[Durus]

The Constitution was created from a distinct philosophy that incorporated the "Age of Reason" with radical ideas about individual freedom and liberty. It incorporated morality yet still remained secular out of respect for varying religious views. It wasn't based on a "tradition" or "wisdom of the ancients". It was new, it had never before been attempted, it was genius. It formed a nation, and a government that was ruled by the people without the obvious drawbacks of direct democracy. It limited the powers of government to only those enumerated. It held that all other rights were retained by the states or by the people.

What else could you possibly want to conserve any more than the Constitution, the very foundation America? We have fallen far. The constitution is the only way back.

[Tublecane]

“It wasn’t based on a ‘tradition’ or ‘wisdom of the ancients’”

Yes, it was, partly. The Founders were by and large classically educated, and furthermore Greek- and Romaphiles. References to the ancient world abound in the Federalist Papers. Where do you think they got the term “senate” from?

On a more practical level, there is a legal principle known as “time immemorial,” or time out of mind. Aside from the Age of Enlghtenment—which some Founders, like Adams, despised—the Constitution draws on various principles from the Middle Ages and before. English law wasn’t so tied to Roman law as was continental law, but there was a massive influence. Why else all the Latin phrases?

In any case, we weren’t talking about what the Constitution was based on; we were talking about what conservatism was based on.

“What else could you possibly want to conserve any more than the Constitution, the very foundation America?”

The Constitution was the foundation of the U.S., not America. If nothing else, certain political units predating the U.S. persist under the Constitution, which should give you a clue it didn’t come ex nihilo. To answer the question, though, there’s a lot to conserve aside from the Constitution. I’d rather live without a Constitution and with some remenant of traditional morality, for instance, than a Constitution and Anything Goes.