--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To say that someone is a conservative…" description: "\"To say that someone is a conservative does not tell us what he is interested in conserving.\" — Douglas Wilson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/douglas-wilson-2686_conservative_to-say-that-someone-is-a-conservative-do_2430562.png" --- # To say that someone is a conservative does not tell us… ![“To say that someone is a conservative does not tell us what he is interested in conserving.” quote by Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/douglas-wilson-2686_conservative_to-say-that-someone-is-a-conservative-do_2430562.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/douglas-wilson-2686_conservative_to-say-that-someone-is-a-conservative-do_2430562.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/douglas-wilson-2686_conservative_to-say-that-someone-is-a-conservative-do_2430562.png) > “To say that someone is a conservative does not tell us what he is interested in conserving.” [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being conservative is about what one aims to preserve, not a fixed label of beliefs. **In simple terms:** Conservatism means preserving values. Key Takeaway Identify what you truly want to protect. Themes politics identity values Mood analytical thoughtful Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy debates - cultural discussions - personal values - community planning Key Concepts preservation ideology definition Questions to Reflect On - What do you value most? - How do you decide what to conserve? A Different Perspective Labels can oversimplify complex motivations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative/) [Conservative Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative-does-276236/) [Conserving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conserving/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Europe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe/) [Interested Conserving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interested-conserving-276237/) [Say Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-conservative-276235/) ## Related quotes > [A conservative is someone who does not think he is morally superior to his grandfather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-howard/a-conservative-is-someone-who-does-not-think-he-is-morally-superior/) [John Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-howard/) > [I'm a law-and-order guy. I mean, I confess I'm a social conservative, but it does not affect my views on cases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/i-m-a-law-and-order-guy-i-mean-i-confess-i-m-a-social-conservative/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [The Conservative does not despise government. He despises tyranny. This is precisely why the Conservative reveres the Constitution and insists on adherence to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-conservative-does-not-despise-government-he-despises-tyranny-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are all the sons or daughters of immigrants - some more recent than others - but all dedicated to the triumph of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kemp/we-are-all-the-sons-or-daughters-of-immigrants-some-more-recent-than/) [Jack Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kemp/) > [“You say you are conservative—eminently conservative—while we are revolutionary, destructive, or something of the sort. What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wolf-shenk/you-say-you-are-conservative-eminently-conservative-while-we-are/) [Joshua Wolf Shenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wolf-shenk/) > [What more do I need to say? Conservative books sell. I can't help it if liberal books don't sell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/what-more-do-i-need-to-say-conservative-books-sell-i-can-t-help-it-if/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) > [I haven't always voted for the same party, mostly because I find that strange. One thing I've never quite understood is when people say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-corden/i-haven-t-always-voted-for-the-same-party-mostly-because-i-find-that/) [James Corden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-corden/) > [When you dig down, people are pretty progressive, by and large. I guess, I've said it many times - that a lot of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-harkin/when-you-dig-down-people-are-pretty-progressive-by-and-large-i-guess/) [Tom Harkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-harkin/) > [I don't just say I'm conservative. I have boot leather to my gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-weber/i-don-t-just-say-i-m-conservative-i-have-boot-leather-to-my-gospel/) [Randy Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-weber/) > [ They \[Republicans\] say, 'You're too conservative.' Was Thomas Jefferson too conservative? I'm tired of some people calling me wacky. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharron-angle/they-republicans-say-you-re-too-conservative-was-thomas-jefferson-too/) [Sharron Angle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharron-angle/) > [But you say you are conservative - eminently conservative - while we are revolutionary, destructive, or something of the sort. What is conservatism? Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-haven-putnam/but-you-say-you-are-conservative-eminently-conservative-while-we-are/) [George Haven Putnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-haven-putnam/) > [Years ago on my radio show, I used to say, 'I'm a conservative, but I'm not in a bad mood about it.' I've always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/years-ago-on-my-radio-show-i-used-to-say-i-m-a-conservative-but-i-m/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [Where I live in Manhattan and where I work at ABC, people say conservative the way people say child molester.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stossel/where-i-live-in-manhattan-and-where-i-work-at-abc-people-say/) [John Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stossel/) > [It's much more powerful to say I'm working to reduce spending, deal with our nation's deficit, push back on the federal government, and give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-murkowski/it-s-much-more-powerful-to-say-i-m-working-to-reduce-spending-deal/) [Lisa Murkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-murkowski/) > [In a Republican primary every candidate is going to come in front of you and say I'm the most conservative guy that ever lived.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/in-a-republican-primary-every-candidate-is-going-to-come-in-front-of/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) ## More by Douglas Wilson > [“The ground for the necessity of Christian schools lies in this very thing, that no fact can be known unless it be known in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/the-ground-for-the-necessity-of-christian-schools-lies-in-this-very/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [Throughout the country, I see the same design problems and solutions over and over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/throughout-the-country-i-see-the-same-design-problems-and-solutions/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [“You do not create ex nihilo. You rearrange and recombine. You are the same old flour and eggs in search of a new recipe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/you-do-not-create-ex-nihilo-you-rearrange-and-recombine-you-are-the/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [“Sensory experience should not be draped on top of the story as sort of a last-minute decoration. Done right, it is woven into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/sensory-experience-should-not-be-draped-on-top-of-the-story-as-sort/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [“When the travesties scattered throughout our modern art museums are set alongside the glories of ancient Greece, the Christian heart should swell with pride.