It has happened to each of us at one time or another. If we lean Right, if we are Conservative on several issues, or if we belong to the GOP, our Liberal friends (if we still have any) make disparaging remarks. Or they look at us cross-eyed. We don't do the same to them because, unlike them, we are tolerant.
As it routinely does, the Leftist media seeks to reconfigure history and create false narratives about the Republican party. We are the party of Lincoln. We sacrificed 360,000 Union troops to preserve the Union and eventually free everyone. We are the party that effectively ended the KKK, overturned Jim Crow, and supported women's suffrage. We integrated that high school in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Unbeknownst to many people today, under President Nixon, more was done to advance civil rights, black capitalism, and equal opportunity than any other president. If you do the research, it is abundantly clear, but you'll have to look past The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the usual gang of Leftist propagandists.
Unnecessary Justification
At times, nonetheless, you’ll want to offer effective retorts to those who question why you are a Conservative. Here is a non-comprehensive list that might serve you well.
1) Tell them you believe that the government must employ fiscal responsibility and not spend us into oblivion. As individuals, we should be able to retain most of what we earn and have discretion over our expenditures. This worked for decades before the U.S. Treasury wantonly started printing money and taxed us as if we were serfs, not citizens.
2) Tell them that the government is most effective when it provides for people who cannot help themselves, but it is best when other individuals and organizations help first. Ideally, the government is the last resort for the unfortunate. As said throughout our history, the best government “is that which governs least.”
3) Tell them that you are aghast at the ever-expanding reach of the federal government, which relentlessly grabs more and more power. You’re alarmed about the growing, entrenched federal bureaucracy, which has become an unelected, unwanted fourth branch of government. The government closest to the people being governed tends to be the most responsible and effective.
4) Tell them that you believe in the free enterprise system and that individual initiative and hard work have made this nation great and will continue to make it prosper. Creating a nanny state where a burgeoning number of people have an increasing share of their income provided by the government will not be helpful for anyone in the end. As Thomas Jefferson said, our government will falter once people start to vote themselves, increasing goodies from the U.S. Treasury.
5) Tell them that equal justice, equal rights, and equal opportunity for all people, whites and people of color, is indispensable for the effective functioning of our nation. Tell them that sex, age, disability, ethnic origin, and religion have no place in how justice is dispensed or how appropriate government benefits are allocated.
6) Tell them that you believe in a strong military and that peace is best achieved through strength. Concurrently, a strong military does not trample on the rights of sovereign nations. Tell them that you believe in extending the message of freedom, peace, and human rights throughout the globe.
Perhaps most important of all, tell them that our country's true might is derived from individuals' contributions. Each person's capabilities as well as responsibilities are required. Our economy works best, and our nation serves its citizens most aptly when most of us are gainfully employed and earn compensation.
Stand Up and Be Proud
When you tell them that you're a Republican or a Conservative, if they wince or roll their eyes, stand up proudly for yourself. You’re on the side that has done the most good for the greatest number of people for the longest time.
Don't hesitate to let them know that Republicans, and Conservatives in general, have the best approach for carrying on the ideals, positive attributes, and successful ways that made our country great and will continue to keep us great far into the future.
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