Why Am I So Conservative?

People often wonder why I'm so politically active. My wife and I have friends who ask, "What's the deal? Why does Dave always go off on these crazy right-wing rants against Obama?" Of course, that's what our more liberal friends ask. Our conservative friends make comments like: "Good for you Dave!" "You just said what I've been thinking!" "Sorry I can't post comments on your blog, but I'm more of a 'closet-Republican.'"

Well, of course, it is not popular these days to be a conservative. Obama was one of the most popular presidential candidates in history, he has achieved rock-star celebrity status, and he's black. So, if you don't like him, you must be a racist, right? WRONG. But more importantly, if you're conservative these days, then you must be a cold, heartless bastard. After all, the liberals want the government to take care of all of those helpless people who aren't able to care for themselves. Conservatives just want to steal as much money from the common people as possible and funnel it off to the Caymen Islands, right? WRONG AGAIN. I do agree that liberals think with their hearts. They really do have good intentions and they WANT to do the right thing. On the other hand, conservatives think with their brains. They UNDERSTAND human nature, and realize that giving people entitlements from the government only makes people DEPEND on those entitlements in the future, thus taking away incentives to take care of themselves. Furthermore, history has shown that free enterprise and the capitalist system is what has created the greatest nation in the world. If all people worked hard to better their own lot in life, then everyone's lives would be better. The problem, as I see it, is that people have lost sight of that American Dream. People at a young age start figuring out ways to 'scam the system' and get the government to take care of them.

As a physician, I can't even tell you how many people I've seen over the years who are looking for something for nothing. From people with no true disability asking for disability forms to be filled out, to teenage mothers on Medicaid who are addicted to all kinds of substances and not working, to people who retire from GM at 48 and rely on their pension. This has become what our American culture is all about. How to get something for nothing.

In the Obama Utopia, all of these individuals and others will be cared for by "the people" (i.e., the government). There will be no suffering in our world, because all of the less fortunate people will simply be GIVEN what they need to survive. In my Utopia, all of these people would have stayed in school, not have become pregnant before they're married (or at least not before they're self-sufficient), not addicted to chemical substances, and not retiring at 48 to let the younger generations take care of them.

I think we all agree that we'd live in a better place if there were no suffering. But the difference between the liberal and the conservative is that the liberal wants to take what little wealth there is and spread it around equally; the conservative wants to create more wealth for everyone by everyone taking an active role in that wealth creation. You are simply not going to motivate people to take care of themselves if they see that they can survive by letting someone else take care of them. In this "new era of responsibility," I think people need to start taking some responsibility for themselves, first and foremost. After all, if you can't be responsible for yourself, how can President Obama expect you to be responsible for the country?

And that brings us to health care. As a physician, I have often debated others on the question of whether health care is a right or a privilege. You can probably already imagine my opinion on the subject, but that will be the topic of my next blog entry.