A Conservative Mindset: Divided and Conquered

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Divided and Conquered

Why does it feel good to be apart of a group? I would say that it is everyone's instinctive desire to be around people that have similar interests and relateable stories. Most people choose the group they want to belong to as a hobby or maybe even as a profession. Some choose to be on sports teams, others in debate clubs. People become teachers, others become lawyers. Some are Catholics while others are Jewish. And of course there are conservatives and liberals. Despite common stereotypes, all groups are equal as human beings, the only difference is their interests and beliefs. On the other hand, there are some who feel that they are born into a group. We have men and women, blacks and whites. There are straight Americans and there are LGBT Americans. We have the 1% and the 99%. But do most people consider themselves in a group because of their income, gender, race or sexual preference? I argue that most people do not. Of course there are distinctions to be made between men and women, and people from different income brackets that cause an automatic grouping of interest, but who really claims they belong to these groups. I understand there are times when these types of groups needed to be formed in order to fight for their rights, but a majority of those rights have been accomplished. I am writing to argue that these groups have now been hijacked. I believe that these groups are emphasized in order to divide and conquer America for political gains. Politicians are creating the idea that we must join with our "natural groups" to defend our rights. This is what liberals do best.

It seems like everyday we hear that another group is under attack Not by Russia or Iran, but under attack by conservatives. Conservatives are made out to be a "group" of people that have no tolerance for people that are not white Christian men. This idea is nothing more than a political narrative. The biggest problem is that liberals are professionals at directing and managing a uniform narrative, while conservatives are horrible at communicating their counter views. It's not because conservatives are bad communicators, but they know they are up against a liberal machine that will hang on every word choice and then loop it over and over again through media discussions. Some media types, like MSNBC, will come right out and say what they think of conservatives. I have no problem with that. They have freedom of speech, their agenda is well known, and truthfully their audience isn't that large. However, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC play a different game. The use a strategy I call "the question mark cover up". Is the Tea Party really racist? Is Mitt Romney out of touch with the middle class? Is Newt Gingrich insensitive towards African Americans? Does Rick Santorum hate women? By phrasing these ideas as proposed "questions" they give themselves the opportunity to put someone on the air to justify it, while covering up their own bias. Once the question is proposed the narrative begins, then its repeated, and eventually a stereotype has been created to tarnish a person or opposing view. The idea is if you divide people into groups and then feed them a narrative that their group is under attack, then that group will feel a desire to band together to oppose the "attacker". The next step is to bring all the groups that are being attacked together as one massive opposition. In other words, the "left" will make people think that they are in the minority and under assault by the evil majority, and if all the minorities can come together for one cause they can become the voice of a majority. It is an effective strategy because it is easier to get someone to become active in a discussion if they feel they are apart of group fighting for a similar cause. Divide people into groups and then conquer an opposing group. It happens every time, and with election season peaking, it is becoming a key liberal strategy. In truth it has nothing to do with group rights, it has everything to do with winning certain voting demographics.

Allow me to elaborate on two examples: African Americans and women

The civil rights movements was a powerful movement that helped the black community establish itself as equals in society. Now lets skip past the idea that Republicans were the ones that helped this movement and that MLK Jr. was a Republican, and focus on today. Liberal Democrats spread the narrative that conservative Republicans are racist. So this narrative divides people in a group that feels a need to conquer a group of conservatives. Most conservatives are afraid to even talk about racial topics because everything will be analyzed to find hidden racial undertones. Then they will be criticized for not including American Americans in their speeches. The Tea Party is considered racist because they claim that there are mostly all whites at their rallies. This may be true, but it is a lie to imply that there are mostly whites because blacks are not welcome to attend. Despite what the media claims, there are not "whites only" signs at the entrance, and there are no white hoods anywhere to be found. Maybe more African Americans would show up if they weren't told the Tea Party is the "klan" without the sheets, and if they wouldn't be judged by others for changing their views. Meanwhile, liberals are the ones that always link the black community to the poor community. Anytime welfare reform is mentioned or unemployment is discussed, someone like Rev. Al Sharpton or Rev. Jesse Jackson will show up on a major network to claim the black community is under assault. So in response they constantly promise to help this group by giving them assistance through welfare, affirmative action, and housing. Who doesn't want to vote for someone that is promising handouts. Once they create the narrative, a self fulfilling prophecy takes affect and they now believe that liberals are here to help, and conservatives just want to take the things away that they're "entitled" to. But how are those entitlements working out? Poverty is increasing, government housing projects are considered a crime infested drug zone, and the public schools in those areas are beyond failing. As a conservative I think it is shameful that liberals keep feeding African Americans the narrative that they are here to help, but in reality everything they are doing is keeping them dependent and poor at the same time. The narrative has been set for that group and most refuse to break away from the herd in fear of being labeled an Uncle Tom. As Herman Cain said, black liberals need to get off the democratic plantation. (see video to right)

As a conservative I feel that liberals make African Americans feel like they are not able to succeed without the help of the government. We feel that everybody has the ability to think and fend for themselves and their families.It is easy to see how conservatives are made out to be cruel, but the mindset is to give everyone the freedom to prosper to their own ability, and there is no promise of an equal outcome. When someone relies on government entitlements and housing, it is difficult to give up those "free" programs, and a true prosperity is given up for a guaranteed below average lifestyle. Yes, it will be more difficult at times, but the freedom to fail is a key idea that encourages upward mobility. But to liberals, dependence on government ensures guaranteed votes, and eventually an increase in political power.

