Down With Tyranny 14-12-10 Original post Cached copy What's The Difference Between A Conservative And A Reactionary Or A Fascist? Down With Tyranny - 2014-12-10 - Original post - Cached copy 19th century American poet, essayist and champion of individual freedoms, Ralph Waldo Emerson, had a pretty good definition of what it means to be a conservative in his The Conduct of Life: "All conservatives are such from personal defects.