I am a "radical"

I am a right wing radical. I'm not sure how I turned out this way, but I did. These days it seems to be normal to blame your parents for your failings, so that's what I'm going to do. I grew up in a poor household; for a while my dad was an alcoholic but he got sober, on his own, without any help from social services or rehab programs. But I am sure those vague memories I have of him coming home drunk, and yet he and my mother somehow working out their problems, contributed toward my development as a future radical.

Even though my parents were poor, and went through many difficult years raising three boys, to my knowledge they never accepted help from anyone nor would they have ever considered reneging on a debt no matter how long it took to pay it off. They were not very political but were Republicans, I think mainly because after World War II my dad would not have voted for any presidential candidate except general Dwight Eisenhower or "Ike" as they called him. So I guess being the son of "Republicans" started me off on my path towards being a radical.

Parents were strict in those days and being one of three "somewhat wild" boys (we did have our share of trouble), when I look back I recall my parents always taking the side of the school teachers or administrators, and even in a few cases the police. They never tried to claim our "innocence" with school officials, and they never took legal action when we broke ankles or arms on the neighbor's ice skating pond or playing tackle football without equipment at the local park. I am sure this attitude about us kids taking "personal responsibility" for our actions had something to do with me becoming a radical.

During the past week those of us that are Conservatives have been defined as radicals. There was no sense to it but the main stream media who have so much control in this country have done a very good job of redefining what a "radical" is in this country. If you believe that the government is too intrusive in your life, you are a radical. If you believe that the national debt can potentially ruin the lives of your children or grandchildren, you are a radical. If you believe that everyone should take personal responsibility for themselves except when they seriously need help, you are a radical. If you believe that people that live in this country should be citizens or should be legally here as a guest, you are a radical.

I could go on about how I became a radical, but if my parents were here they would not recognize this country. They would not believe you can get three years of "unemployment insurance"; or if you made a loan commitment you cannot pay for, there is a government program to help you get out of paying that debt; or if you can't provide for your children, their school will provide all their meals; or if your child broke their arm playing football at the local park, there is a lawyer somewhere that will get you a cash payout.

The main stream media has done such a good job of defining our new culture, that those of us who remember the "old days" in this country are now radicals. I guess if they were alive, my parents would be proud that I am defined as a radical.