Maybe I'm confused. Maybe my perception is not reality. Maybe I'm wrong but, I need to put this down, because it is how I see things.
If I were to ask my in-laws what conservatism means to them they would say, "Strong military, strong support for military, strong religious stance, pro-life."
If I were to ask my father what conservatism means, he would say, "Discrimination against everyone that disagrees with conservative beliefs."
If we boil down what my in-laws say, they are staunch conservatives in case that was unclear, they want to feel safe, they want our service members to be treated well and they want religion to be a part of our government.
The first part, fine. I want our service members to be treated well, too. They should be, they put their lives on the line and honestly, they deserve combat pay and all of the other things that come along with dedicating your life to a life of service for your country.
I do think, though, that we need to change our views of "strong military" to be more inclusive of peaceful missions, like giving food and aid, which I know we do, to countries that need it. I think the way to win peace is to make friends, not enemies.
As far as the "voting for the most religious candidate" thing goes, that's wrong. At least to me, it's wrong. I was raised Catholic, but when I become old enough to explore faith and spirituality, my parents let me. My husband's parents didn't allow him the same freedom.
Freedom of Religion is the same as Freedom from Religion, if that is what someone wants to believe. If someone wants to believe that God is non-existent, that's their right as a human being. It's not up to us to judge, and if you are a true believer, you believe those words as they are written in the Bible.
If I want to believe that Mickey Mouse is the Lord and Savior, it is my right as an American to believe it. No one is allowed to force me to believe otherwise. (I don't believe this, it's an extreme example to make a point.)
In a conservative America, religious freedom amounts to religious freedom to be Christian. That's not right. Yeah, it's frustrating that public schools aren't allowed to talk about Christmas, or Santa Claus but at the same time, they are not allowed to talk about Ramadan, etc. I don't agree with the avoidance of our public schools when it comes to religious topics, in fact, we should be teaching our kids acceptance. So while I understand why they don't talk about holidays at school, I think they should, in order to teach awareness and acceptance.
Whether you say "Merry Christmas" or not is up to you. Honestly, I've said it to non-Christians and they've simply said, "Thank you." It's only a big deal if we make it one.
Back to my topic: Conservative America
What does it look like to me?
White
Male
Christian* (*but not really)
Heterosexual
Gun Toting
Mean
Isolated and Alone
That doesn't sound fun to me. It sounds like hell, actually.
It's like we are being forced to put the toothpaste back in the tube.
Are women expected to stand by their men, as property, to just get pregnant and serve them?
Are minorities expected to stand by whites, as property, to just serve them?
Are we supposed to stand idly by while white men of certain principles try to force us to believe as they do?
No thank you.
I'm white, female, Christian (really), heterosexual, non-gun toting, nice, collaborative.
Sometimes, I really resent my skin color because it is the first thing people see and they assume I'm like the assholes that voted for Trump. I'm not. My Dad is Native American. My skin is white, my heritage is a rainbow.
Shouldn't we be celebrating cultural differences instead of being afraid of them? Yeah, we should. Why don't we? White men don't want to lose power.
Look at the way things are right now. Gerrymandering is a tool to get the weirdo white dude votes. Most people want the open minded candidates because America is a unique social experiment that was working until Russia fucked it all up with the help of these weirdo elected GOP.
What does America look like to the hopefuls fleeing war torn countries? Not this. Not kids in cages. Not Trumpism.
America is the land of the free and the home of the brave. Not the land of men and the home of the enslaved.
Can we beat this? This Ohio ruling is really troubling, can we beat this? How can we with voter suppression? How can we with gerrymandering? Cheating? Russian meddling? Disinformation campaigns? Bots?
I don't know. I really don't. However, I do know that we have no choice but to beat this.
The alternative is too terrible.
If I were to ask my in-laws what conservatism means to them they would say, "Strong military, strong support for military, strong religious stance, pro-life."
If I were to ask my father what conservatism means, he would say, "Discrimination against everyone that disagrees with conservative beliefs."
If we boil down what my in-laws say, they are staunch conservatives in case that was unclear, they want to feel safe, they want our service members to be treated well and they want religion to be a part of our government.
The first part, fine. I want our service members to be treated well, too. They should be, they put their lives on the line and honestly, they deserve combat pay and all of the other things that come along with dedicating your life to a life of service for your country.
I do think, though, that we need to change our views of "strong military" to be more inclusive of peaceful missions, like giving food and aid, which I know we do, to countries that need it. I think the way to win peace is to make friends, not enemies.
As far as the "voting for the most religious candidate" thing goes, that's wrong. At least to me, it's wrong. I was raised Catholic, but when I become old enough to explore faith and spirituality, my parents let me. My husband's parents didn't allow him the same freedom.
Freedom of Religion is the same as Freedom from Religion, if that is what someone wants to believe. If someone wants to believe that God is non-existent, that's their right as a human being. It's not up to us to judge, and if you are a true believer, you believe those words as they are written in the Bible.
If I want to believe that Mickey Mouse is the Lord and Savior, it is my right as an American to believe it. No one is allowed to force me to believe otherwise. (I don't believe this, it's an extreme example to make a point.)
In a conservative America, religious freedom amounts to religious freedom to be Christian. That's not right. Yeah, it's frustrating that public schools aren't allowed to talk about Christmas, or Santa Claus but at the same time, they are not allowed to talk about Ramadan, etc. I don't agree with the avoidance of our public schools when it comes to religious topics, in fact, we should be teaching our kids acceptance. So while I understand why they don't talk about holidays at school, I think they should, in order to teach awareness and acceptance.
Whether you say "Merry Christmas" or not is up to you. Honestly, I've said it to non-Christians and they've simply said, "Thank you." It's only a big deal if we make it one.
Back to my topic: Conservative America
What does it look like to me?
White
Male
Christian* (*but not really)
Heterosexual
Gun Toting
Mean
Isolated and Alone
That doesn't sound fun to me. It sounds like hell, actually.
It's like we are being forced to put the toothpaste back in the tube.
Are women expected to stand by their men, as property, to just get pregnant and serve them?
Are minorities expected to stand by whites, as property, to just serve them?
Are we supposed to stand idly by while white men of certain principles try to force us to believe as they do?
No thank you.
I'm white, female, Christian (really), heterosexual, non-gun toting, nice, collaborative.
Sometimes, I really resent my skin color because it is the first thing people see and they assume I'm like the assholes that voted for Trump. I'm not. My Dad is Native American. My skin is white, my heritage is a rainbow.
Shouldn't we be celebrating cultural differences instead of being afraid of them? Yeah, we should. Why don't we? White men don't want to lose power.
Look at the way things are right now. Gerrymandering is a tool to get the weirdo white dude votes. Most people want the open minded candidates because America is a unique social experiment that was working until Russia fucked it all up with the help of these weirdo elected GOP.
What does America look like to the hopefuls fleeing war torn countries? Not this. Not kids in cages. Not Trumpism.
America is the land of the free and the home of the brave. Not the land of men and the home of the enslaved.
Can we beat this? This Ohio ruling is really troubling, can we beat this? How can we with voter suppression? How can we with gerrymandering? Cheating? Russian meddling? Disinformation campaigns? Bots?
I don't know. I really don't. However, I do know that we have no choice but to beat this.
The alternative is too terrible.
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