Some negative connotations come along with the word “Republican.” That’s the party who loves big business, who doesn’t care about the common man, who bathes in oil and loves war, who drinks it up when the impoverished suffer, and who is only out to pad its members’ already hefty pockets. I think it’s sad that there’s so much bad blood between our two major parties that people have actually been convinced that a whole half of our country is this evil and inhuman. I feel sorry for any liberal who is truly that pessimistic. If you know me, I hope you have come to learn that I am a compassionate, kindhearted, sensitive person. You also know that I am a Republican. I ought to be living proof that Republicans are not bad people. I do not want to kill minorities or squash the poor, and neither does my party.

But it’s easier to argue with wrong assumptions than it is to replace them with the truth. Allow me to try:

I am a Republican because I believe in the American people. We are the most capable, determined, tenacious of all the earth’s populations, and there is nothing we cannot achieve. Every single one of us can succeed if we try. Even when we’re pressing through unbelievable adversity, trying to squirm our ways out of dire circumstances, or overcoming an endless series of obstacles, we do it. America has always been able to recover from tragedy. Our unity in the days after September 11^th, 2001, demonstrates our patriotism and character. The way we have defended our allies throughout strenuous world wars proves our courage and strength. Our ability to bounce back from such domestic hardships as the Great Depression and Hurricane Katrina are testaments to our resolve.

I am a Republican because I know all of this. I have seen the American people get up from the hardest falls, and I know that we are able to make each of our own ways in the world. We do not need free handouts or government coddling or legislative handholding. Republicans expect the best from our people and do not preemptively offer assistance before it’s asked for. I know that each one of us can succeed independently, but if effort is no longer a requirement, we won’t try. Nothing is worth having if it’s easy to get. America is good at working for what it gets, truly earning it, and I think every one of us deserves the chance to rise to that challenge. That is a core Republican value.

I am a Republican because I do not think anyone should be punished for success. When a person has aimed for greatness and hit the target dead center, that’s a time for celebration, not a slap on the wrist. It is not right to get angry at someone because he or she was able to do what someone else would or could not. Competition is part of human nature, and when we stifle the competitive spirit for the sake of sameness, we are abandoning what has made mankind successful. The rich are not evil. They are not crooks or thieves or murderers any more than any other sect of our society, and their vilification comes of nothing but jealousy. The rich have worked hard and made good decisions to earn their pennies, and nothing is stopping a member of the lower class from doing the same. But when, instead of encouraging entrepreneurship or dedication or diligence, we offer to redistribute a rich man’s money into a poor man’s pocket, we have become accessories to criminal action. We have allowed the government to steal from its people and punish the innocent. To each his own, and only that. Another Republican value.

I am a Republican because I believe in freedom. I think that each one of us should be granted the right to make all of our own decisions so long as our choices do not infringe upon others. For instance, you have the right to own a gun so long as you don’t use it to kill another man. Over the past two centuries since our founding fathers established American government, it has grown to sizes that were never meant to be. We, the electing public, should control the government. They now control us. That is not democracy. When your government even has the option to propose a 700 billion dollar corporate bailout, your government is too big. The government is now trying to tell us what we can say and hear via the Fairness Doctrine, limiting what healthcare options we’re allowed to get via the universal system, and controlling exactly where our hard-earned money goes and how much of it we can bring home. We are losing our freedoms, and it’s as though people have stopped caring. It’s as though we’ve forgotten what true freedom feels like and why it’s so great. Elephants never forget. So freedom has remained a Republican value.

I am a Republican because I am an American, through and through. Awaiting election results a few days ago, people on both sides were swearing to move to Canada if things didn’t go a certain way. I couldn’t even fathom. I could never move to Canada because I could never leave America. I know that we are the greatest nation on earth and it is vital, not only for ourselves, but for everyone in the world who depends on our prosperity for their own, that we remain strong and free. We were founded by rebels who revolted against oppression, and I fear that we are becoming the kind of country we first left. But because I am an American, because I am a Republican, I will fight against this again. If we start to slip back into limited speech, religious persecution, socialism or monarchy or tyranny, I will plant my feet in American soil, remembering the solid grounds on which we built this country, and what we once believed in.

I am a Republican because I want to be, and true Republicans will always stand for choice. Every American can make his or her political distinction out of pure, free, unadulterated choice, and this is the one I’ve made. Maybe someday I’ll take a different path, but I wouldn’t count on it; I am a Republican because I was born that way, in my very heart and soul. And no one can tell me that that’s not who I am.

At the KNUS News/Talk Rally I attended last Monday, Dennis Prager cited a research study that found out some interesting things about the correlation between political affiliation and self-rated happiness. The Pew Research Center performed an objective survey of just over 3,000 Americans, 34% of which rated themselves as very happy. Regular churchgoers ranked happier than non-churchgoers, dog and cat owners rated the same, African Americans were the least happy race of all minorities, and married people were surprisingly happier than the single. But what I found most interesting as I looked closely into this study was the difference between Republican and Democrat happiness.

Only 30% of Democrats called themselves very happy, compared to 45% of Republicans.
Statistically, we’re the more joyful party. A Democrat may accuse that that’s because we’re the ones swimming around in our pools of blood and oil money or that we feel euphoric stomping our big, greedy feet all over the impoverished or that ignorance really is bliss.

