Absolutely. We are the one's who stand against the ranting demagogues, stirring mobs and malcontents with appeals to greed, envy and every other base emotion. We are the one's who seek to pass on to the next generation, all of the gains of civilization--including all of the things which we support out of a sense of love and reverence. That motivation is itself inherently compassionate. The "reformer" on the other hand can only accomplish his "reforms" by, to the extent they are effective, disrupting someone else's situation.
This is not to say that no "reform" is ever justified--not at all. But the Conservative approach is to move slowly, cautiously even where change may be in order, because compassion causes us to respect the conflicting interests involved, as well as the potential to harm others.
Recklessly embracing cloudborne programs, to solve half thought out problems, on the other hand, is hardly compassionate. The whole history of the later two thirds of the twentieth century, from the New Deal, through the Great Society, to the Clinton years, provides numerous examples. The Reagan pause in the descent into folly, was the only real bright spot, when true compassion dominated.
William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site