So I just finished reading Rod Dreher's new book Crunchy Cons (Crown Forum, 2006). If you have felt in yourself some of the tension that I feel when I think of calling myself "conservative," knowing that under the same umbrella stand fat-cat country-clubbers, bigoted rednecks, and culture-eschewing fundamentalists, you may find in this book a validation of sorts. Dreher isn't trying to sway you, the reader, to action; he more modestly sets out (like a good journalist) to describe a trend (more on that later), and perhaps along the way he suggests a few ways in which you may broaden your concept of conservatism, so as to be truer to your human nature and real conservatism.

So what is a crunchy con(servative)? Well, the book's subtitle pretty much sums it up: "How Birkenstocked Burkeans, gun-loving organic gardeners, evangelical free-range farmers, hip homeschooling mamas, right-wing nature lovers, and their diverse tribe of countercultural conservatives plan to save America (or at least the Republican Party)." It would be a stretch to call granola conservatism a "movement", as it has no organization, no leaders, no "agenda" other than to order ones life more sacramentally; that is, with the realization that "actions and objects convey spiritual meaning". For example, does it make any sense that some of the same conservatives who believe in a Master Designer treat the created order like it's only there for their personal consumption? Crunchy conservatism is the neighborhood-revitalizing, ecologically sensitive, organic food-loving, liturgy-preserving answer to frothy, vacuous, big-spending, efficiency-first fat-cat Consumer Republicanism. The book starts with a devastating indictment of Consumerism, the pervasive philosophy of "More" - build more, watch more, eat more, drive more, have more! This ethic is great at meeting physical needs (witness our astoundingly productive economy), but by treating humans as merely objects or consumers, it leads to the eventual erosion of stable community and spiritual well-being. "Man does not exist to serve the economy, but the economy exists to serve man."

Dreher breaks his observations down into five categories:

Food

Dreher calls us to rediscover where our food comes from by trying to buy from local farmers (organic, if you so desire), savoring the incredible tastiness of fresh and organic produce. The mass-marketed, factory-farmed, picked-green-and-frozen-until-supermarket food just can't compare. The Slow Food movement has reminded us of the essentially human and communal activity of sharing a meal. "Lose local dishes and local eating habits to McDonaldization", he writes, "and you've lost something profound." The efficiency-first free market mentality has resulted in the loss of the family farm, with local growers providing food locally, favoring instead the industrial farms for their economies of scale. Crunchy conservatives are for savoring good food and culinary traditions, and for preserving the irreplaceable rootedness of the agrarian life by buying locally from small and organic farmers.

Home

Something has been lost in the post-war era of mass-produced housing, an essential character present in older homes that "McMansions" can't replicate. The lines, curves, accents of older homes resonate an architectural richness that is not present in bedroom communities nowadays. The former were places of community life, with front porches for visiting, human touches and human scaling; the latter are merely places for consumption: eating, taking in entertainment, sleeping. Crunchy conservatives embrace the New Urbanism movement, favoring communities where work, grocers, and schools are within walking or biking distance, communities which are often victims of "white flight" to the suburbs.

Education

Dreher enthusiastically advocates homeschooling, which, admittedly, frees a New Urbanist up to choose downtrodden neighborhoods without worrying about schools. Liberals and conservatives both feel that it contributes to a more solid family structure, while resisting the consumerism which pervades the society around us. While homeschooling may not be for everyone, heavy parental involvement in local public, private, or parochial schools is a must for any "crunchy con". Too many parents have been intimidated by the progeny of Horace Mann into thinking that their children's education must only be entrusted to trained professionals in the hands of the State. Whatever. As a product of home school, private high school, and religious and state universities, my own homeschooling experience was clearly the best thing for me at the time. Not every child is that way, but the author makes a good case for home education.

The Environment

Okay, so this is one of my own soapboxes, but since when did unfettered free-market capitalism become a more fundamental conservative principle than being stewards of the created order? Does being "conservative" just mean conserving capital and purchasing power, or could it have implications in ecologic conservation, too? I'm as much of a skeptic as anyone about pop-culture junk science, but human-linked global envinromental effects can't be ignored forever while hiding behind unconventional "dissenting scientists". And the thing most "conservative" politicians don't understand is, most Americans support environmental protection and conservation! I'm no Karl Rove, but seems like a Teddy Roosevelt conservative who openly loves wild places and living things would be unbeatable.

Religion

Dreher understands Catholics very well, and his Catholicism seems to spill into every discussion in this chapter, whether he's talking about Protestants, Orthodox, or Jews. However, his main points are well taken: most crunchy conservatives steer clear of "Religion Lite" like the happy-clappy or moribund mainline churches. There is a definite shift, especially among the young (to the surprise of Baby Boomers) toward rooted liturgical traditions, with conservative, orthodox (small "o") teachings. The longing for the eternal and unchanging in the Age of Consumerism remains. And most crunchy conservatives tend to be deeply religious people, maybe not in the bumper-sticker sense, but in a more organic and abiding sense.

Check the book out - you may not agree with every point, as I did not, but there is fodder there for examination. You may even run across some great new ideas. There is even a "crunchy con blog" on the National Review website. Again, this isn't so much a movement as a trend. I first heard some of these ideas from Ken Myers (of Mars Hill Audio Journal) in a series of lectures he gave at the Center for Christian Study in Charlottesville on Christian Humanism.