Honest Republicans and Dishonest Republicans

I've studied Republicans for many years; and many of them are not that difficult to understand. Most Republican constituents want to make their money, raise their families and not be bothered by anyone. There is nothing wrong with that; and as a family man myself I mostly wish these people well.

There are however things that can go wrong with that – sometimes very wrong. Money can be made in destructive ways, such as burning the rainforest or flooding the atmosphere with CO2. Families can be managed in brutal and abusive ways. And the desire not to be bothered can lead to two wrongful outcomes: Attacking the people who aren't exactly like themselves, and not wanting to pay taxes to the government while continuing to enjoy the benefits of government Interstate, government Internet, government military, government policing and government science.

Having come to America in 1988 and settled in Virginia, I could not avoid the conservative influence. So I decided to study it; and I've found in it both good and bad. It is rightful to support hard work and economic opportunity, and it is rightful to have a strong military to deal with people like ISIS. It is wrong to militate against science and arts; it is wrong to militate against women's rights or non-family lifestyle choices; it is wrong to attack programs such as Medicare and Social Security; and it is wrong to burn down nature with no sight for the future while standing in the way of advanced technological solutions to the material problems of the world.

Not every Republican is a jerk, and I've known excellent people who were Republicans. Instead there are honest Republicans and dishonest Republicans. Honest Republicans should be respected, and it should be possible to reason with them on matters where they have gone wrong and get them to see reason. Dishonest Republicans should be exposed, and their constituents made aware of their dishonesty.

The dishonest Republicans should not be allowed to get away with their claim that they speak for prosperity. There was vast prosperity under Clinton and a huge economic crisis under Bush. Nor should they be allowed to speak for family or for values. A good family man will not be beating his wife or raping his children; and the people who hide behind family values to engage in such practices are profaning the name of values and the name of family.

Nor should they be allowed to get away with their claims that they speak for responsibility. Much of what these people do is severely irresponsible. They flood the atmosphere with CO2 and stand in the way of constructive technological solutions to the problem. They practice reckless reproduction and stand in the way of solutions to reduce population growth in the third world. They attack science while enjoying the technologically-driven prosperity that science made possible.

If a Republican is honest, then it should be possible to make him see reason – such as that not all economic practices are rightful, and that there are many benefits to the government. With dishonest Republicans, the solution is exposing their lies. What is right about conservatism should be kept, and what is wrong about conservatism should be defeated. And then it will be possible to make the most of all worlds.