Origin of the Twelve Points

At this point, readers may wonder who is behind this project, where the Twelve Points came from, and who their author is.  This post is the answer to these questions.

I am Karl Born, the author of the Twelve Points.  I wrote the Twelve Points and created this blog, though there were many people along the way whose help has been indispensible.

I wrote the Twelve Points because at some point in 2007, I realized that the current level of philosophical confusion in the conservative movement (which I believe was no better then than it is now) might be helped by the right kind of statement of principles.  This statement would need to cut through this fog, resonate with all conservatives, refresh their (/our) memory of conservative ideas and philosophy, and help newer conservatives to gain (from the beginning) a firm grasp of the breadth and depth of the conservative objectives and principles.

It also occurred to me that widespread conservative affirmation of such a summary of conservative philosophy could help to heal and reunite the conservative movement.  In the years leading up to this, the conservatives most concerned with freedom, the Constitution, the rule of law, and related issues concerning the size and cost of government were given reason to question how much weight, if any, many conservatives actually gave to these principles.  (For this reason, some of these freedom enthusiasts no longer even call themselves conservatives, even though individual liberty and its constitutional protections are unambiguously a conservative principle.  What could be less conservative than for Americans to abandon this fortunate heritage of liberty?)  This was not the only important division in the conservative community; there were others.

To me, however, each of these divisions appeared to have resulted from a similar cause: constituencies of conservatives were violating the principles most important to the others, even where I would have expected the principles to appeal to the very groups violating them, and even though the conservative principles work best in concert.  If all conservatives were to review and reaffirm all of these principles at once, refreshing their own dedication to those principles, couldn't that help to pull these conservative groups back together?  A superficial, ceremonial reunion would be useless, but if conservatives from all of these factions would willingly, earnestly, and publicly reaffirm their sincere support of these principles, I do think that they would make a point of actually keeping those principles.

As a sophomore at Indiana University - Bloomington in 2001, I began to organize a conservative student organization, Grand Old Cause, which eventually adopted the statement of principles shown in the picture: the Seven Points.  Later (back in 2007), I realized that the Seven Points would not quite provide the certainty and substance that the larger conservative movement needed, and I gradually began to consider writing a new Seven Points-like statement on conservatism.

In March 2008, I finally decided to follow through and write a first draft of the Twelve Points.  Once I had done this, I wanted to be sure that I had not missed anything essential, so I tracked down and read every conservative book and every existing conservative statement of principles that I could find.  (As I researched, edited, and drafted the Twelve Points, the "Sharon Statement" of Young Americans for Freedom was an important influence on both the style and the substance.)

It was a long time before I was satisfied with what I had written, but in Indianapolis, during the afternoon of July 2, 2009, I made the final changes and completed the Twelve Points.

The only thing left to do was spread the word.  If you like the Twelve Points -- and I have no doubt that you will, once you read them -- I hope that you will join me in this final part of the project.

If you want to help, e-mail me at the12points@gmail.com or simply send people here on your own!

All the Pure, Concentrated Conservatism That Five Pages Can Hold

Even if conservatives become confused only as to the details of the philosophy, a good deal of damage can be done. In practice, every policy concerns the specific application of certain principles, and getting the details right often makes the difference between wise or unwise, just or unjust, and constitutional or unconstitutional.

Current events-oriented television and radio shows generally do not discuss the "big picture" of conservative philosophy and ideas. They focus on recent news (and usually news that would, in some way, excite or outrage the audience).

Unless and until a new conservative both 1) realizes just how much excellent conservative books could contribute to his or her understanding of conservatism and 2) actually reads a good number of those books, where will he find accessible, high-quality information on the conservative philosophy? How complete will his understanding of conservatism be?

Then, once a conservative has developed a strong understanding of conservatism, he or she will occasionally need to refresh his (or her) memory. Is re-reading each of those books the best way to do this?

No five-page document could communicate all of this information. The Twelve Points, however, are a highly-detailed, highly-concentrated five page summary of conservative thought. They can go where no book (or library full of books) can go.

The Twelve Points will jump-start new conservatives' philosophical educations and refresh the memory of more seasoned conservatives. They will clear away conservative philosophical confusion and restore the strained ties holding the movement together.

