When I look deep into myself, I realize that I am first and foremost a Christian. Christian, or more specifically Lutheran, will always be my first label in life. When the world seems to be caving in, when I fail in life, or when this life ends the one thing that will always be left will be my faith. My faith has been the basis of everything I have done in my life. It is sometimes the only thing that keeps me going through this life. My faith, and this Christian label, has been what has modeled my political beliefs the most.
My faith has influenced much of what people see as social issues. The two social issues that I see as giving myself my social conservative label are abortion and marriage. I believe, as I stated in my last post, that life begins at conception. I am pro-life from the womb to the tomb. I believe that all life is God given and it should be protected at all stages of life. I believe that as Christians we need to defend those who can’t defend themselves. There is even a constitutional argument in the fact that the constitution protects life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The question needs to be addressed on the idea of when life begin. There is a scientific argument that can be made that shows there is life in the womb. This is an issue where I don’t need religion to be my basis. It is not only abortion that I am worried about. I believe that we should invest more in those with mental illnesses. I think there should be increased funding for rehabilitating those that are in prison and those that are on drugs. The second issue that my faith has influenced is the idea of a family with two parents, one man and one woman, who are married. There has been so much research that has shown how successful children are who come from households like this compared to children who came from other types of households. There will be those that say it would be unconstitutional to deny the right to marry to certain types of couples. The counter argument that I would make is the fact that the government makes laws on marriages all the time. The government sets age limits and family relationship limits. It would not be beyond the government’s power to set other limits. I do not hate anyone who is gay, bisexual, transgender, or any other label that a person gives themselves. I believe everyone is made in the image of God. In my beliefs though, these things that I have listed are sins. It needs to be understood though that these sins are no worse than any sin I commit each and every day. The question does need to be asked though; does the government has a non-religious basis to legislate same-sex-marriage? These are two of the major issues that my Christian label has helped to label myself as a social conservative.
On the policy side, I am a constitutional and fiscal conservative. I have a strict reading when it comes to the constitution. I believe the framers knew what they were doing when they wrote the constitution . This is the exact reason why I support placing constitutional minded judges on the bench. When looking at the national debt, it has gotten to a point that is unsustainable. The federal government should not be in the business of spending money when they do not have it. This money comes from the people in the form of taxes. If the government does not have this money, that means we have not given them permission to tax us because we would vote them out of office, so they should not be spending this money. The federal government has become too bloated to sustain. I believe that much of the power that the federal government has should be given back to the states. This would allow more localized taxing and spending, which works better than on a national scale. These issues again help me to define myself and a both a constitution and fiscal conservative.
Finally, there are some principles that the Republican party stand for that helps to give me that label. I believe, like the Republican party, that with hard-work you can accomplish anything. In America, we can celebrate those that work hard without looking down at those that may need a helping hand. Those that work hard deserve to be where they are, and we need to help others along the way by teaching them this work ethic. The Republican party also believes in a strong national defense. America is the world’s greatest superpower. I believe that to keep peace in the world. America having military might is vital. Finally, I believe that the Republican party is a party for everyone. In the Republican party we do not care what race, religion, or gender you are. In the end, all that matters is that you are willing to work hard to build a better life for yourself. In turn this helps to build a better life for the entire county. These are the principles that help to give myself the Republican label.
There are many that will see the labels that I have given myself and think that I am a bigot. This could not be further from the truth. I believe that no matter your beliefs that you are created in the image of God. Everyone deserves the same protections under the law. I just believe that it is the choices that we make that dictate where we will end up in life. It comes down to the idea of personal responsibility.
This is all combined to help me, in the end, define myself as a person. The principles and beliefs that I have stated help to define me as a Christian Conservative Republican.
Politics with Kegan Prentice 