One of the conservative writers and philosophers who most informs my viewpoint, Frank Meyer, was initially an avowed and card-carrying communist. His Leftist activism while attending school in Great Britain was so intense that he actually got deported back to America. His whole perspective changed when he read F.A. Hayek's "The Road to Serfdom" while serving in the US Army during WWII and he went on to be one of the key figures in the rise of modern conservatism in the '50s and '60s. His experience was not unique. Many strong conservative voices from that era started out as Left-wing activists in their college days. So, I'd say the only way to lose is to give up on the hearts and minds of our fellow countrymen. If what we believe to be true is in fact true, then you never know when that truth will prick the hearts of even the most avowed progressive activist.
How do you "reengage" with people who are closer to Stalin than to the Founders and indeed hold the latter in contempt?
One of the conservative writers and philosophers who most informs my viewpoint, Frank Meyer, was initially an avowed and card-carrying communist. His Leftist activism while attending school in Great Britain was so intense that he actually got deported back to America. His whole perspective changed when he read F.A. Hayek's "The Road to Serfdom" while serving in the US Army during WWII and he went on to be one of the key figures in the rise of modern conservatism in the '50s and '60s. His experience was not unique. Many strong conservative voices from that era started out as Left-wing activists in their college days. So, I'd say the only way to lose is to give up on the hearts and minds of our fellow countrymen. If what we believe to be true is in fact true, then you never know when that truth will prick the hearts of even the most avowed progressive activist.