Wait, what? Did I just admit that? Although growing up, I spoke openly about my beliefs, I feel like we have come to a point in society where it is frowned upon to be a Conservative … And definitely a Christian.
One of my biggest fears about the current state of our nation is that everyone is afraid to speak about their beliefs. The pendulum has swung so far to the side that everyone is afraid to be labeled X by speaking about what they believe in. The USA I grew up in allowed us to have different opinions; we could have different backgrounds, upbringings, and morals and still live side-by-side. We were also able to discuss these differences with respect. I don’t know where that USA went, but here is my attempt to make a difference.
I am writing this blog to openly admit my religious and political views, in hopes that I (1) make those who are of opposing views more aware and empathetic of what “people like me” believe in, & (2) make those who may fear speaking about their beliefs feel more confident to do so.
So basically, I am just gonna throw it all out there in an effort to make it seem more normal to talk about your beliefs, hopefully without being persecuted.
I am not a black & white Christian, nor am I am black & white Conservative—meaning, there are a few areas of my personal beliefs that may not line up with my religion or my political party. One of my biggest pet peeves about social media, especially during this election year, is when people tell me via big tough posts what I believe in or stand for. I have read multiple posts from folks stating “If you are a Christian, you must not be supportive of the LBGTQ movement” or “If you are a Republican you must be against the LGBTQ movement”. This is a perfect example of how my personal beliefs may be different from my political & religious BOX. I am not in a BOX. Do not put me in a BOX. Do not tell me what I do and do not believe. If you are curious about my beliefs you can ask me, OR how about I just tell you what I believe, and eliminate all the guessing?
Christian
So let’s start with Christianity. I am a Christian. I believe in God. I was raised by my Methodist parents and still attend a Methodist church. We went to church and Sunday School every Sunday, and I sang in the church choir at every stage of my life. I don’t think I’m an expert on the Bible, however I am always trying to read more, learn more, and teach my daughters more about the Bible every day. The most important part about being a Christian, in my opinion, is having faith—knowing the Lord is out there protecting you and your loved ones, so that worrying is unnecessary. This really hit me hard when I had my pregnancy scare with Charleigh. Faith pulled me through.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
I live my life by trying to always treat my neighbor as I’d want to be treated. I support and fully respect every nationality, ethnicity, sex, age, & sexual orientation. I go to church to stay connected with God, to stay centered in faith, and to find peace for the upcoming chaotic week.
For those reading this who are not Christian or religious… I’ve tried to put myself in your shoes, and think about what in my description of being a Christian would offend you. I honestly can’t think of anything, but in the words of Sarah Silverman, “You can’t smell yourself”. Honestly, I have many flaws in my personality, in how I live my life, in how I raise my kids, etc. But if there is one thing that makes me a better friend, better wife, better mother, better neighbor, better coworker— it is being a Christian. There is not one ounce of judgment or hate or negativity that comes with adding Christianity to my life. I have overheard non-believers make jokes out of religion and add in their own viewpoints of how Christians may be judgmental or critical of others, but that is not what happens to me as a result of being part of a Christian community. It makes me calmer. It makes me kinder. It makes be a better human for you to interact with.
Conservative
I was raised as a Republican. As I grew up and went away to college I became more liberal, which I think is pretty normal. And now as an adult, I would describe myself as a Republican (with a few small hints of libertarian mixed in there). Some categories I will add explanation to; some I feel need no further explanation.
Ideals – I believe in limited government & promotion of individuals rights. I believe in state regulation vs. increased federal regulation. Why have states if they can’t control how they are regulated?
Abortion – First and foremost I hate that this is part of politics. I personally feel like it is sexist to even have this discussed. What part of a male’s body/health is regulated and discussed during political debates? So, although I do not personally support the idea of having an abortion, I can tell you I am even more against the government telling me what I can and can’t do with my body. So I would have to say I’m a mixture of Pro-Life & Pro-Choice. If pressed hard, I would have to say I am more against the government being involved with my health choices, than I am against the act of abortion. This is not normal for Republicans or Christians, but this is my more libertarian view. I know there are many people out there judging my view on this, but all I can say is this is what I believe in.
Capital punishment – I believe in capital punishment.
Gun Control – I do not believe in any restriction in gun ownership, with the exception of current background checks for possession.
