I took a little walk earlier this week to clear my head about some things, and as always, my brain took me to politics. When confused about something abstract, like a relationship or emotions, the mind will almost invariably settle on something that, to you, makes perfect sense. For me, that is politics; it gave me something concrete to hold on to in the middle of some confusion.

As I was walking around the campus at night, I noticed all of the orange lights they have lighting the paths. The new area, however, has white lights. Personally, I think white lights look a lot better than orange ones, but orange ones are far more common. I was thinking to myself, why? They may be cheaper, use less energy, something like that, but I jokingly thought, "It's probably just another liberal conspiracy."

But as I thought this, I began to explore this sentiment a bit more seriously. Obviously, the orange lights themselves (I don't think) are a liberal conspiracy, but how many things have liberals forced us out of or into using?

Liberals are the ones telling us what light bulbs we can use; what cars to drive; what to set our thermostat at; what pesticides we can use (DDT was banned, resulting in the deaths of millions around the world); how to dry our hands in the bathroom (I don't know one person who enjoys using an air drier); what textbooks to use; where we can or cannot smoke; what pictures we can have in our lockers; how much money you're allowed to make; what healthcare provider you're allowed to have; what type of gun you can own, and where you can own it; what size toilets we need to have; how much you should pay your employees; the necessity to wear a seat belt in your own car; how a town can punish its criminals. I am all for sensible regulation: I agree with speed limits (or at least their concept, they are too low because of liberals who wanted to limit gas usage during the oil crisis 30 years ago), prevention of monopolies, and monitoring of the workplace. But liberals have forced so much upon us, and wish to force more.

Being (I hope) a well-rounded political analyst, I of course turned to the conservative side. When have we ever tried to force things upon the American public? I can think of two things: making abortion illegal and preventing gay marriage. I can also think of a liberal citing the Iraq War, which I'll discuss momentarily. As far as abortion and gay marriage, these are specifically defined by our Constitution and law as wrong. The Constitution guarantees life to every citizen; by condoning abortion, the government violates this most important right given from God. Marriage is also defined as a union between a man and a woman by the Defense of Marriage Act, passed with bipartisan (shudder) support in the 1990s (this isn't some "archaic" concept from hundreds of years ago that needs to adapt, it is a modern perspective).

As far as the Iraq War, the idea that liberating 40 million people from the grip of a power-hungry dictator is "force" is just wrong. "Forcing democracy" is an oxymoron: people naturally want to be free and govern themselves. By giving them democracy, we are giving them the ability to be self-sustaining. It was Saddam Hussein torturing dissidents, his brothers torturing the Olympic teams for losing; we're building them a Parliament building so that they can express their views and govern together! If that's not freedom, and if that's force, the world really doesn't make sense to me anymore. (Why we chose Iraq over other nations is another argument for another day.)

So what's my point? Liberalism is about force. It is about knowing what's better for you, and therefore making you do it. If you think about it, it is elitist in nature. By banning smoking in entire cities, they are saying they know what's better for you. They are trying to ban it in your house to protect your children: We know how to raise your children better than you. They know how much a worker deserves to be paid, and can judge that better than you. They know you'll be better off with your seatbelt on, so they pass a law saying what you must do inside your own car. (Many might point and shout at me, "But you are!" Yes, maybe so. But it's not your job to tell me that. I can decide for myself.) If you're rich, you should either give your money to charity or the government, because making hundreds of millions a year is just "unfair." If you're poor, you shouldn't have to work, the government will take care of you. Liberals know what's better for the planet, and are saying that all car companies in the U.S. should have average fuel economies above 30 mpg in the next five to ten years (INSANITY!). In related news, trust us, CFL's are better than incandescents, we're going to make them illegal.

Conservatism is about freedom. We don't pretend to know what's better for you. The reason we want to "force" the banning of abortion and gay marriage is because these are things deemed completely illegal and just wrong by U.S. law and the morals we were founded on. (As a federalist, however, I believe it is up to the individual states to decide these issues via public referendum.) What you want to do in your own house or car is your business: as conservatives, we trust American individuals as good people that will make the smart choice. Of course, not everyone will, and once harm is inflicted on another it is the duty of the government to intervene. But every individual deserves that chance. Regulation is one thing; stepping in and forcing someone's hand is another. Conservatives seek to elevate the individual at the bottom, not take down the individual at the top. By cutting taxes on the wealthy, a stronger economy will present more opportunities for those below. We give the people more freedom, less government.

America was founded on conservatism. The entire purpose of creating our nation was to rid ourselves of a tyrranous, liberal government. Liberalism, to a certain degree, is un-American in that it seeks to use the government to control multiple aspects of people's lives. That is why I'm a conservative, and that is why I believe conservatism will always prevail in this country. All it takes is a good leader and speaker to state the obvious: America is the greatest country in the world, and I want to continue the tradition of greatness. People like John Kerry can't beat people like George Bush by insulting America; the same goes for Barack Obama. None of the current candidates are saying that, and it's a problem that people like me have to deal with. Hopefully soon another man like Ronald Reagan or even George W. Bush will return and say, America is great. America is conservative. And only then, will America be truly free.