by: F.R. Duplantier

"American conservatism is highly suspicious of promised utopia and earthly salvation," declares Edwin Feulner of the Heritage Foundation. "For four decades," he observes, "conservatism has encompassed ex-Communists, traditionalists, religious conservatives, libertarians, Southern Agrarians, fusionists, traditional (European) liberals, supply-siders, and neoconservatives, all fighting for attention, converts, and elbow room. And, in all their exasperating diversity, they have performed feats of persuasion and influence on an epic scale, turning a 'remnant' into an intellectual movement into a political revolution."

Feulner argues that the congressional elections of 1994 "confirmed that conservatism is not an aberration, based on the winning personality and moving rhetoric of Ronald Reagan. It is," he contends, "the most serious, sustained political movement since progressivism. It is reinforced by philosophic sophistication, historical learning, literary achievement, and populist outrage. And it has sent liberalism into a crisis of faith. . . ."

In a new book from Spence Publishing called The March of Freedom, Feulner profiles the 12 Americans he believes have contributed the most to the triumph of conservative thinking in the 20^th century and offers a representative sample of each one's writings. In addition to Reagan, his doughty dozen includes William Buckley, Russell Kirk, F.A. Hayek, Milton Friedman, Frank Meyer, Midge Decter, Albert Jay Nock, Whittaker Chambers, Michael Novak, Wilhelm Roepke, and Richard Weaver.

Feulner emphasizes that the dramatic gains made by conservatism in recent decades "were not ordained by history but won by courage. The popularity of conservative ideas creates the possibility of shallow assent," he warns, "a failure to appreciate that conservatism is richer than talk radio, and once was costly to confess. It is the story of men and women who often risked reputations, careers, and lives to break from Communism, colleagues, or convention," Feulner affirms. "It is the story of giants of thought and action, who lived some of the most interesting lives of the twentieth century. It is the story of four decades of careful, costly intellectual struggle. It is the story of white-heat conviction that illuminates our age."

It's also a continuing story, and you can help write the next chapter. You, too, can join the March of Freedom. We'd be delighted to have you as a supporting member of America's Future, united with us in our ongoing crusade (53 years so far) to preserve and promote our free enterprise system and our constitutional form of government. We'd also be happy to recommend other nonprofit groups that are helping set the pace in the March of Freedom. There are dozens of them all across America: groups like Ed Feulner's Heritage Foundation, Eagle Forum, the Cato Institute, Heartland in Chicago, the Capital Research Center, Judicial Watch, PERC in Bozeman, Montana, and the Environmental Conservation Organization in Hollow Rock, Tennessee. They all do great work. That's why we cite them in our commentaries and our bimonthly newsletter. Check them out for yourself, find the one that's right for you, and join the March of Freedom.