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I'm not a crunchy con (I wouldn't be caught dead in Birkenstocks) but I do share some of their values. For years my wife stayed home with the kids, now I do it while she does nursing, and I do some writing on a part-time basis.

Home schooled kids will be running the country in 20 years. Count on it.

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I've been following the discussion on Crunchy Conservatism over at NRO. I guess I get a bit lost when I see the following thrown out for contemplation/discussion:

"Christine Rosen asks: Are we worthy of our kitchens?"
- (see http://crunchycon.nationalreview.com/archives/091649.asp )

When discussions start to meander off into the above topics, they've lost me.

My grandparents were Crunchy Conservatives when being a Crunchy Con wasn't cool! ;) They were good, honest folks who owned a farm, made a living, raised their children and retired.

Probably too much is being made about what makes someone a Crunchy Con. It's not what you wear or where you live, etc. It's what you believe. My guess is there are many, many folks who consider themselves Crunchy Cons and they still buy vegetables from the store, don't make their own granola, don't own a certain brand of footwear, etc, etc.

Someone pointed out that homeschooling requires at least one parent to spend time at home with the kids. That goes against the two career pattern of today's middle class. So "crunchy" or not, homeschoolers are already at least a little alienated from the materialism of the official culture. Dreher's perceptive in giving a name to feelings and wishes that are more widespread than many would think.

In the Internet age, we believe that things are resolved by people yelling at each other until one of them wins. But external conditions and necessities are often the determining factors. If gas prices rise, or there's some environmental or public health catastrophy, people will become "crunchier" and more environmental almost in spite of themselves and what they think now. At that point, what Dreher advocates will be taken for granted. Until then, the debate is bound to just go in circles and not get anywhere.

It's human to want what one doesn't have. Today, people turn "crunchy," unplug appliances, and go "back to the land." Their kids will gaze longingly at SUVS and everything that their parents rejected. People are like that.

I sure hope you're right about homeschooled kids! They are definitely smarter and have something the ps kids don't have.... critical thinking skills.

One of the smartest young people I've met in a long time was a young Orthodox Jewish girl who went to a private school (not homeschooled) and has her own views on everything - very conservative. She's just a lovely young lady and really made me feel somewhat positive about our future, which is good, because I often feel a little pessimistic at times.

There are a lot of crunchy cons in my very conservative church, in my very conservative community.

I like them a lot, and they have a lot more to offer conservatism than South Park Republicans, on most days.

Just calling them green commie hippies sorta misses the point. Although they really, really have to lose the Birkenstock thing.