How I Came By My Conservative Political Beliefs

I have been mulling this post over for weeks. I know I am making myself a target by even writing it but as I concluded back when I started to encourage the bullies to beat me up instead of the younger kids, “As long as they are beating me up, they aren’t beating someone else up.”


I know my life philosophy is different than many, even other Republicans but it is borne from my life experiences. You may want to keep this is mind if you are reading this. I represent only myself and my opinions are not necessarily representative of those of the party to which I belong.


Both my parents were members of the Democratic Party. I am a very younger sibling to their first four so I remember being at various Democratic campaign offices as a child because there was no one to sit for me. My Father was retired military, a veteran of two wars and my Mother the first generation of immigrant citizens. They were also very young children during The Great Depression. My Father, a self employed carpenter, died when I was thirteen. My Mother, a Mental Health Worker for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, died when I was twenty two. Both died of cancer before they could retire. I only say all this to give you an idea of the values and lessons they likely passed on to me. It would take a book to elaborate on what these are.


If you have read my earlier posts you know I was homeless after my mother died. I was young, just starting out, and had spent all my savings while on a leave of absence from work, to care for my dying mother. I was very thankful and lucky that my employer let me come back after my mother’s death. My manager knew I had no place to live but withheld judgment since I always showed up to work on time, clean, appropriately dressed and ready to fulfill my responsibilities. It wasn’t an easy time in my life. I looked around to see if there were any programs to help me get back on my feet. All I wanted was a loan for three months rent (first month, last month and a month security deposit). I was gainfully employed, ready and able to pay back a loan. There were not any programs set up for this. I could get a handout but only if I were: battered; a woman with dependent children; physically handicapped; mentally ill and/or a substance abuser or homeless AND unemployed. Just to make sure I understood I asked, “If I quit my job, I’d be eligible for assistance?” This was answered affirmatively.


Whoa. The idea of giving up my employment, the one thing keeping me going, in order to receive a hand out is and was anathema to me. It didn't make sense to me then and doesn't now. I couldn't even get into a shelter because they locked them down before I could get there from work. I welcome someone who can explain to me how it is beneficial to encourage people to drop out of productive society in order to get back on their feet.


For over ten years I juggled trying to keep a roof over my head, some times narrowly succeeding and sometimes failing - never getting far enough ahead to feel stable, settled. Even now, I know how quickly it can all be gone. Through mistreatment by employers and crimes committed on me because I had no "status" and therefore no defense, I've survived. In retrospect, I’m grateful I had that opportunity to grow and learn.
I’ve also spent years in the non-profit sector – consumer advocacy, credit counseling, arbitrating and pro bono legal work. It feels good to help others. If you’ve never tried it, you should. Unfortunately this also taught me a more than I wanted to know about human nature and politics. There is a sizable portion of the human population who think they should be able to get things for free and as a result, be better off than those people giving them free services. What is wrong with that picture? When I was a consumer advocate I met many people who lost tens of thousands of dollars on get rich quick schemes where the secret to getting rich was preying on others. Is it any wonder they were prey? I am not talking subtle con games where it is hard to tell where the money is going to come from but schemes where it is obvious they are going to find “chumps” to earn money from. If that is not an insight into human nature, I’m not sure what is.


As a credit counselor right after the last recession, I was responsible for analyzing people’s debt, income and life situations to formulate a plan to help cash strapped people get back on their feet, financially. This position was also an eye opener. I found the largest reason otherwise responsible and hard working people incurred debt is due to unexpected health emergencies. It is easy to sympathize with that plight but the other primary reason for people getting in over their head was living beyond their means. It is the second sort who were most likely to complain they still had to pay back some of the debt they incurred. My usual way of dealing with their complaints was to ask them what they bought on unsecured credit and the answers were stereo equipment, large screen televisions, dinners out, etc. – to my ears, unnecessary garbage. To those who balked that I could only control their interest and fees but not alter their principal I clucked sympathetically and asked if they were willing to return their goods, minus depreciation of course, to the bank. That shut them up every time.


I later sought a career that suited my skill set, was resilient in a bad economy and would not leave me living hand to mouth. I found it in insurance and law. Let me say straight off I dislike insurance companies and some lawyers for the same reasons many other people do but seeing it from the inside is fascinating. I loved being able to help someone who was seriously injured get back on their feet and back into life. I hated when I had to make people jump through hoops to get what they rightly deserved but I learned it was other people who made the system that way – not insurance companies. I’ve seen people who sprained an ankle, at work or in an auto accident, take two years to heal. This is not an exaggeration – I’ve seen the x-rays, MRIs, EMGs and there may be swelling and bruising, but it subsides. Still, if one keeps saying they are in pain and a doctor is still willing to treat them, it can go on and on and on. Beats working, right?


I could go on but you are already wondering, “What’s your point?” Through all this I learned modern humans like being taken care of and there is a segment of the population who likes taking care of them. A portion of the species are happiest when they can get the most amount of gain from the least amount of expended energy. Just look at the number of “get rich quick working at home” schemes on Twitter. To make matters worse there is a segment of the population encouraging this behavior. People are trying to be kind and sometimes they are but other times they are enabling a weaker segment of our race. I’m all for a hand up but not so much a hand out. I’m all for giving people the tools to make themselves better rather than the tools to make up more excuses why they can’t be.


I don’t have much use for government and the government of BOTH major parties has shown it does not have much use for me. But Republicans encourage my industry and don’t lie to me by making empty promises that they will care for me if I need caring for. I believe our government should be our guide and not our complete means of support. I believe in the U.S. Constitution, limited interference from the federal government and states rights.


Think you know me now? I also don’t think the federal government belongs in our bedrooms. If my meaning is not obvious enough to you - I don’t believe the federal government should be determining reproduction, marriage or morals beyond those basics covered in our constitution. I believe moral behavior is best taught at home according to one’s own culture and religion. I believe this is what our forefathers intended and the First Amendment of our Constitution reinforces.


Presently both the major United States parties are ticking me off. My own party gets my goat in violating one of their original core principals by trying to use the federal government to legislate morality. The Democratic Party has me peeved with their bailouts. Mostly it is individual members of each party who are so set in their ways that they can’t speak, do not want to speak, with each other. They seem to have forgotten we are all part of the same nation and as such, it is the progress and success of our nation we should work together to fulfill.


So flame away, all of you. The right can tell me I am going to hell in a hand basket and the left can tell me I couldn’t understand what it is to be underprivileged because, being a Republican; I obviously live a life of great means in my ivory tower. Flame away.