Posted by
Satya on Sunday, May 24, 2009 12:36:26 PM
The Democrats manage to give the image that they include so many different types of people in their party. They have a reputation of being welcoming to people of all religions, races and economic backgrounds. (Which is easy to do when you don't really stand for anything but "gimme, gimme, the government owes me.") Conservatives have the reputation of being a coterie of rich, white, old men who have no interests outside of guarding their own wealth, crushing the potential of the peons that surround them and starting unprovoked wars. That stereotype is certainly damaging to the conservative movement, but how do we move beyond it? First and foremost, I believe that we as conservatives need to recognize that we can and do have many different types of people in our movement, and we have mananged this variety without diluting our core principles. I don't think that conservatives should waste time trying to be all things to all people in an attempt to convince more people to join the movement. By taking control of our image and by staying true to core conservative principles, I believe that more people will identify themselves as conservative.
In fact, I identify myself as a conservative, although I am certainly not the stereotype that many on the left would like to believe all conservatives to be. For instance, I have stated before that I am not a religious person. Spiritual, yes, but I do not belong to any religious institution. Yet I can recognize and appreciate that this country was founded to protect religious freedom and I can respect that the Founding Fathers were Christian and that Judeo Christian values were the building blocks of our country. I am not threatened by that fact. By the same token, I know that most of my fellow conservatives are not threatened by my belief that our govenment was never meant to be run by the rules stated in any one particular religious text. The "Creator", the "Laws of Nature" and "Nature's God" can and do include all types of variations on people's personal interpretations of the moral codes that they live by, the codes that they use to make sense of the universe. For some, that would be Christianity, for some Hinduism, Islam, Wicca, or even atheism. Very inclusive of different points of view, I would say.
Another example of my being a conservative by following basic conservative principles would be the fact that I want to honor the Constitution when it comes to the issue of gay marrriage. Marriage is not a right, it is a privilege. Privileges for citizens of the United States are protected under the 14th Amendment. Homosexuals are citizens. Call it marriage in your church and civil unions by our government if that's what the people want. I just believe that whatever term we agree our government should use should be applied to both heterosexual and homosexual couples. This point of view can be included in the conservative movement and embraced by people from many different backgrounds.
The mainstream media and perhaps even some sectors of the Republican Party claim that I am not a real conservative because of my beliefs. I dismiss the mainstream media's attempts to call me a moderate or a liberal because they are intentionally being divisive. However, I am troubled when I hear conservative talk show hosts mocking my position and saying that people like me are responsible for the fracturing of the conservative movement. I ask those people to take some time to consider what it means to be a conservative before accusing me and others like me of not being "true conservatives." I may not be a true Catholic, Christian or Muslim because my beliefs stray from those held by religious institutions, but I am most certainly a true conservative. There are many Americans who want to hold true to the core principles, and the movement is certainly big enough to include us all. I don't expect the mainstream media to give people like me an opportunity to express our views. I don't fit the caricature that they have drawn for us. I would like to ask that more of my fellow conservatives recognize and make space for people like me.