I don’t particularly like any of those theories. Prager summed it up nicely: Republicans, he said, are happier because we feel we are in control of our own lives. We are not the puppets of big government or the victims of too much control. Democrats feel that their happiness is out of their own hands. They vote for over-taxation and restrictions on the market and less choice in health care and education and don’t realize that these are the things that contribute feeling like nothing but a passenger. Republicans are in the drivers’ seats. We vote against giving the government the final word on everything, and thus, we know that destiny is ours to create. It’s extremely liberating.

I know in past posts I’ve come across as angry. But that’s when I think about becoming a liberal nation. Just the thought of liberalism ticks me off, and I can see why only 30% of you can find elation in your lives. When I think about my own views, I’m satisfied. I can honestly say that I’m among that 45% of very happy Republicans. I have a bright plan for my future and, should the government not interfere, it will be actualized, and I will be genuinely happy for the rest of my life. I like the person I am and have a great group of friends who accept me, Democrats among them. My family is great, and, as Republicans, I think they’re all really happy, too. I don’t know a lot of people who can say that.

Even now, when the Democrats are supposedly on the brink of presidential victory, they’re angry. All I hear from them is irate screaming whenever McCain shows up on TV or the scribbles of nasty vandalism on the other side of my door. They can’t stand that anyone disagrees with them, and instead of trying to rationalize with us or being civil, they just yell. You’d think they’d be happy that Obama is doing so well, but instead they’re angry that he’s not winning over all 100% of us.

I’m a Republican and I’m happy. I’m not saying if you’re a Democrat you’re unhappy; you could well be in that 30%. But if you’re feeling blue, maybe you should consider going red.

At the KNUS News/Talk Rally I attended last Monday, Dennis Prager cited a research study that found out some interesting things about the correlation between political affiliation and self-rated happiness. The Pew Research Center performed an objective survey of just over 3,000 Americans, 34% of which rated themselves as very happy. Regular churchgoers ranked happier than non-churchgoers, dog and cat owners rated the same, African Americans were the least happy race of all minorities, and married people were surprisingly happier than the single. But what I found most interesting as I looked closely into this study was the difference between Republican and Democrat happiness.

Only 30% of Democrats called themselves very happy, compared to 45% of Republicans. Statistically, we’re the more joyful party. A Democrat may accuse that that’s because we’re the ones swimming around in our pools of blood and oil money or that we feel euphoric stomping our big, greedy feet all over the impoverished or that ignorance really is bliss.

I don’t particularly like any of those theories. Prager summed it up nicely: Republicans, he said, are happier because we feel we are in control of our own lives. We are not the puppets of big government or the victims of too much control. Democrats feel that their happiness is out of their own hands. They vote for over-taxation and restrictions on the market and less choice in health care and education and don’t realize that these are the things that contribute feeling like nothing but a passenger. Republicans are in the drivers’ seats. We vote against giving the government the final word on everything, and thus, we know that destiny is ours to create. It’s extremely liberating.

I know in past posts I’ve come across as angry. But that’s when I think about becoming a liberal nation. Just the thought of liberalism ticks me off, and I can see why only 30% of you can find elation in your lives. When I think about my own views, I’m satisfied. I can honestly say that I’m among that 45% of very happy Republicans. I have a bright plan for my future and, should the government not interfere, it will be actualized, and I will be genuinely happy for the rest of my life. I like the person I am and have a great group of friends who accept me, Democrats among them. My family is great, and, as Republicans, I think they’re all really happy, too. I don’t know a lot of people who can say that.

Even now, when the Democrats are supposedly on the brink of presidential victory, they’re angry. All I hear from them is irate screaming whenever McCain shows up on TV or the scribbles of nasty vandalism on the other side of my door. They can’t stand that anyone disagrees with them, and instead of trying to rationalize with us or being civil, they just yell. You’d think they’d be happy that Obama is doing so well, but instead they’re angry that he’s not winning over all 100% of us.

I’m a Republican and I’m happy. I’m not saying if you’re a Democrat you’re unhappy; you could well be in that 30%. But if you’re feeling blue, maybe you should consider going red.

It’s easy to confuse liberalism with freedom because it initiates change, and the idea that nothing is concrete opens doors and therefore lifts any feelings of entrapment one might have. Conservatism works to keep things the same. While this may come across as stagnancy or limitation, if the thing being preserved is freedom, permanence is good.

Thus is the core difference between the two ideals: remember the anecdote, “don’t fix it if it ain’t broken”? Conservatives noted the lesson; liberals did not. Barack Obama is the poster child for this bought of liberal blindness. His campaign has been built on the basis of change, and because everyone seems to hate the way things are right now, change sounds like what we need. Change sounds like liberation. It sounds like sunshine. It makes us feel warm and fuzzy.

But I’d rather watch a Disney movie if that’s the outcome I’m shooting for, not elect a Socialist. On the surface, Obama’s big changes make us want to stutter along with David Bowie lyrics, but when we listen to the record backward we hear the hidden messages, much like Satan left behind rock and roll in the 70s. The specific changes Obama wants to make will take us further from real freedom than we’ve ever been. If we need change, this isn’t it.

At this point, the conservative candidate is also proposing change, but in a much more positive way. McCain wants to return the core philosophies of the United States, the roots out of which we grew into such a strong establishment.

No one is satisfied with the way things are now. Everyone wants a change. But if we chomp at the bit at the mention of the word before we look into things more meticulously, we’re going to trip mid-race and get shipped to the glue factory. All I’m asking is that we vote with care. Study, divulge, scrutinize both candidates from home life to social ideas to moral codes to their whereabouts at the time of Nicole Simpson’s murder. If none of us can be open-minded enough to consider all the points on the table, we’ve become what we despise about our opposition.

Please, at least smell the Kool-Aid first.