As a sixteen year old living next door to what might be one of the most backwards counties in the already reversed state of Georgia, I have been exposed to a biased conservative outlook my entire life. The fact that the home school community (of which I am a part) in GA is famous for its right-wing mother hens does not help.
Luckily, I have been privileged enough to be raised by two proudly liberal parents. The same cannot be said for any of my friends, most of whom have told me that they "would love to see Sarah Palin as president in 2012!". I'm wondering if they have ever watched the national news, not to mention a political debate. Because I have a goal for a career in journalism, I have an excuse to pay much more attention to politics than other teens my age. But their ignorance is no reason for their stupidity. I've been constantly bombarded with right-wing corner slogans and Glenn Beck quotes. The kids in my debate class unanimously agree that, while the U.S. certainly needs to keep illegal immigrants out because Mexicans create a high crime rate, America can't build a wall or fence because the immigrants will just "dig a hole under it."
Aut disce aut discede.
The point of this diary isn't to talk about how smart I am for being liberal and how dumb conservatives are. Actually, it's the opposite. The conservative party is important. We can't have a democracy without it. More importantly, its members are smart. Just read the National Review. The people who write for that magazine are not stampeding in front of the White House with pictures of Obama as the Joker from Batman scotch-taped to wooden pikes. They aren't screaming for the "old America" at town halls. They are the voice of reason. Real conservatives are the warning voice that keeps the idealism of our young country in hand.
So where did conservatism go? How did we go from the Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln to George W? I have a limited vision on this question. I can't remember the Vietnam War. I don't know what it was like the day Ronald Regan was voted President. I can't even remember the Clinton Administration. But, although I might not produce an answer, the ability to ask this question is the first step to regaining a stable balance between Left and Right. I just hope the other people in my generation start asking it, too.