April 12th 1776. The good people of Halifax County, NC decided to declare their independence from Great Britain. Their encouragement led to the support for our nation’s Declaration of Independence. Our state led the charge of independence almost 3 months before the rest of the colonies stepped up. They decided that they wanted a government that was led, and had to answer to, the governed. Every person whose signature appears on that document believed they were signing their own death warrants. They decided to step up and give their reputations, fortunes, and even their lives for a cause they believed in.
Now, fast forward to the present. We have become accustom in North Carolina to seeing our elected officials involved in scandal, we have government condoned gambling under the facade of school funding, & we have undergrads at our universities that do not even know the turning point of the our Revolutionary War (yes, thats Saratoga).
The governed must hold the government responsible.
That brings me to my point: I am a lifelong Conservative. Fiscally, Socially, & even with Foreign Policy. My family taught me that national defense, foreign diplomacy, & interstate trade were the ONLY things that our federal government has been dictated to do. Everything else, we lost in our own dereliction of duty.
So as we come to 2008, I find myself without a candidate. None of the candidates that remain have been able to convince me of their conviction on the issues that mean most to me.
So, this year I will draw a line in the sand. There is only so far I am able to go with the party before I start forgetting the reasons why I am a conservative. Republicans are suppose to represent the best ideals our country has to offer: smaller government, free market capitalism, & private sector assistance, not government, for those less fortunate.
I find people telling me that the candidates on the national stage are “the best we have this year”.
No.
I find others saying that the party has to shift to new (or “neo-”) conservative direction in able to acclimate to a new America.
No.
I believe in what I believe not because some pundit tells me what to believe, my beliefs are based on the principles of conservatism.
Conservatism has not changed, the party has.
2 Comments
February 2, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Excellent commentary. Our country was very blessed to have recently (to me anyway) conservative leadership such as Regan and Helms. I didn’t always agree with them, but did not often differ either.
Keep up the good writing.
February 3, 2008 at 1:36 am
And this is why I’m able to remain friends with you.