Hatred?

Politics has become about hate.  Democrats insist on pushing the idea that Republicans hate them.  The claim is that Republicans hate blacks, women, gays, immigrants, union members, bureaucrats.

This is why Left-Wing talk radio and MSNBC can't attract an audience.  Because their caricature of conservatives must always fit the hatred template I outlined above.  The problem with that approach is all but the most insulated progressives know those allegations to be false.

I'm a conservative.  In both political and personal matters.  It's an integral part of who I am as a person.  For me it means I have a strong belief in the idea of America as expressed in the Constitution.  I believe in liberty, capitalism, and the Democratic Constitutional Republic.  I am pro-life, strongly Christian, and hold traditional values as the values that made the United States of America the strongest, free-est, and most prosperous country in the history of the world.

Democrats say that for those values I must be hated.  Because I believe in self-reliance and small government I must be racist because somehow that means I want to cut off welfare programs for the poor.  But that's a caricature, not an accurate description of who I am.  My firm belief is that the way to help the poor is to help them find a career that allows them to escape poverty, not give them a taxpayer-subsidized subsistence living and call it compassion.  Socialism is the opposite of compassion.

They say I must be hated because I am pro-life and pro-marriage and support "family values".  The common phrase I remember from college was that I and my fellow troglodytes desire to keep women "barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen".  It was a silly phrase then and it's silly now.  Absolutely I'm perfectly fine with women who want to pursue a career. 

The most important factor in raising responsible and successful children is an intact family.  I know that many Democrats don't like facing this truth, as many female Democrats are also single mothers.  But facts are stubborn things - children are best raised by two committed adults, not by divorced or never-married moms.  Especially moms who happen to also be sexually promiscuous.

It's not up to me to set the standard for other men, but for me, I need a wife and partner who is willing to stay home with our children during their formative years.  What she wears on her feet or how much time she spends in the kitchen is not really a concern.

They call me "homophobic".  My translation of that strange word seems to tell me it means I am afraid of homosexuals.  That's certainly not true, I don't cower or run away when I come into social contact with a homosexual.  I actually often find them delightful in conversation or other social settings.

That does not preclude the fact that I consider their sexual behavior fundamentally disordered and immoral.  But then again, I also have known delightful people who are also unreconstructed philanderers and adulterers.  Because I also find that behavior disordered and immoral, why am I not allowed to hold the same consistent point of view about other sexual behavior?

Because my faith teaches me that sexual activity outside of marriage is wrong, does that mean I need to be crucified for failing to have my mind right?  Even if I don't need religion but my own observations to tell me that nothing good comes of such behavior?  Must I also deny that gay sex leads to AIDS plus a number of other Sexually Transmitted diseases?  That heterosexual promiscuity leads to a laundry list of diseases plus "unwanted" pregnancy?

So why am I worthy of hatred and disdain for merely recognizing the truth?

If you're a Democrat and you think you hate me, I think you actually hate only a caricature of me that is grossly distorted.  If you have a chance to meet and talk with me, I don't think you'll hate me.

I don't hate anybody, except the truly hateful (Bill Maher).  And my faith teaches me I must not hate even the hateful, but must love them and pray for them.  So that's what I do.