It depends on who you ask. That's a real problem.

I'll tell you what it means to me.

Conservatism, as I understand it, is not a political party. It's a way of seeing the world. Thomas Sowell described it as the recognition that human nature is fixed and flawed, and that good intentions don't guarantee good outcomes. Institutions, traditions, and ordered liberty exist because generations before us paid for them. You don't dismantle them lightly.

Clarence Thomas built his judicial philosophy on natural law — the conviction that some rights are not granted by government. They are inherent to human dignity, and government's job is to protect them, not redefine them. That's the foundation I stand on too.

And Charlie Kirk's question cuts to the core: what are we trying to conserve? The answer is Western civilization, the Judeo-Christian moral framework that built it, and the ordered liberty that lets families, communities, and faith flourish.

For me, all of this is grounded in something more fundamental than politics. I believe every person is made in the image of God. That single conviction shapes how I see policy, people, and power.