...but never gave much thought until recently! How can someone born and raised in the mostly-liberal, mostly-democrat area of the state be such a conservatve?
Let's explain. I was born in Pittsburgh, and spent the greatest majority if my life within about 50 miles of the Pittsburgh area. My father is a retired teamster, and both of my parents are extremely liberal in their political leanings. I also have a brother who is just as anti-republican, anti-Gorge W. Bush as anyone on the planet! I have several cousins in the Pittsburgh area, and a few re-located to the Ft. Lauderdale, FL area who compliment my family of Bush-haters quite well! In general, my family pretty much blames George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and the entire republican party for every evil in the world.
"Get out of Iraq!"..."Bush and Cheney are war profiteers and should be tried (and hung!) as war crimals (Innocent until proven guilty? Fair trial? Not on my family's watch!)..."They're all in it together (the oil industry) so they are responsible for the high gas prices!...Blah, blah, blah...blah blah blah blah If I had a dollar for every time I heard it, I wouldn't care how much gasoline cost because I could buy all I ever could possibly want...Yep!...It's that bad!
So how does someone born into that atmosphere hold such extremely right-wing conservative views (as the scale goes, go as far right as you possibly can. When you get there, go a bit farther! Now, you're close to my way of thinking!)?...Why is this all important?
My girlfriend Lori is about as republican as a person can get (Love you, Lori!), and she asked me this very same question. Knowing that I come from such a liberal area of the country, she expected me to be a liberal democrat, and was surprisingly shocked when she learned how I truly feel!
To answer the question...I really don't know! I teasingly say I refused to give into the dark-side, etc. I did a lot of reading (away from the mainstream), did a lot of political correspondence, helped support the the rights of gun owners, and so forth, and I guess it all helped me to come to the realization that I now have.
Am I saying that the Republican Party is 100% correct, that I 100% support G. W., and that I feel he can do no wrong?...Not hardly! Every person and every party has faults and makes mstakes. It's the nature of us all. I just ask myself a few questions...
...When a significant world event, terrorist attack, or global crisis occurs (aka Sept. 11th), who would I feel more comfortable with?...Who do I feel would be the best defender of the American Constitution and would do the best job of upholding our freedom and values?...Who do I really want to count on to help give me the opportnity to help live life to the fullest and to help better my way of life...?
...In all cases, the answer is a conservative!!! We have the instruction maual (the Constitution) given to us by the Founding Fathers. It is our job to put the best person in office to see that the rules are obeyed and the values put forth are upheld!
4 comments:
Duane,
What I find interesting is back on 9-11-01, all in this country wanted revenge for what happened here in NYC, DC and Shanksville, PA. War is a dirty business, and yes when involved in it, American soldiers lose their lives.
Last I checked, we did not start this fight...the previous administration failed to take out Bin Laden and his network of terrorists. Which is conveniently forgotten.
As one who has a sister who lived a block away from Ground Zero that horrible day, and still lives there today, it's a very sobering reminder as to what happened that day, and why it should never happen again.
I think back on what happened in 1941 at Pearl Harbor, and how that generation reacted to that event, and see how many Americans today seem to forget just what happened that day. And those who wish to continue to harm innocent people here smile, and continue to wage war with the US because they know they can. How is that right?
Hope all is well.
Steve
You lost me on the who would best defend the constitution part. We haven't seen such flagrant circumvention of the constitution in modern history as we're seeing now, and that includes abuses of power under Nixon, which seem increasingly quaint by comparison. It's deeply disgraceful.
Which political party tends to circumvent or just plain ignore the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. zContitution on an-almost daily basis by pushing for stricter laws, even outright banning of particuar types of guns? The only people who tend to be concerned about anti-firearm laws are the average, law-abiding gun owners. Criminas willing to commi violent acts don't really care whether or not they are breaking any gun laws.
That said, the purpose of this posting is not to throw out fuel to start a flame-war, but rather to just express my thoughts, so that those who know me can learn what I'm thinkin and why I think the way I do.
Hi thanks for postingg this
Post a Comment