Why I'm a Conservative.

I was on a date tonight (OK, stop laughing), and the young lady is a liberal. As I tried to tell her why I'm a conservative, I realized I did a really poor job. Some times you've believed something for so long your forget why you believe it. So here is why I'm a conservative.

I understand liberalism to be the idea that government should be used as a tool to do the greatest amount of good possible for those it serves. It is the instrument that can shape and define society to its fullest potential. I understand conservatism to be the idea that each person should be allowed the most freedom possible in order to shape their lives as they see fit. Standing alone, both are noble ideas, and both have merits and limits. No society can survive unless these ideas are balanced, and from time to time one will supersede the other. I choose conservatism for due to one word - freedom.

Freedom is a messy concept. Freedom has made America the greatest country in the history of our planet. Freedom has given us Thomas Edison, Bruce Springsteen, Ronald Reagan, Neil Armstrong, Babe Ruth, Billy Graham, Truman Capote, The Beach Boys, Bill Gates, and many others. But freedom has also allowed Ted Bundy, Richard Nixon, Roy Cohen, James Earl Ray, and Donnie and Marie. Freedom allows dreams to become reality, and despite its messiness, freedom holds open the gate of hope.

As usual, Mark Twain said it best.

"It is by the fortune of God that, in this country, we have three benefits: freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and the wisdom never to use either."