I am lucky enough to have been able to vote for Ronald Reagan when he ran as President. In fact, it was the first Presidential election in which I was old enough to vote and he was the very first President I voted for.
I was raised in a conservative family with strong conservative values--both parents had college degrees (at the time my father had his first of many PhD's), education was a MUST, we saved, my mother stayed home with us until we went to school and then she worked part time. She was also responsible for our cultural and religious extra-curricular activities while daddy was responsible for our sports activities. Hard work was rewarded with privileges, not toys and laziness, disrespect and irresponsibility were simply not tolerated. I grew up in an era when children were kicked out of their houses around 8:00 am during the summer and told not to come home until lunch; after lunch, it was back outside until the street lights came on. The entire neighborhood watched out for each other's children and if you got into trouble at a friend's house, your mother knew about it before you even came close to being home. Sunday Mass was MANDATORY and you dressed appropriately and respectfully. You learned what soap tasted like if you decided to try out your swearing capabilities. There was one TV in the house and the program lineup was decided by daddy. Hence, my Star Trek addiction (it was on opposite the Flinstones at that time). Bedtimes were enforced, girls didn't call boys, and the phone better not ring after 8:00 pm unless it was a true emergency. We saved money for family vacations, there was one credit card and it was kept clear for emergency use only. We were taught the police were our friends and you ALWAYS stood for a member of the military. From the time we could focus, we were plopped in front of the tv for each and every rocket launch and the flag was proudly flown from our home. Holidays centered around their meanings rather than the cost and number of gifts and our elders were very much respected.
Family vacations were rarely to anyplace other than the grandparents homes. And such grandparents I had! One set of great-grandparents had actually pioneered parts of Colorado and Oklahome in covered wagons. They owned a small "farm" and were entirely self-sustaining. Gruesome child that I was, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Grandpa execute chickens and ducks for dinner. The pies my grandmother made were famous city-wide and she made a small contribution toward the family coffers selling her pies to the mom and pop restaurants in this small town. They raised six children in a sod hut; losing one in adulthood to a fire. To get a doctor, my grandmother had to literally run to town, find the doctor and go back to the homestead. They didn't have stores to buy sheets and such; quilting bees were the norm. I have two of her quilts made into wall hangings for all to see their beauty. She emmigrated from Ireland and he was the son of German immigrants.
Another set of grandparents homesteaded the Idaho/Utah area. She was a British immigrant whose father was a gravedigger in England and the children played among the headstones. The highpoint of their childhood was going to the sea and eating ice cream. She was an exceptionally cheerful woman who worked magic with a crochet hook or knitting needles. She taught us how to can, preserve and store food. My memories of my grandfather aren't so keen as he always seemed to be in the background. To her dying day, she had her afternoon tea. Her three children were successes in their own rights, my father being the only son.
Those times are gone. The values have long been since relegated to the dustbins of obscurity as old fashioned and not relevant.
However. These are the values of conservatives. Self-sufficiency. Using resources responsibly. Helping each other out in time of need. Saving for a rainy day. Legal immigration and assimilation. Giving up native languages for English. Pride in God, country and self, in that order. Faith. Small government who trusted its citizens to pretty much govern themselves, stepping in only when necessary. Military service. Raising families to be productive citizens rather than lazy layabouts expecting everything to be handed to them.
These people were the backbone of the country and the backbone of the conservative base. They may have registered as Democrats. They may have been Republicans. Either way, the values and beliefs were strong.
These values no longer define conservatism. Conservatism is used as an epithet these days, signifying you're hopelessly behind the times. God and Faith have been relegated to second class status, while the almighty dollar and power take their places.
Frankly, I'm tired of it. I have my own blog. Those who read my blog know I hold nothing back. I'm tired of what passes for the Republican party these days, which is nothing more than socialist lite. I'm tired of working my behind off to have my taxes taken (a nice form of armed robbery) to support the most ludicrous of leftist/liberal ideas and schemes, without asking me what I wish to support, whether it be policies or charities. I don't like my money being taken to support lunatic schemes such as the "greening" of the world, worshiping at the altar of Al Gore and designed to take my choice away regarding everything from what I put into my gas tank to what kind of light bulbs I use. Policies designed to siphon off my funds to support failed theories and false science which has been debunked by reputable research--yet the RNC panders to in order to get votes. Policies designed to drive up prices on everything from gas prices to the food on my table. Policies designed to ravage land and starve worldwide populations. Policies based upon the ravings of a lunatic and his followers.
I'm tired of the RNC pandering to the lobbies for illegal aliens and refusing to enforce existing laws against these invaders while continuing to try to find ways to shove anmnesty down my throat. I'm tired of the cowardice of the RNC in capitulating to the appeasement mentality of islamists demanding special accomodations for footbaths, prayer rooms and times, cafeterias and facility use times at publicly funded schools and universities, using my tax dollars, while my own Judeo-Christian values and needs are prohibited because of the "separation of church and state". I'm tired of the RNC appeasing a small percentage of the population's sexual issues by allowing them to force their views on my family through things like special sex ed classes and accomodation of Gay Pride parades and Folsom Street Fair. I'm tired of traitors and seditionists being allowed to retain their congressional seats rather than the RNC enforcing the laws against such behavior and prosecuting these criminals. I'm tired of the RNC becoming a yellow-belly, spineless wimp in the face of the liberal lunacy. I'm tired of the RNC asking me for money to support candidates who waffle, spin, refuse to take a stand and are nothing more than democrat lite, while refusing to provide us true conservative candidates.
I'm plain tired of the RNC. I will stay registered Republican just long enough to get through this election; then I'm registering no party. I will not continue to contribute to or support any candidate run by a party I no longer recognize and a party who insists on ignoring the voices of the people.
Anyone with me?
Cross posted from Miss Beth's Victory Dance here.