If once conservatives were considered to be those who could deny any new thought or active push for intensive change, today’s conservatives are a completely different environment, thoughts, ideas, and principles. This is the first thing we should note at the beginning of this article.
We are used to thinking that “conservatism” implies something very “heavy,” old, boring, and a certain “hardheadedness” of conservative representatives. And you must admit that many people have exactly these associations in their minds. But…
In today’s dynamic and fast-paced world, being a conservative who relies exclusively on proven schemes and systems, familiar and “calm” ones that have endured for decades, for example, is not only inefficient and ineffective, but also dangerous for normal and healthy life and development. Because change is inevitable and in the long run it is vital.
What is modern conservatism and how can it be interpreted from the perspective of people of the new formation?
Imagine that there is a base without which no human life, process, system, development, or formation of new concepts will be complete. It is like a solid foundation that every building that wants to claim durability, strength, and grandeur must have. And we need to understand that if this foundation is not in place, what is being created will simply have no history, no recognition by generations, and no public benefit. And this base is as indisputable and unalterable as the very concept of the world.
Who among you can deny that every person should cultivate such virtues as prudence, courage, justice, moderation, faith, hope, and love? Most likely, no one… But this moral and ethical framework has existed from the very beginning, and if it were incorporated into all the processes taking place in the world, imagine what results we would have now? This foundation would not only ensure the longevity of what was started, but also bear fruit that could feed more than one generation.
Therefore, consider that the right moral and ethical principles are the first and one of the main features of modern conservatism. This is what distinguishes it from, for example, liberalism, where you don’t have to be reasonable and moderate when you want to change something you don’t like. Do you want to change the government, or the law, or the processes in your own life? Let’s go! You can destroy half a block, demolish everything in your way, but you will definitely be heard and given what you want. Modern democracy is like that. And the basis of all modern Western democracies is liberalism, which today is turning into a kind of permissiveness. And as a result, many concepts and meanings that were once really the basis for common sense are being replaced.
And if you take a conservative idea as a basis, where before doing or changing anything, you have to raise and activate all your prudence, courage, justice, moderation, faith, hope and love, this approach is unlikely to be destructive and can provoke chaos in the system or in current processes. And it is not only about society as a whole, but also about each person and their personal life in particular.
Let’s take traditions as an example. They are also the basis of the modern conservative idea. What is their meaning and role? It is important to understand that this is also a basis, but one that has a more practical and effective function. The main role of traditions in the worldview of modern conservatives is to help separate the secondary from the main, to find treasure among unnecessary and unpromising junk, and to pass on to their successors those tools of coexistence with the world that help maintain the strength, power, authority, culture, and spirituality of generations. It is a kind of succession in the system of knowledge, beliefs and rules.
Such traditions are very important for modern conservatives, as they help to preserve the basis of the ideology itself and its practical implementation.
What are Ukrainian traditions from the point of view of modern conservative views?
First of all, it is the uniqueness that is inherent in our culture and allows Ukrainians to cultivate dignity, self-confidence and clear self-identification. These are indicators of a strong nation, and Ukrainians now, more than ever, need to restore traditions – the culture that manifests itself through them – and fix them in the system of daily processes of the Ukrainian people. This will create a solid foundation and defense that will preserve and strengthen us as a people.
It is worth noting that traditions can be different, even those that contradict the first and basic principle of strong moral and spiritual values. We do not take them into account, we are talking about what helps to support the best in a person and what was inherent in him or her by nature.
The tradition of gathering together for major holidays with the whole family is about fostering respect for generations and a sense of belonging to a certain family, the tradition of singing authentic Ukrainian songs that reflect not only the history of the nation but also the wisdom of many generations, traditions that accompany various holidays as a way to show how people interact with the world around them (Ivan Kupala, Christmas customs, Vesnianky, etc.), the works of Ukrainian intellectuals, treatises, books that are not as popular as J.K. Rowling’s texts for some reason. And there is a lot that only Ukrainians know and can do, and now they are rapidly losing it, succumbing to external political, ideological and financial influence.
That is why the role of modern Ukrainian conservatives is to prevent Ukrainians from forgetting their own, replacing it with something alien and different in nature. And this can be done by restoring uniqueness, first of all, in the cultural life of the nation and its daily life.
