Democrat By Default

In early 2006 I was a 23 year old democrat by default. I had no understanding of the term liberal, conservative, left-wing, right-wing, democrat or republican. That being said, somehow I had beliefs ingrained in my subconscious which had no origin I could remember. I was afraid to label myself as a Republican. I was reluctant to hear the opinions of conservative thinkers. I believed that liberals stood for freedom of choice and that republicans . . . well, were the opposite. One day I realized these thoughts were not my own. Thus began my personal journey into the world of politics. AM talk radio saved my soul. (that and an hour and a half commute to work, which gave me time to listen, think and contemplate both sides of every argument) Radio was the only place I could get both sides of the story and It made the media bias of mainstream outlets blatantly obvious. You only need to hear a liberal and a conservative debate for a short while to realize that conservative ideals are based in historical fact while liberal ideals are based in emotion. Emotion, especially empathy and compassion, are admirable and required traits in any good person but they cannot be allowed to blind us from the big picture which includes the future of our country and plainly, the future of our children. We as citizens are morally obligated to help our fellow man but forcing other Americans to support your causes by way of government mandates can only be defined as tyranny. Too may people believe that governments role is to support one person by taking from another. That is not the American Dream. Dreams are not guaranteed, they are goals to be relentlessly pursued. The pursuit of happiness is just that, a pursuit. No other person is to blame for your failures just as no one else deserves credit for your success. I am no longer a liberal democrat by any stretch of the imagination. I proudly wear the banner of conservative republican. 235 years after our countries founding the American experiment is still fragile and must be defended. 99% of the people who came before us lived under ruthless dictatorship and the idea that man can govern themselves is still worth fighting for. Millions of service men and woman have fought and died for our right to live free. I will not allow their sacrifice to be in vein. It is difficult to appreciate something that was not earned through hard work and struggle, I would argue that being born free is no different. It is easy to take for granted the freedoms we enjoy each day but achieving this freedom in the first place was no easy task. Take time to learn about the founding fathers, the constitution, publious and the federalist papers, the revolutionary war. In your research, take notice of how world history and the history of man is a story of a powerful few ruling the many. We have been given the gift to control our own lives, country and government. An opportunity not afforded to most people who inhabited this beautiful world before us. Join us in our journey to preserve the republic and to save the country that is our children's future.