NATHANIEL BEACH ‘20
Staff Writer
Fear is what drives the Democratic Party forward. Through the past 10 years the Democrats have arguably become the dominant party in American politics. And how did this phenomenon occur? Democrats are quick to say that the population is just becoming more diverse and the liberal ideology of inclusivity is spreading rapidly. This is blatantly wrong. The Democratic Party has attacked the core of the Republican Party and conditioned the United States citizens to believe Republicans, like myself, are ignorant, misogynistic, racist, hate the poor, etc. This is the stereotype that my party has and many truly believe it; including Denison students. I have personally experienced this disrespect and hate that is shown toward the conservative movement. I have now been happily featured on the front page of the “Bullsheet” 4 times, being criticized and ridiculed for my beliefs.
Now the hate and disrespect doesn’t get to me, but it has affected others. There are dozens of conservatives on campus and many are afraid to express their beliefs because they are fearful that they’ll have the same sort of response as I have received. Conservative students have come up to me and thanked me for being their voice and taking the hate the liberals here show. My goal with writing these controversial pieces is to not only express my beliefs but also promote dialogue about these topics. So far, it has been a success. After each of my articles are published people read them and discuss the topic I presented – both sides of the argument get revealed. I want to be a voice for the conservative movement here and I am succeeding. I have experienced many personal attacks on my character ever since I started expressing my political views. Liberals attack me as being rude, ignorant, and even a horrible person at my core. This is beyond disrespectful. There is more to life than politics, and you shouldn’t judge someone’s character based on what their political leaning is.
Denison claims to be a campus of diversity and accepting to everyone, yet there is a large population of students who refuses to accept those with opposing beliefs. The liberal ideology is supposed to be of acceptance, yet they refuse to accept people who differ in opinion. This hypocrisy cannot continue if we want these tensions to ease. In the end, regardless of where you lean politically, both parties just want a better America, we just have different ideas of how to get there. You can hate conservative views, despise them even. You can bash, and discredit them all you would like, but you can’t hate the person who has those views. You need to respect them and understand that just because they are different in their beliefs, does not mean they are a bad person. I am going to continue to write articles expressing my conservative beliefs, and I refuse to let my voice be suppressed by ignorance. Liberals can hate what I write, they can hate my beliefs, they can think I am unintelligent, that doesn’t matter. Liberals must respect the fact that my beliefs, along with all the other conservatives’ beliefs are just as relevant as theirs. You can hate the views, but you can’t hate the person. God bless America.
Alison
This is a fair statement, as no person should be ridiculed for what they believe in (as long as those beliefs do not oppress others). Of course not all conservatives are racist or sexist or homophobes. However, the reason that stereotype persists is because even though many conservatives are not actively prejudiced against minorities, women, and other marginalized groups, traditional conservative policies are often in direct opposition to the rights of these populations. Many conservatives may not fit the stereotype described in this article, but many also do not do anything to assure people that “Yes, I am a conservative. But no, I will not stand for prejudice against women, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and other minorities.” If the stereotype of the conservative is to be changed, they need to actively speak out in support of the groups it seems like they disregard or don’t care about. For example, it’s easy to say “Hey, I’m not sexist. Don’t call me that – it’s offensive,” but many will not believe your argument without support. It’s much more difficult to show people you are not complicit with conservative views on reproductive health or women getting equal pay, especially since the conservative candidate for president this year said so many offensive things about women, and normalized sexual assault. If you are truly for equality and are going to be there for your friends that are marginalized by traditional conservative views, then you must speak up and speak out on their behalf. Maybe you don’t think it’s fair, but you might have to be a little louder. You can be conservative, but you must actively call out and criticize the aspects of conservativism you don’t agree with, such as sentiments and policies that oppress other people. Only then will people see that you are more than the label.