In short, this is as much pure, concentrated conservatism as five pages can possibly hold. Popular conservatism needs this now more than ever. In order to return conservative ideas and thought to popular conservatism, read the Twelve Points and spread the word!

Why the Twelve Points Are Needed -- Regrettable Slogan Version

"It is time for Conservatism to take its vitamins."

(For better versions of "Why the Twelve Points Are Needed," try the "Short Version" or the "Very Short Version." You can also read the Twelve Points themselves.)

Veterans

Needless to say, most of what is discussed in the Twelve Points is possible, at least in part, because of the willingness of past and present veterans to take risks and make sacrifices in defense of the United States.  We, as Americans, and we, as free people, are fortunate that they would never collect in full on the debt that we owe to them.  Nevertheless, as selflessly as they have sought to serve, they must not be denied the simple reward of our gratitude.

To our veterans: You have our most emphatic gratitude.

Concerning "Big-Government Conservatives"

Is there not a need for us, as conservatives, to declare and demonstrate for some of our fellow “conservatives” that there is no such thing as a "big-government conservative" -- other than in the same sense that "fool's gold" is a type of gold?

Is there not a need for us to confirm that the rest of us understand -- to some degree of detail -- what the effect of this assertion should be: what a genuine ally of freedom believes and in what areas such an ally should hope to reduce government in the short-term, the long-term, and the ideal scenario?

Is there not a need for us to confirm and demonstrate (for our fellow conservatives, among others) that American conservatives believe that every branch, department, or agent of our governments is bound by our Constitution and must be closely monitored and assertively supervised by the governed?

Is there not a need for us to refresh the memory of many conservatives as to the many reasons for these “small-government” positions?

To accomplish this, should we not now propose a statement of such conservative ideas and then widely adopt and affirm it?

Strategy to implement conservative principles

Is there not a need to form long-term plans for implementing conservative principles in policy – a task that cannot be completed until we address confusion as to what those principles are?

Stating outright the conservative opposition to racism

Should we, as conservatives, not only confirm that we oppose racism but also state outright, in unison, our intention of acting effectively to combat it?

Stating outright the conservative view on environmental issues

Should we, as conservatives, state outright and in unison what we should already know but many of us cannot remember -- that the conservative view on the environment is that law concerning it should be shaped by the same considerations that shape any just, reasonable body of law?

Whether the need to be served by the Twelve Points is already satisfied

Are existing statements of conservative principle (as valuable as many of them are, for their own reasons) not inadequate to provide clear guidance on the very issues where the conservative community, as of late, has demonstrated confusion?

We can make this happen

Decisive conservative support for the Twelve Points would establish that genuine conservatism is still the dominant philosophy of this movement.

It would further demonstrate that this conservative support is for well-defined ideas, which we expect our representatives to understand, implement, and keep. This conservative support, we will establish, is not just for a list of slogans, keywords, vague themes.

We will remind our representatives -- and ourselves -- that exciting slogans are no substitute for genuine, robust, substantive conservatism.

We can make this happen.

Do you like the Twelve Points?  If you like the Twelve Points, then spread the word.

Conservatives' clarity with respect to the pro-life position

Would the conservative movement not benefit from a summary of the conservative philosophy, which could be easily placed in front of and read by every American conservative, which expresses and explains the pro-life position in such a way that it should be persuasive even to many of those who reject the religious arguments or scorn “traditional values”?

Conservatives' clarity with respect to constitutional interpretation

Would the conservative movement not benefit from a summary of the conservative philosophy which presents new conservatives with an accurate introduction to the conservative view on constitutional interpretation?

Conservatives' clarity with respect to economics and property rights

Would the conservative movement not benefit from a summary of the conservative philosophy that re-emphasizes conservative support for various categories of free-market policies (including some that self-described conservatives have ignored, when convenient) while encouraging the average conservative to pursue and master the study of Economics? Would the conservative movement not also benefit from a summary of the conservative philosophy which efficiently teaches new conservatives about the source, operation, and importance of property rights?

Conservatives' clarity with respect to liberty and justice

Would the conservative movement not benefit from a summary of the conservative philosophy which presents new conservatives with a coherent explanation of the conservative understanding of justice, of which individual liberty is a central element?