics and culture are adversarial and deceitful, and helps one filter the falsehoods
3. it allows one to speak and think freely without distortion by political correctness
4. it enables one to rise above his personal likes and dislikes
5. it recognizes the importance of personal self-defense, mentally and physically
6. it encourages a personal frugality that doesn't waste other people's money ... or one's own
7. it encourages self-restraint that is invaluable in combating addiction, temptation, and obesity
8. it encourages self-sufficiency and self-help rather than dependency
9. it facilitates genuine personal charity, with all its spiritual benefits
10. it is shared across all religions and cultures
11. it facilitates extraordinary insights and epiphanies
12. it helps tremendously in raising and educating the next generation, including one's own children
13. it appreciates law and order, and the personal value in adhering to it

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