Women's rights seem to be the new hot topic in the 2012 presidential election. Liberals make you think conservatives want to keep their wives barefoot and pregnant at home behind a stove. Ask yourself why? Who is attacking women? Nobody is talking about voting rights here, even though again it was the Republicans who fought for those rights, and yes Susan B. Anthony was a Republican.We are not talking about equal rights in the work place. We are talking about birth control. Who is trying to ban these things that women use? Nobody, but that is not the narrative that liberals are feeding to women.If you want to stop reading this post and go look for a bill that is being proposed, or a candidate that is running for President, that wants to make these things illegal go ahead, they don't exist. But liberals don't let those facts get in the way of their narrative. This narrative is created to win the women's vote and turn the group of women against conservatives. They need women to ban together to fight against these misogynistic bigots. Even real women's organizations like N.O.W. are hijacked for political activism. It is easy to tell because they always turn their backs when conservatives like Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann are being degraded. These double standards are the height of political hypocrisy. However, there is a bill that is out there that has been passed that denies rights, it is Obamacare. It takes religious rights away and forces people to go against their own moral conscience. That narrative is true, but liberals need to divert attention to something that fits their political platform. Conservatives need to start standing up to fabricated controversies in the media. Nobody wants birth control to be illegal!!! Women were not on the now infamous congressional hearing panel because it was a hearing about the constitutionality of Obamacare forcing religious groups to pay for things that they do not morally believe in. The panel was made up of clergymen, and rightfully so. It is shameful when women say birth control is too expensive, and then applaud the President when he says don't worry I will FORCE insurance companies to give it to you for free. You are not qualified to be President when you think anything in this world is free. A sexual lifestyle is a choice, but it is wrong to say someone else needs to financially support it because you cannot afford it yourself. Now liberals can scream War on Women all they want, but the real war is against a big government that thinks it can mandate what people buy and what institutions must pay for, and a liberal media that does their dirty work. Religious freedom is the essence of our country, it is apart of the 1st Amendment for a reason. Our country was not built on the idea that the government will provide free birth control, healthcare, housing, food, or even education. We have no right to these services, only a right to purchase them ourselves. Those are things a Socialistic government promises. That is what Europe does. They tell people that they are entitled to free services through government programs, but in reality they pay for it through taxes in every aspect of their lives. And like Senator Rick Santorum says (see video to right), when a government gives you rights, they can take those rights away, and even tell you how to exercise those rights. We must not allow the liberal media to take a segment of a speech and build a narrative in order to divide and conquer.

Allow me to finish by explaining the Conservative Mindset when it comes to these topics. Nobody should be put into groups in fear that their natural birth characteristics are being attacked. I'm sure everyone knows somebody that is degrading to minorities or women, but I guarantee you would be wrong about their political position. Most people these days have harsh feelings for others because they have witnessed the content of their character, not because of their physical attributes. And if that is not the case, then shame on them no matter what their political affiliation may be. Conservatives believe individuals have the ability to think for themselves and succeed by themselves. When we live independent with minimal government intrusion, we have the best chance to prosper in life. We are not a country of groups and demographics, we are a country of individuals. The President always says that we are in this together, we help each other out, we all need to do our fair share and what is right for the good of the country. Now he makes it sound patriotic and like poetry to the ear, but he is completely wrong. That is not America.Conservatives believe this country was built on INDIVIDUAL liberties, and this country became great because of INDIVIDUAL interests and pursuits of happiness. The American Dream is one where you can strive to do what ever YOU want and what makes YOU happy within the law. The problem with what the President preaches is that if we live as collective groups, live equally, and contribute to the common good, then someone has to dictate what is considered equal, and what is considered the common good. The President wants to micro-manage each group by promising equal outcomes, but the only way to do that is to smother someone else's freedom. If you promise an African American more access to college based purely on the color of their skin, then you are taking away the right of someone else to gain entry to college based on the color of their skin. If you give women the right to free birth control, those costs get offset by fees on others, and then you take away the right for someone to be morally against it and not have to pay for it. Any time the government creates a right, it takes away from someone else's God given right. This is the foundation of our country. I agree it does sound harsh at times because people do fail, but they fail on their own merit. On the other hand, some people become millionaires, and we should applaud them because they do it on their on merit. We must not allow liberals to get away with making false promises in order to divide and conquer our country. The idea of America is that each of our individual interests will build off of each other's, creating more opportunity for all. As Jack Kemp claimed, a rising tide lifts all boats. Freedom is our tide, not our President.

Hear is what Conservatives sound like in their entirety regarding these issues:

1. When Newt Gingrich was leading in the polls the media pushed a narrative and allowed other to exaggerate the idea that he wants poor blacks to become janitors and clean up after the rich white kids in the schools. Liberals are afraid to allow the poor to believe that they can achieve success on their own. Here is Newt in his own words.

2. When Rick Santorum was leading in the polls the narrative switched to women. The left claims that Rick Santorum has said that birth control should be banned, women should stay at home with the kids, and Catholicism is the way of the world. Now it is easy to pull those phrases out of his speeches, but if you hear him out fully there is a decisive difference between his personal beliefs and his public policy record. He has strong convictions for a united family and he makes a great case for our society being directly related to it.