Hate

21 Dec, 2006 by John Hawkins

Print this article Font size -16+

Maybe it’s because of the season, but I thought it was a good time to write something about “hate.” Conservatives are often accused of being “haters.” We’re accused of hating this group, hating that group. As a conservative, let me clarify the record about a few groups conservatives supposedly “hate:”

Conservatives are often accused of hating black people. Not true. The GOP is the Party of Lincoln, the party that ended slavery, and the party that voted for the Civil Rights Act, percentage wise, in greater numbers than Democrats. That’s why we believe in a colorblind society — because we don’t think race should matter — because we don’t think minorities, by virtue of being minorities, need more help than white people to make it. That’s why we’d prefer that there were no “hyphenated Americans,” because there are only Americans, and what subgroup you belong to, African American, Jewish American, Italian American, etc. is irrelevant.

Conservatives are often accused of hating immigrants. Not true. Conservatives believe immigration is good for America and whether you’re talking about someone who’s white, black, Hispanic, Asian, you name it, it makes no difference. What conservatives do get concerned about is people coming to this country illegally. Even though conservatives may have a soft spot for the work ethic that many illegal immigrants have, we’re concerned that they don’t respect our laws, don’t want to learn our language, and don’t want to assimilate into this great country. As long as the people coming here love this country, follow the rules, love this country, and want to assimilate, conservatives will welcome them.

Conservatives are often accused of hating Muslims. Not true. Although you may find a few people at the fringes who can’t tell the difference between moderates and terrorists, that’s not true of most conservatives. Our Founding Fathers viewed this country as a religious refuge, and while, of course, religious extremists who support terrorism, anti-semitism, or backwards customs like Sharia aren’t wanted, the moderate Muslims who are fellow Americans, emigrating here, or visiting are, of course, welcome in this country.

Conservatives are often accused of hating Jews. Not true. As a general rule, conservatives are much more supportive of Israel than liberals and some of the most prominent conservatives are Jewish. Moreover, if anything, conservative Christians are particularly well disposed towards Jews because they’re God’s chosen people.

Conservatives are often accused of hating poor people. Not true. In fact, many conservatives, myself included, are poor people or have been poor. What conservatives believe is that except in a few limited cases, it’s not the job of the government to do things for people, it’s the job of the government to make it easier for people to do things for themselves. This is the land of opportunity and if the government gets out of people’s way, people are capable of lifting themselves out of poverty by making good decisions and working hard.

Conservatives are often accused of hating liberals. Not true. As a general rule, the “solutions” that liberals come up with to America’s problems make this country weaker and worse off. But, despite their flaws, liberals are just misguided, not bad people. So, we’d like to see liberals change their minds about the policies they support. And, if we can’t do that, we’d like to see liberals defeated politically. But, we don’t hate liberals and wish them ill personally.

Conservatives are often accused of hating terrorists and foreign powers that want to harm Americans. That’s true. If you want to kill Americans, want to harm this country, or support those who do, we wish death, destruction, and misery upon you. So, go ahead and hate us, because we hate you right back.