Immigration Restrictions. – I believe in building a wall. I am not racist. I do not think that Mexicans or Canadians or Muslims are bad or criminal. I think we have a broken system that is not functioning as it is designed and we should fix it. It amazes me how many people are bothered by the concept of the wall. I think we all agree that we have borders. I think we all agree we have Border Patrol. And I think we all agree that the border is currently being crossed illegally which is affecting so many areas in our country negatively. Yes, I think drugs and criminals are coming in because of this, and there are jobs for Americans that are lost because of illegal immigrants working for less. But more importantly, our communities are being depleted (infrastructures, schools, facilities, etc.). We are not in control. Why have a border or Border Patrol/US Customs if we are going to allow borders to be crossed and laws to be broken? I believe we need to fix this more than ever with the rising risk of terrorism. I also agree that we need to stop entry of any non-citizen traveling from countries that have been officially compromised with terrorists, including all Syrian refugees.
Economy – I believe in free market competition, entrepreneurship, and corporate deregulation. I do not believe in progressive taxation (taxing the wealthy more). I do not believe taxes should be increased for anyone, for that matter.
Education – I believe in school choice/vouchers & homeschooling. I believe in saying the Pledge of Allegiance in school, and allowing prayer in school. I am not sure how I feel about quotas for gender and race. There is a big part of me that still feels like we need some work in this area to make our country stronger, but I honestly do not know enough about it. My gut tells me we need affirmative action to help with the current gender inequalities, and race issues (discussed below).
Faith – I am a big supporter of free exercise of religion and I do not agree with taking religion out of our schools.
Foreign policy – I believe we are at war with Radical Islamic Terrorists. I believe we need to eliminate ISIS. I believe that we need to eliminate WMD. I believe that countries that support and protect terrorists are just as guilty. I believe and support in spreading democracy, and believe we need to reform the UN.
Gay Rights – I do not believe the government should control who we are allowed to marry. I fully support the LGBTQ community and their continued progress.
Healthcare – I believe we should keep healthcare private.
Security & Defense – I believe in keeping our military strong, and keeping our weapons/technology up-to-date.
Social Issues- Violence towards law enforcement and race are our main issues right now. I believe we have a race problem in our country, and I believe we need to get the right group of leaders together to figure out what we need to do to correct it. There is not an easy fix to this. I can’t even begin to think through the right solution. I believe it is a much larger issue than most of us are aware, and it will take experts working together to correct broken systems, culture, & trust. I believe that anyone intentionally killing our law enforcement officers should be treated as terrorists. I believe that for any police-involved shooting, the public should wait to have all the data prior to jumping conclusions—innocent until proven guilty, right? I do not support BLM, for the same reason I do not support the KKK—in my opinion it is a hate group, continuing to spread violence towards our law enforcement officers. I have read many posts supporting BLM, and with many stating that the group is based on peaceful protest. When I hear the hate-filled slogans or see them on signs/shirts this group holds/wears and also watch the rioting, looting, intimidation, and group violence, it is impossible for me to think of the group as anything other than divisive and hateful. I stood at a peaceful & patriotic Trump rally in our beautiful city with my 2 young girls, and watched a BLM group move into the crowd and immediately start pushing, intimidating, bullying, and starting fights. I felt so unsafe that I had to leave the rally early out of fear for my girls’ safety. Founders of BLM may have intended for the group to have a different message, but that message has been compromised. I wouldn’t follow or listen to any “good intentions” of the KKK, and I wouldn’t for BLM either. Let me reiterate, this doesn’t mean I don’t recognize the current racial issues in the USA, or that we don’t have a lot of work to do in this area. I do recognize our race problems; we have a lot of work to do. I just strongly disagree with BLM being part of the journey to our solution.
Social Security – I believe we should move to private investments.
Veteran programs – I believe we have not supported our veterans like we need to, and that change needs to come to the VA immediately.
Welfare – I believe that if you are on welfare, you need to be drug-tested, because those who are working and in turn paying for welfare are required to pass drug tests as well.
So this is me. I don’t know if I have offended a bunch of people by throwing my beliefs out there. Hopefully not. I am who I am. I am a mom, a wife, a veteran, a worker, a patriotic American…a person trying to get by in a crazy world, and possibly make it better along the way. I have no hate in my heart. I have no judgment in my heart. I just know what I believe in.
Do you know what you believe in?
