With increasing church attendance, a thriving culture, and a healthy, growing economy, the Post World War II Era was the Golden Age of Conservatism. Although a Democrat. Truman’s hard working values penetrated the culture, and Eisenhower's victory emulated people’s desire for a continuing policy of peace. However, as the Boomer generation grew up, reached their rebellious adolescent stage, and the adults started to forget the importance of the culture to focus on fiscal and international stability, the fall of the “Pax Conservativa” started earlier than many would have liked. 

1945 not only marked the end of the Second World War, but the mass reunion of long separated couples and families. Women returned to full-time homemaking, while men reclaimed the jobs they left due to enlistment about 6 years back. The people of the 40’s and 50’s worked on building a family a God-centered culture. The father of modern conservatism himself William F. Buckley Jr. portrayed this through his 1951 magnum opus God and Man at Yale: the Superstitions of Academic Freedom, and his establishment of the Conservative news publication National Review. Buckley focused on cultural issues, and fusing his values of Judeo-Christianity and everyday society together, as opposed to zeroing in on the GDP numbers of the next quarter. Given, there was a significantly less threat of the economy falling once again into a state of helpless decline, however conservative leaders, as well as ordinary, every-day citizens, knew what was right, and that to inculcate those values into society was among little other things, very important. 

Moving into the next decades of the 1960’s and 70’s, children of the great reunion began to grow out of the shadows of their parents, and become their own people, leading to large, popular protests concerning many different things. While certain causes were definitely to be fought for, like civil rights for blacks, counter-culture subgroups also came into existence like the “Anti War, pro hallucinogens” Hippie movement. As Conservatives continued to fight for the culture, they more so started to focus on foreign affairs, and the beginning of an economic issue originally created by Truman’s high inflation, and lack of care for the economy. Luckily, young protestors weren’t entirely in power yet, and Conservative/Classical Liberal values were still widely in place. 

Conservatism’s small downfall in the 80’s can’t entirely be blamed on its leaders focusing mainly on rising economic and geopolitical issues. However it is a large reason as to why the culture slipped from the grasp of the Traditionalists. As social values melted away, wildly left-of-center elites poured into university classrooms, and Hollywood studios, slowly pushing any Conservative representation out. As Republicans gained a passionate adoration for capitalism to combat the communism of the barely standing U.S.S.R., and ran popular campaigns for and against certain wars, smaller issues, like mental health, guns, and censorship would be ignored, allowing the Left to weaponize the lack of attention and use it for further gain. Elitists materialized to create influential movements like the environmentalist coalition, which they would strengthen in the shadows, to give the illusion that Conservative Republicans will be successful for years to come.

Following the resolution of the various global issues and the end of Reagan's time in the White House, the 90’s continued the onslaught of cultural liberalism, but Conservatives had woken up too late to do anything about it. This is why we are only beginning to relearn how to win over the culture and understand the difference between a Republican and a Conservative today. Although the Bushes were Republicans on the ballot, they did no work to restore the beliefs people like Buckley had worked on inculcating in his prime. But let’s not exclusively examine the downsides, my fellow Traditionalists, but look ahead to the regrowth of Conservatism that has recently started. With companies like the Daily Wire starting various counter cultural projects to fight long established woke institutions (for example, Jeremy’s Razors, or Jeremy’s Chocolate), we are learning the strategies of the Democrats, and the people out to take down America. Don’t be afraid to weaponize them in your personal lives. Resistance. Don’t cower to mentally ill people demanding you affirm their fake identities. Charisma. Don’t be afraid to make fun of the irregularities this flawed culture has (only difference in your strategy versus theirs is to actually be funny), and attract as many people to the ideology as you can. Power. We are never going to win if people refuse to play politics and use the precious power we have to implement change. Ban abortion, use your platforms to speak out against feminism. Stop letting the Left blame shootings on guns and not the people. Change is happening now. Don’t be blind enough to not see it. But until we get our culture back (which could take generations), may the sun not set on Conservatism.