I decided to write the conservative perspective following the same format as what I’ve seen floating around from a liberal perspective, written by Lori Gallagher Witt. These are the reasons why I am a conservative. Just as the original post said but from a conservative perspective, conservative does not mean what a lot of people apparently think it does. I’m also getting tired of being told of what I believe and what I stand for. Of course, not all conservatives may agree with me, but I believe most will agree with the following statements:
- I believe a country should take care of and protect its weakest members, including the unborn, the elderly, and the sick or disabled. That means I am pro-life, from womb to tomb. And just to clarify, that doesn’t mean I’m “pro-birth.” I am pro-life and I believe in helping anyone and everyone who needs a hand. But I don’t believe in incentivizing pregnant women to marry the government via welfare. That only adds to the awful consequences of fatherlessness in homes that causes so many of the problems we face in our society today. According to Obama: “A fatherless household takes its toll. Children who grow up without a father … are five times more likely to live in poverty and nine times more likely to drop out of school.”
- I believe that healthcare is not a right, but a privilege. To believe otherwise is naive. We have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We, unfortunately, don’t have a right to anything for free. I believe that free healthcare would be wonderful in a perfect world, but we don’t live in Nirvana with limitless available cash. Healthcare costs money. It must come from somewhere. And if healthcare is not something you want to have, you shouldn’t be forced to pay for it.
- I believe a good education should be available for everyone, and that if you don’t like the public school that is in your neighborhood, you should be able to choose another means of educating your child (ex. bus to a different school, private education, etc). As for college, it’s expensive, and yes, it sure would be nice if it were more affordable! If the cost of education can be lowered, it should be. Of course, this needs to be weighed against what is being given up for the decrease in cost. Students don’t have to be saddled with 5-6 figure debt. It’s called making different choices. For those of us who don’t want to pay a lot, there are plenty of other options out there that would cost much less than a private college education.
- Taxes – UGH. Can we agree that according to the current data that is out there, the wealthy pay far more than “their share”? The richest 1% pay almost 39% of all income taxes. This is obviously a complicated subject, but my point is that we should not always assume that taxing the rich more is the best and/or only option.
- I don’t think paying more taxes, in general, will automatically fix the majority of our social problems. It’s just not that simple. I mean, does the government really need MORE of our money? What’s their track record like? I’d say we could all objectively agree, not so hot. Increasing taxes will inevitably go towards many things, but rarely, if ever, does it all go to where it needs to. And even if it did, will it actually make a difference? Again, in an ideal world, more money from taxes could be invested in exactly the areas that need the most help and will have the intended positive results we envision. Unfortunately, in the real world, this doesn’t always happen; throwing money at an issue doesn’t always help. That’s reality.
- A livable wage can be left up to interpretation. What is the definition of a livable wage? What are the standards? Are entry level jobs that pay minimum wage intended to be a permanent job? Besides this, we need to consider that by continuing to increase the minimum wage, there are other consequences that must be considered, such as fewer jobs available and therefore, higher skills demanded. If the minimum wage is lowered, there are more jobs available for the young and unskilled. An educated economist is the best person to combat this problem, not layman who think they know best (and that includes me!).
- I do not hate secularists (i.e. non-Christians). I have no desire to control the individual choices anyone makes for himself. But we don’t live on an island, and many of our choices affect the people around us. Thus, why we have laws and government. As a Christian, I know that secular people take offense at Christians and how they try to impose “Christian laws”; however, the same can be said for the traditional secularists. A secularist imposing laws that go against a Christian’s biblical worldview and convictions is just as offending to a Christian as the other way around. We all have a worldview at play. One is not more neutral than another. They’re just different. That’s why voting is so important. Vote for the person who aligns with your worldview and convictions!
- LGBTQ+ people SHOULD have the same rights as everyone else, but there are demands made by the LGBTQ+ community that are at odds with a biblical worldview, including marriage. And when those demands are imposed on those of us with a biblical worldview (i.e. the wedding cake baker case), that’s where there’s a problem. Religious liberty is being attacked in the name of LGBTQ+ rights.
- I believe that immigrants should come into this country legally. That’s why we have laws. If we have open borders, more drugs and human trafficking (to name just two things) will increase and cause yet more problems on our already taxed public systems. And just FYI, Obama was the one who built the cages. Just sayin’.
- Government should have regulations on best practices with respect to environmental issues. However, since greed is a driving force in EVERY country (another word for it is called sin), we need to be sure there is a balance between allowing companies to flourish without government overreach and protecting the people/communities from potential abuse where these companies are located.
- I don’t believe our current government is fascist. You know why? If the current administration was fascist, pretty much all liberal posts or posts criticizing the president and his administration would never be allowed to be published and circulated. But wait. Isn’t that happening with conservative posts? Hmmm. Sounds like someone is trying to control the narrative, but it’s not this current administration.
- I am not racist (is that even possible since I’m not white, and by liberal/CRT (Critical Race Theory) logic, only whites can be racist?), but I do not believe there is systemic racism or misogyny in our society. Do we have problems with racism? Pockets of racism and individual racism can, of course, still be found throughout the US, as well as the entire world at large! But where is the objective evidence for systemic racism or misogyny in the US? Who is being marginalized? What laws or regulations that are currently in place are unfair or causing unjust treatment of other people? We may not live in a perfect country, but it’s currently the best country in the world to live in.
- I believe in the Second Amendment and enforcing the laws that we already have.
- I believe that we should all have respect towards one another. However, if, for example, a man is dressed as a woman and identifies as a woman, and wants to go into the same bathroom that one of my daughters or I are going into, then I’d have to call that person by what their biology dictates, not by what they feel they are. This is not intended to hurt anyone, but to call attention to biological facts, which would potentially place my daughters or me in danger when considering strength and size differences with a man in an enclosed room. That is just one of many reasons why traditionally there have been men’s bathrooms that are distinct from women’s bathrooms.
- I don’t know a lot about sustainable energy, but like everything else, there are good aspects and bad. All options should be fully investigated to see what works best for each community. There may not be a silver bullet that works collectively across the United States.
- I believe women are treated equally to men. When everything is taken into consideration (i.e. controlled wage gap) and all areas are adjusted for, women are paid the same as men.
And just to clarify, I also don’t believe there is any scenario in which preventable suffering is an acceptable outcome as long as money is saved. I don’t know any conservative that abides by this last statement. Especially since most, if not all, conservatives are pro-life, this definitely makes no sense. Liberals don’t have the market cornered on compassion and kindness. That is a false narrative. There are kind, compassionate people on either side of the fence.
