Posted by
NAlcoba on Saturday, August 29, 2009 3:30:12 PM
Or, "You sound so sensible, why are you a republican?"
That's the reaction I get from friends that discover my dark side. Politics is rarely discussed, but given enough time, any after dinner conversation will gravitate toward politics sooner or later. At first I would keep my mouth full of food to avoid participating. Because once I open my mouth on the subject of say, taxes, it's pandora's box. Better that they see roasted red potatoes and saliva come out of my mouth than hear my not too favorable view of President Obama. Political talk causes indigestion. But they'll never blame the subject matter for the sour stomachs, they'll just blame whoever made the pot roast. That's not pretty. Awkward silences broken by digestive noises makes it hard to face your friends at the next barbecue.
Eventually the shocking truth comes out, and they can't seem to reconcile "Republican" (i.e. white racist environmental-rapist, misogynist soulless demon-seed) with foreign-film watching Filipino long haired latte drinking engaging conversationalist soccer dad Noel. The incredulity is usually followed by "How can you endorse a party that would just DEPORT you on the basis of your skin color?"
WHAT?
Where do they get this stuff? Republicans want to deport me because of my skin color? What do you base that on? Stop snickering, I know it sounds silly. But they REALLY believe this stuff. They believe republicans want to pollute the air, ON PURPOSE. They believe Republicans hate Mexicans (and I'm not Mexican, but what's the difference to a liberal that is concerned for those with brown skin?).
They believe SO much in the virtue of their own false compassion, that they need to go the extreme of demonizing those that oppose their particular (failed) approach to social ills. As conservatives, we believe liberals are mistaken. As for liberals, they see us as demons. Actually they see us as retarded demons. Makes sense doesn't it? If Cheney is Satan (or at the very least, Satan's henchman on earth), then OF COURSE it would be baffling, that a good gentlemanly Noel that loves to help his neighbor and slow down for squirrels crossing the road, would associate with the party of Satan's henchmen. If the GOP stands for everything libs consider evil, then OF COURSE their heads spin when I say politely, "Yeah, I'm a republican...um, can you please pass the green goddess dressing?"
Oh, so you're laughing. Of course you are. Because WE conservatives know more about conservatism than liberals do. We know who we are, we know why we believe what we believe. Whereas what liberals know of conservatism was TAUGHT to them by liberals that hate conservatism. It's the equivalent of taking a Gay Studies course from someone that hates gays. Conservatism is a caricature to them. It's not based on any kind of realistic or fair portrayal, and if there are any facts or history to back their contention, it's a combination of amnesia and selectiveness.
Take for instance the absurd statement "republicans are racist". That's gospel truth to the liberal. It doesn't matter that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was championed by a higher percentage of republicans than democrats; or that more democrats than republicans favored segregation. Liberalism is an ideology that allows you to make assertions about your opposition without evidence, because your good intentions absolve you from having to make any kind of case. Liberals mean well, that's all that matters. If you show facts to disprove that, then your facts are simply manipulative and come from a bad place--your intention is to SUPPRESS their good intentions. That's EVIL!
The basic difference is this: liberals see people as members of oppressed identity groups. Conservatives see people as individuals identified by values and ideologies. The party of Michael Steele, Bobby Jindal, Michelle Malkin is not racist, because love of freedom transcends race.
So yes, it confounds them when I say I am a republican, because they know me to be someone with not only good intentions, but someone they've always known as nice and considerate. Perhaps they just think I'm misguided, or uninformed. Because if I knew what conservatives were REALLY like, the way they, as tolerant (Bush is hitler) liberals do, then I'd be a democrat.