Where to Now?

I realize this blog is rather long. But after reading it several times I thought modifying it would lose the context and the message. So, here it is in its entirety by our Guest Blogger, Phil Davis.

"Because I listen to NPR radio, I have been labeled a flaming liberal by some of my friends and co-workers. I guess it’s because NPR interviews many authors and artists daily. While NPR may be branded as a liberal media, the station at least tries to present both viewpoints.

Not wanting to be closed-minded, lately I’ve set my car radio to a couple of conservative stations. These stations have a number of different hosts; Lars Larsen, Rusty Humphries, Dr. Savage (forgive me if I’ve spelled the names wrong) to name a few. Regardless of which show I listen to, the topics and viewpoints are pretty consistent:

1. Send all the illegal immigrants back to where they came from
2. All terrorists should be killed
3. The war in Iraq is good and anyone who wants to pull out is a bleeding liberal
4. Bush is good when he’s in the hard right, but if he veers left at all he’s a traitor to his own party
5. The patriot act is good because it helps us kill terrorists
6. Poor people have no excuse; anyone in America can achieve anything and, by the way, send all the Katrina refugees home to New Orleans
7. Gays and Lesbians have no place in our society
8. Hollywood is just a liberal propaganda factory

And I could keep going on. Listening to “the other side” has given me some new insights and I find myself agreeing with some of their opinions. But underneath all the ranting and raving, I sincerely wonder how these “conservatives” view the civil liberties we Americans are blessed with. The civil liberties so many Americans have died protecting.

• Freedom of Religion and the separation of Religion and State
• Freedom of Speech
• Innocent until proven guilty and the right to a fair trial
• The right to bear arms (this one they’re okay with I think)

Our founding fathers themselves must have been flaming liberals. Below are a few of my opinions, some liberal, some conservative and some a mixture of both. I try to take what I hear on the news and these talk radio shows I listen to and decide if I agree or disagree based on what my view of the “American Way” is supposed to be. Here’s a few:

• On the Patriot Act: Here’s what I don’t get. In order to fight for freedom, we have to give up our privacy. Can someone make sense out of that? My opinion is we should not limit our personal privacy to fight terrorism. Other methods can be developed. If we give in and let law enforcement officials have unlimited access to our private conversations, we’ve already let the terrorists win.

• On free speech: Why are these talk show hosts so afraid of dissenting opinions? Only Lars Larsen has a show on Fridays called the “First Amendment” show when people can call up and talk about whatever they want and Mr. Larsen is pretty good about letting his listeners have their say. Most of the others are so rude to their listeners I have to change the station.

• On the whole “liberal vs. conservative” issue: Don’t we want diversity in this country? I mean, if there weren’t liberals, would there be conservatives? Aren’t we better off with multiple viewpoints?

• On the Iraq war: My opinion is that we were lied to in order to get agreement to invade another country. I believe oil is a major motivator for our actions in Iraq. But I also believe that now that we are there, we have to finish the job. Conservatives will jump up and down saying I don’t support our troops and so forth, but that’s not true. Saying I think we were lied to has nothing to do with my support of the troops. I want to believe that the people of Iraq will be better off for us having invaded them, but I still don’t like the way we conducted the war, I don’t agree with it and I think our reputation as a nation has and will continue to suffer from Bush’s decision.

Obviously, these talk show hosts have found the message that sells and I’m sure they are making millions promoting their propaganda. It’s all the same message, by the way, at least as far I can tell and I’ve been listening for a few months now. But we listeners need to be careful.

I don’t mind listening to other points of view, but I judge what I listen to (including NPR) by how I see the “American Way.” If we take the illegal immigration issue, for example, before listening to the ranting of these conservatives, my opinion was that we should open our borders and let these people in to follow their own American dream. But now I think differently. It is a privilege to live legally in America and participate in our free society. People who want to work and live here should do so legally, no matter how hard it might be for them. I know this is an ideal, but this is what I’ve chosen as my opinion on the issue of illegal immigration, a conservative position despite my “liberal” label.

I could go on, but I hope you get the gist of what I’m trying to say. Decide for yourself what the spirit or the soul of America is and then listen carefully to the talking heads that pop up in your life. Whether it be NPR or Fox News or one of the many ultra-conservative voices on the radio or our politicians, the key is to have a clear view of what America is to you and then make your own decisions on what you think is right for America."