Why I Don’t Understand Conservatives, Book 1: Fetuses vs. Foot Soldiers.

             Alright, this is my first attempt at really politicizing this blog.  First, a few things about me.  I am, what I consider a moderate Democrat, which in Northwest Pennsylvania, might as well be a communist.  I don’t consider myself a liberal, but Rick Santorum and Mitt say that any Democrat is a liberal so, it is what it is. As far as moderation goes, I believe in the 2^nd Amendment and the right to bear arms.  But I don’t believe that should be limitless and people should have to have some responsibility to go along with their “rights”. (We’ll pick that up in a later blog.)   I also believe that we should help people when we can.  Something most hillbilly’s term a socialist, like it is a bad thing.  I would be willing to argue that Jesus Christ was the biggest socialist of our time, but Conservatives don’t like that kind of talk.  I do believe we have too many entitlements.  Welfare needs reformed, there are way too many people living high on the hog.  (But we will tackle that in another blog as well.)  But the biggest question that I can’t seem to figure out, is what the heck are conservatives thinking?

            I was going to name this, “Why I don’t Understand Republicans.”    But, for the most part, I think I at least get where a middle of the road Republican is coming from.  Most of them have money and they want to keep their money.  I can understand that.  For many, particularly around here, guns is in the forefront of Republicans.  Some are avid hunters, and some need that safety blanket.  That power that they can’t get any other way. “There coming to get my guns!” I don’t agree with most of that that, but again, I can at least understand it.  But Conservatism in our country, at least what we see and hear, just baffles me. First of all, if someone wants to be a Conservative in their life, I think that is a great thing.  Someone who has a relationship with God and uses that to guide their life.  But that is something that works for you.  So many Conservatives believe that gives them some mystical rights over the rest of us.  The problem is the first word that comes to mind when I think of Conservative is hypocrite.  “Do as I say not as I do”.  A perfect example for me is Newt Gingrich.  “The King of Fling”.  When people get married, they make an oath before God.  Yet, so many Republicans I know are some of the most buck wild, unfaithful people on the planet.  (Not to say that I don’t know some Democrats like that either, but they are usually not trying to tell me how I should live my life and be more like them!)  Now Newt made his covenant with God, yet he can’t honor it and wants an “open relationship”.  But he is the one telling half the nation they should be more like him and follow his conservative lead?  WHAT?!  Is that what being a Conservative means?  You get to pick and choose which of God’s words are important and which ones you can slide on?  I used to crack up when I watched all the old mafia movies when the gangsters used to kiss their rosary before right before they killed people, cut off their ears and stuck it up the dead body’s butt as a message.  But a little confession and it’s all good!  Wow, I need THAT kind of religion.  But I have regressed a little from my main title so let me get back on track.

            Right now, at the center of the primaries is the abortion debate.  First, my opinions.  I am against abortion for the simple fact is we need to teach people that there is not easy outs like that.  I think for some it is a backup plan for some people and that’s not what it would be for.  But, for that to work, several things need to be in place, things most Republicans, and Conservatives in particular are against.  Let’s start with birth control. If there is anyone out there who thinks you are just going to out-law sex and it is gonna stop you are lying to yourself!  And the worst part of that is the people I hear talking about it the most are the ones who really need to take a good, hard look in the mirror before saying dumb things like that.   And Conservatives don’t like the entitlements, so what is the best way to stop these unwanted births?  It’s birth control.  But these people have you thinking that waving a Bible around at people is going to stop pre-marital sex.  How’s that working out for them?

            Secondly, young women who get pregnant need a support system, like family planning.  Something else Republicans want to abolish.  We need an organization to teach parenting skills and prepare young couples to raise a child.  Not shun them away or scream “whore” or “murderer” at them. I know of families today that still shun people who have children out of marriage. It’s like the stone ages with some people.  They call themselves “good Christians” or “Conservatives”  yet instead of helping a young woman, or hopefully, young couple in need they forment anger and hate towards them.  I don’t understand that at all. If there was less of this stupidity and more support abortion would be much less of an issue.

            Finally, it comes back to Conservatives being “Hawks”.  I find it just incredible that the ones that want to tell us life begins at erection, and thus are so eager to save young lives are also the ones so anxious to send others peoples kids off to die in some sand-flea infested country that has been at war for thousands of years.  They have been committing genocide in Africa for pretty much all of my adult life, yet these “Hawks” aren’t campaigning to send us over there.  Why is that?  But I think we all know what the answer to that is.  And now you see so few politician’s children doing any kind of service in the military so there is no reality check for our Government.  Countries like Iraq and Iran spent all most all of their histories fighting each other, and I am okay with that.  A hell of a lot better then sending 6,000 of our young men and women to die over there and give them both a common enemy to hate.  One of the quick arguments that you get here is “Those are adults that made their own decisions.”  Does anybody REALLY decide they want to go into the military to get sent to some desert thousands of miles away??  I was in the Army Reserves and National Guard for 11 years and I don’t think I ever heard that being high on any soldiers list.  Most soldiers I know agreed to defend their country, not get certain people rich.  But that is just one of the MANY things I don’t understand.  SO if you think you have the answer, by all means, clue me in.  For my first effort this has run WAY over!  But it is a start.

Feel free to leave comments, that’s what I started this blog for.  The only rules are keep it clean, no starting fights, no name calling, you have to agree to disagree.