To Be Conservative or Liberal, the Hardest Choice of All

Last week I had the opportunity to talk to a class full of high school students. I was there to talk to them about business and economics and the discussion evolved into a comparison of conservatism versus liberalism. The school was in Louisiana and was comprised of mostly minorities living at or below the poverty level.

In the beginning of the discussion, as we were talking about the state of the economy, one of the students said "Obama is going to fix it" and it was game on. I asked him what he thought Obama was going to do that would fix the economy, and this is what he told me. He said " He will fix the economy because he will take money from all of those rich people and give it to me and my family. He went on to say that this would give them the opportunity to have cool cars and big houses. He believed every word of what he was saying and had great faith that his president was the great equalizer. I told him that there was more to it than taking money from one person and giving it to another. He didn't understand. Apparently, very few people understand.

Like everyone else, I am concerned about the poor and the disadvantaged. I give to charity and pay substantial taxes. I operate businesses and I hire employees and sell both products and services. My livelihood and that of my employees depends on a healthy economy. I believe that our economy can be fixed but I have watched the endless war on poverty that the government started so many years ago, and I have watched it get worse. I have watched as the government started one program after the other only to see all of them fail because they weren't prudent to begin with, or because of the gross government inefficiency in running them. I have watched as politicians have been elected on the solitary promise of "giving" whatever the people of a certain area thought they needed. I am watching it now, and I wonder why these politicians can't simply look back and see that what they are doing doesn't work.

This is one of the biggest differences between a conservative and a liberal. I believe that liberals really think that they can legislate full stomachs, warm houses and healthier citizens. Conservatives know better. We know that houses have to be paid for and that food has to be grown and processed in order to reach the market. We know that the people that build these houses, as sad as it sounds, expect to be paid for their time and materials. We know that those who produce the food and build the houses also have their own financial obligations to meet.

Liberals blame Geo. Bush for the housing crisis, but fail to remember that it was Clinton's Community Reinvestment act that forced the banks to make the bad loans in the first place. I am sure that Barney Frank is deeply concerned about all of those that didn't have houses before, but does he think about what he has done to them now? Does it occur to him that right now they face having no where to go because he made them believe that they could have anything they wanted? That is another difference between conservatism and liberalism. We want people to have homes and cars. We want them to enjoy priveleged lifestyles,but we know that making promises that you can't keep is bad practice. We learned that in grade school.

Eric Holder recently made the remark that as a nation we are cowards on the subject of race. Another liberal trait. Young Eric fails to realize that while race may play a major factor in his life, most people have "moved on". I guess my age is showing, but I can still remember Martin Luther King saying that people should be judged not by the color of their skin but the content of their character. Apparently Eric doesn't believe that. I would much rather discuss the economy, or education or one of the many things that trouble this nation. Eric wants to talk about race. I guess better that than qualifications, namely, his.

What about our health care? Liberals seem to believe that the government would be better at making our medical choices than we are. Do they base this opinion on the national health care in the UK? Or Cuba maybe?"What is it that makes them think that government is going to suddenly become efficient. Personally, I just see it as another middleman holding his hand out for part of the spoils. I wonder how this administration is going to explain the rationed health care that we will end up with if we are like all of the other countries with national health care? How in the world are they going to blame that on George Bush or Rush Limbaugh?

The NEA belongs solely to the democrats, because they represent the teachers.The democrats have shown again and again that the interests of the teacher's unions far outweigh the importance of the students that they are charged to teach. You see, the kids can't vote.. but the teachers can.

Conservatives pay taxes. Apparently liberals don't, at least none of the ones that Obama has appointed.Now I understand why they don't have a problem with raising taxes, they don't pay them.

My heart tells me to be a touchy feely liberal. I want to tell people that they can have nice cars and big houses and unlimited health care. I want people to think that I can save the world too. but I can't. I can be a conservative. I can tell people the truth and hope that they will listen to reason. Maybe one day they'll see that the government is not giving them anything, it's only taking away from their children. Remember them?????