Why can’t “conservatism” exert much influence in liberal circles, such as in larger, more diverse cities and higher education? Because in a liberal democracy, liberalism — defined most broadly as “liberty and justice for all” — is the default position. The campaign and election of Donald Trump ignited a liberal uprising when it became apparent, especially to women and minorities, that egalitarian justice and democracy itself were threatened. American democracy has never, of course, been democratic enough, but you cannot seek to form “a more perfect Union” and “establish Justice” if you advocate for division, exclusion and injustice in the name of preserving white power, oligarchy, ignorance and American imperialism.

The grave mistake that many conservatives make is to confuse culture with politics. Even a liberal such as myself can admire and defend many traditional ideas: marriage between consenting adults, classical music, print, the humanities, religious freedom (not to be confused with theocracy), small farms and rural life, writing by hand, whiskey and the Oxford comma. But appreciating the finer things of Western civilization does not mean one must belittle and exclude the people and cultures that originated outside of Europe and Christianity. Christianity, in fact, insists on loving and welcoming strangers — and even your well-known enemies.