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/when-the-travesties-scattered-throughout-our-modern-art-museums-are/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [Immodest and attractive is easy. Modest and repulsive is easy too. But modest and attractive is an art form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/immodest-and-attractive-is-easy-modest-and-repulsive-is-easy-too-but/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [“We were in desperate straits. Christ came to “ransom captive Israel” and to “disperse the gloomy clouds of night.” In our insolence, we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/we-were-in-desperate-straits-christ-came-to-ransom-captive-israel-and/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [“This is why stories like this, with great evils in them, are necessary for children to read. Kids just got here—they are still figuring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/this-is-why-stories-like-this-with-great-evils-in-them-are-necessary/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [As you read, allow your reading to cluster around your interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/as-you-read-allow-your-reading-to-cluster-around-your-interests/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [“Every culture has blasphemy laws. They are not always called that, but no society allows citizens to rail against the reigning deity. In our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/every-culture-has-blasphemy-laws-they-are-not-always-called-that-but/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [“We sometimes do not appreciate the magnitude of the problem here. How could the eternal Word of the eternal Father take on limits? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/we-sometimes-do-not-appreciate-the-magnitude-of-the-problem-here-how/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [God picks us up where we are, not where we should have been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/god-picks-us-up-where-we-are-not-where-we-should-have-been/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [“The fulfillment of the cultural mandate involves hard work, and men need to be hard in order to do the work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/the-fulfillment-of-the-cultural-mandate-involves-hard-work-and-men/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [“There is no virtue or vice in a transitive verb, everything depends on the direct object. 'I LOVE' could be virtuous or not -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/there-is-no-virtue-or-vice-in-a-transitive-verb-everything-depends-on/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [“We are like fruitflies, measuring everything in terms of our own lifespan. But since our lifespans are so short, our perspective is entirely wrong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/we-are-like-fruitflies-measuring-everything-in-terms-of-our-own/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) [Explore all 154 Douglas Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) ## More Conservative quotes > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [Progressive Conservative candidates from Quebec want to exert real power in Ottawa, not simply be content with playing a secondary role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/progressive-conservative-candidates-from-quebec-want-to-exert-real/) [Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/) > [Play small ball. Get back to basics. I would say that you need to be a conservative, but you need to maintain your independent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-tantaros/play-small-ball-get-back-to-basics-i-would-say-that-you-need-to-be-a/) [Andrea Tantaros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-tantaros/) > [I am a conservative type of person, so sometimes when I'm chilling with myself, people always come ask me, 'What's wrong with you? What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-wonder/i-am-a-conservative-type-of-person-so-sometimes-when-i-m-chilling/) [Wayne Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-wonder/) > [In the Tea Party era, it is the restless conservative Republican who has become passion's plaything, the toy of impetuous romance, an erotomania only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/in-the-tea-party-era-it-is-the-restless-conservative-republican-who/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [I'm a principle liberty, rule-of-law Conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-o-toole/i-m-a-principle-liberty-rule-of-law-conservative/) [Erin O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-o-toole/) > [I would say I'm a fiscal conservative and a social liberal, if that contradiction can make sense, because in Bolivia, we have a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gonzalo-sanchez-de-lozada/i-would-say-i-m-a-fiscal-conservative-and-a-social-liberal-if-that/) [Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gonzalo-sanchez-de-lozada/) > [My dad's quite a conservative person, and he brought me up to be very questioning of the commercial world. He looked down on pop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-and-the-diamonds/my-dad-s-quite-a-conservative-person-and-he-brought-me-up-to-be-very/) [Marina and the Diamonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-and-the-diamonds/) > [To all conservative women out there: If you are so sure the embryo needed for stem cell research are precious human life that can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/to-all-conservative-women-out-there-if-you-are-so-sure-the-embryo/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [There are a lot of conservative people, a lot of moderate people, Republicans, Democrats, in Hollywood. It is just that the conservative people by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/there-are-a-lot-of-conservative-people-a-lot-of-moderate-people/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [“Those who consider themselves ‘Conservative’ frequently identify with family values, so they should consider carefully the fact that in 1960, only 18% of women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-befumo/those-who-consider-themselves-conservative-frequently-identify-with/) [Joseph Befumo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-befumo/) > [A faithfully kept program of savings and conservative investments can give you more money and a better life than that of your neighbors who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-bryant-quinn/a-faithfully-kept-program-of-savings-and-conservative-investments-can/) [Jane Bryant Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-bryant-quinn/) > [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [Conservative feminism is such an artificial term that doesn't mean much to me. For me conservatism means accepting reality. I acknowledge that there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristina-schroder/conservative-feminism-is-such-an-artificial-term-that-doesn-t-mean/) [Kristina Schroder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristina-schroder/) [Browse all 2,995 Conservative quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To say that someone is a conservative does not tell us what he is interested in conserving.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Douglas Wilson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/to-say-that-someone-is-a-conservative-does-not-tell-us-what-he-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conservative" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/to-say-that-someone-is-a-conservative-does-not-tell-us-what-he-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/douglas-wilson-2686_conservative_to-say-that-someone-is-a-conservative-do_2430562.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/douglas-wilson-2686_conservative_to-say-that-someone-is-a-conservative-do_2430562.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79f/douglas-wilson-2686_conservative_to-say-that-someone-is-a-conservative-do_2430562.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To say that someone is a conservative does not tell us what he is interested in conserving.” — Douglas Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Douglas Wilson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To say that someone is a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/to-say-that-someone-is-a-conservative-does-not-tell-us-what-he-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/to-say-that-someone-is-a-conservative-does-not-tell-us-what-he-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```