I turned 18 in 1979 and cast my first vote for Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential election.  My vote may have been a response to having to wait in line for gas, or the debacle that was the Iran hostage crisis, or it may have been Ronald Reagan’s television persona.  I was tangentially involved in politics and had attended a few Young Republican events in my (Southern California) area, but I didn’t think too deeply about culture, economics, or foreign affairs.

Today, I am a hardcore America First, MAGA, Tea Party Christian conservative.

Since my youth, I have thought deep and long about what I believe and why.  The foundation of my belief system is reason and analysis.

First off, as a California resident, I have seen firsthand the mirage that is leftism.  Democrats appeal to emotion by espousing the good intentions of their proposed policies (and, more recently, the evil intent of Republicans — e.g., “kill Grandma”).  Their policies always lead to disaster.

Affirmative action

Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity

Social justice policing

Appeasement abroad

Free trade (resulting in the destruction of our middle class)

Universal public education

No-risk college loans

SNAP benefits for the poor

Medicaid for All (including illegal aliens)

Free buses

Rent control

Gun control

Abortion, or the deceptively named “reproductive rights”

Transing of children, or the deceptively named “gender-affirming care”

Mass unfettered illegal immigration

Bend down the (health care) cost curve

If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor

Climate change and the urbanization of the populace into smart cities

Wonderful ideas — in theory.  In practice, the outcome of these policies has been disastrous, particularly for those who have bought in to the lie.

Inner cities are rife with drugs, crime, and homelessness.  Social justice policing (and defund the police) has seen an increase in violent crime and a revolving door for the worst criminals being re-released back into the neighborhoods.  Appeasement abroad has seen the encroachment of radicalism, conflict, and war.  Medicaid for All and SNAP have seen a near plurality of citizens (and non-citizens) dependent on the state.  Obamacare has seen the hyperinflation of health insurance premiums, making health care all but unaffordable for a large swath of the American public.  Government-backed student loans have likewise seen hyperinflation of college tuitions and an epidemic of grade inflation, making the college diploma all but worthless.  Abortion and now “gender-affirming care” have diminished the value of life and caused confusion and despair among our young.  Climate change hysteria has resulted in multiple five- to ten-year pronouncements of doom.  Illegal immigration has resulted in 20–30 million unvetted, unapproved people being permitted entry to our sovereign nation, resulting in unassimilated pockets of foreigners whose allegiance is not tied to our laws or our mores.

Leftism (and its failings) is as much a factor in my conservatism as study, reason, and thought.

Our Founders devised governing principles, premised on (nature’s) God, self-rule, and limited government.  As we approach the 250th anniversary of our founding, our destiny is uncertain.  Will we re-dedicate our future to the principles established at our founding, or will we be drawn to yet another batch of (bad) intentions promising utopia?

Image via Free Range Stock.