I like to think of myself as a liberal person; after all I'm pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, support decriminalizing marijuana. That's pretty culturally liberal, right? But those are political positions, thought out and what I truly believe is best for this country, and they are truly separate from me. And while I may politically liberal, I'm culturally conservative. I didn't think so but as life has a way of doing, its shows us truths that we may like to ignore. I was handing out condoms with flavorings (don't ask), to a liberal crowd at a liberal festival and I realized that I didn't fit in.
I dress conservative, talk conservative, look conservative, act conservative. Does that make me conservative? I don't know, but I know I felt much more at home at a GOP event I took place in a few days earlier, then I did among the pierced, tattooed, and high on pot. I may strongly question theology, but it's done with a strong intellectual tilt, missing from so many empty liberal religions where you can see a void. There are some things that I am personally liberal about, including gay rights, that I see nothing wrong with at all. However, I believe in protecting the religious heritage of marriage according to a church's doctrine and believe that no one should be forced to marry those who they do not support. I may be politically pro-choice, but I wish people would accept personal responsibility and not get into the position to begin with.
During my time in the land of liberalism this past weekend, I realized that I may be politically liberal but we are free of our politics in our personal lives and in how we act. For all the bashing of President Obama, he acts and lives conservative while self-professed conservatives like Governor Sanford act liberally with their personal lives. Liberalism has two separate meanings, one for politics and one for life. Liberalism in life is a right, but it's a right I don't want nor need. I realize now that there are many intellectual liberals who may be happy living conservatively and not even knowing it. What makes us the majority of us reject the hippie culture and embrace being Rockefeller robots? To a point, it's trying to fit into the sociological norms of our culture but this is also a false point because it ignores the norms of the hippies which can be just as rigid.
Culturally conservatism works, in ways such as getting married to the love of your life, having children and putting their needs above your own. A focus of intellectual thought and critical thinking along with some form of morality is good for all people. But this is conservatism in life, and it can be found in all sorts of families free of their own political thought. Such odd pairings put people like Al Franken into the conservative camp and Ann Coulter into the liberal one.
Where does this leave us? It has taught me that the benefits to a conservative life are many, that the social norms while needing to be tweaked are ultimately good and that a person may have more in common with the people they fight against politically then they know. It also proves how silly it is to try to impose a set of governmental restrictions and regulations on personal behavior since it is doomed to failure and how it distracts from the true purpose of morality which is to provide safety and security along with not hurting one's fellow man. The case for conservatism comes from our lives and not from our politics.