Answering a question

Over at Mitch Berg's blog, a discussion about conservatism has broken out and I answered two questions in his comment section, to wit:

• What does conservatism mean to you?
• What first got you excited about politics?

And my response was:

For me, conservatism is recognizing that while my personal life experience is unique, my experiences are not. Because of that deference is due to the judgments of my predecessors on a variety of matters, especially those concerning the ordering of society. I choose to assume that those who came before me might have insights that still have relevance to our world.

As for what got me excited me about politics — nothing, really. In fact, I rather dislike it. However, I realize that I need to be in the arena because there are too many people who are (a) wrong-headed and (b) full of passion to change the world because they overvalue their own worldview and life experiences.

So how would you answer the questions? Share it with Mitch, or share it here. Better yet, do both. We're all about sharing.