Jordan Hall, on the virtues of tradition conservatism the rearguard:
In contrast, the rearguard I’m envisioning isn’t especially ambitious. Its members are neither cool nor subversive. They seem out-of-step compared to their peers — behind, literally and figuratively — an unenviable group with an inglorious mission: watch everybody’s back, clean up everybody’s messes, and don’t get captured. Mostly they second-guess the thoughts and actions of everyone ahead of them. Way up at the front, where the air turns hot and hallucinatory, and enthusiasm melts into groupthink, the vanguard says, Look at this new thing! Look at that new thing! But the air in the rearguard is noisome and dust-filled, and the wizened denizens can only mutter, Lo, there is nothing new under the sun.