Why are conservatives conservative?

[gorkay]

This is actually an excellent question, although most of the responses haven't taken it seriously enough.
First of all, you have to realize that the terms "conservative" and "liberal" as they are generally used by politicians today don't have much to do with the traditional meanings of the terms. "Conservative" seems to be used as a euphemism for "selfish" in many cases, when obviously there is no necessary connection between the two. "Liberal" is used as an epithet against anyone who proposes any form of taxation or other sacrifice that the self-proclaimed "conservatives" are too selfish to favor, no matter how much good it might do.
The best thing about true conservatism is its skepticism about government as an agent in the perfectibility of the world. True conservatives realize that this is potentially very dangerous, since man is inherently flawed, and thus all his efforts are as well. However, when this skepticism is used as a reason or excuse for government to do nothing to alleviate human suffering, conservatism is at its worst.