"Republicans don't have consistent morals"
Yes they do. It's just that their morals are rooted in "protect the people and things closest to me at all costs". Their values are extreme tribalism. They also believe those outside the group are constantly threatening the safety and prosperity of the in-group.
This is why so much of what they do seems contradictory and hypocritical. Yes, they want prosperity for those they consider "like them", but they are also willing to do things that harm themselves if it harms the "enemy" more. And, they blame the enemy for that harm, not themselves.
It's literally "this is why we can't have nice things". It's your fault.
A conservative may think, "welfare might be nice, and it's true all my neighbors depend on it, but those welfare queens are stealing it, so we can't have it. Public pools might be nice, and they provide a safe place for my children to play, but people I consider unclean might use them, so we can't have them."
This is how a conservative woman can justify an abortion for herself, but not for others, even though anti-abortion laws make it harder for her to get that abortion in the first place.
What needs to be done will morph and change, external influences will change what they think are important values for the inside group to have to some degree, but at the core it's always about protecting their own.
When I was in highschool, I had a conversation that truly made me understand how conservatives think on a fundamental level. I was discussing with a conservative family friend an essay I was writing that was arguing for the decriminalization of sex work and I spent a while laying out my various arguments and why this issue was important and at the end she said to me "okay, but I don't want my daughter to think that is an acceptable thing to do".
I (being a teenager) was confused by this because this issue is so much larger than just her daughter. So I tried again to explain how many people are harmed by sex work criminalization and how decriminalization would decrease sex trafficking and she repeated again, with a smile on her face: "I don't want my daughter to do that and decriminalization would signal that that is an acceptable thing for her to do".
I was struck with a moment of realization that the way I see the world is the exact opposite of this woman. She fundamentally saw the world as centered on her and her loved ones as individuals, and was completely unconcerned with how it would affect society on a larger level. To her, the material harm that was caused to thousands of people is completely inconsequential when compared to the imagined possibility of it signaling something to her family that she personally disagrees with. That is, at it's core the conservative mindset.
Yeah, this precisely. It's about them, their family, and not much else.
It is something that was rather crushing as I grew up. For a long time I thought the only difference between Democrats and Republicans was the WAY they wanted to reach the same goal.
Like making everything better ya know? Republicans wanted States to do it their own way and Democrats wanted the Federal government to make the general rules for whatever.
But sadly, as I have grown older, the "small world" vs "big world" ideological differences have definitely become more apparent.
It's just brain melting that they can't accept help if it helps someone they fundamentally hate or distrust. Or if Religious con men tell them to fear.
"$300 would help me but if it helps them damn queers then fuck it!"
Like what!? How does it harm you, that they are better off and so are you?!
It's exhausting.
