Living the Life of a Liberal Conservative

Can a conservative and a liberal peacefully cohabitate the same body? They certainly can -- I am the living proof of it. Before anyone ruffles their feathers, let me explain.

I was raised in a conservative family, and my parents made sure we children understood there was no tolerance, under our roof, for loose morals and teenage rebellion. Both my mother and father held a respectable place within their social circles, and were very clear about their views on life. To them, honor, hard work, faith and respect were huge on their list of priorities. Unbeknownst to me, their loving influence affected me more than I thought possible.

Like my parents, I also believe in solid morals and traditions, I am a fervid believer in the power of Spirit, and live my life according to the Golden Rule. These same values I try to impart to my children. In fact, I made a choice long ago to be a stay-at-home mom, to ensure that my kids would be raised by me, and would not be influenced by questionable views at such young ages. Thankfully, I married a great man who shares the same principals, so it has been fairly smooth sailing the whole twenty years we’ve been together.

Now, to the liberal part…

Although I live my life according to the views that have been passed down to me, I can’t bury my head under the sand and pretend that everybody is as privileged as I have been. I know there are people out there who have not had the advantage of growing up in a solid home; I know there are people that have only experienced hardship in their lives, simply because they were born on the wrong side of the tracks, or in countries ravaged by war and famine. And I know there are people who do rely on others before they can pick themselves up after they have fallen. Those people exist, so I feel that I have to keep my mind open and embrace the fact that if we hope to move forward within the process of human evolution, I have to be a part of accepting the beauty of diversity in the world. I believe wholeheartedly in self-responsibility, but I also believe in helping others out if they are in a position of not being able to help themselves -- at least temporarily.

I believe in preserving our environment, because we only have one Earth; it’s a bit controversial to state we have strong family values, and then not realize that saving our Earth is the very best gift we can give to our children and the generations that will come next, as they will have a healthy, beautiful planet to live on. Saving our planet ensures the survival of our own genes.

My stand on gay marriage? It shouldn’t be my stand, since I am not gay. I believe marriage is a union between two people who love each other, who pledge to support the other and commit to a relationship the rest of their lives. The old Testament might have implied that marriage is between man and woman, but then, Sacred Scriptures also teach that what God unites no man should dissolve; yet, good Christians divorce and get remarried every day, thus sinning in the eyes of God. As far as I am concerned, I prefer to let God make the call of judgment. Furthermore, I don’t believe that Church and State should walk hand in hand, and if a gay couple live together for a number of years, and have common property, they should have the same LEGAL rights as a couple who’s heterosexual. Of course, that’s my two cents, and I don’t expect anyone to agree with me, but please don’t throw in the Bible where it doesn’t belong.

Last but not least, I believe in equal freedom. If the government needs to stay out of an issue, then it needs to stay out of all of them – freedoms shouldn’t just be picked at random only because they benefit a selected few. And, if we believe in life at all costs, then we need to come up with a plan to support the life we promote. Being against both abortion and welfare simply cannot work. If children are forced to be born to mothers who can’t take care of them, physically or emotionally, we need a system that will ensure someone WILL take care of those children and they won’t be thrown from one foster home to another until they are of age. Adoption in our country could work, but it often fails because of high costs that force aspiring parents to go abroad to find children. We won’t even go as far as discussing the fact that many couple prefer to adopt babies, not older children who have been in the system for a while and/or might display emotional scars or erratic behavior.

I could go on and on, citing many examples, but I think everyone has pretty much gotten the picture. I am a core conservative who’s liberal at the edges, with no need for extremes. And thanks to that, I am enjoying the best of both worlds.