I Am An Evil Man

I've come to a revelation. Based upon what I've been called by my friends, I am the following:

• An extremist
• A radical right-wing kook
• A fascist
• A closed-minded ideologue

Why is that? Because of my conservative to libertarian beliefs. Because I have convictions, I am a nut. Because I dare to stand up for these convictions, I am dangerous. But I ask myself, and you the reader, is this really the case?

I am an extremist because I believe in the rule of law, and the Constitution as the source of said laws. How radical! I'm a gun-nut because when the Constitution says that "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed" I think that means that the people of this country have the right to own arms. I'm an extremist because, after reading the Constitution, I can't find the "privacy clause" that is cited to legalize abortion by the Supreme Court. Heck, I'm a radical because I believe that Congress passes laws, and the courts interpret them, not create law from the bench. Speaking of laws, I'm cruel because I think that the people responsible for breaking laws are the people who are breaking laws.

I'm a religious zealot because I believe that our freedom is a God-given right, not the generosity of government alms. I'm a zealot because I believe that the Lord Our Savior is the one to be worshipped, and not the IRS. I'm a fanatic because I believe in the Ten Commandments. And why shouldn't they be considered threatening? The concepts of "Thou Shall Not Kill" and Thou shall Not Steal" are very harmful and scary.

I'm a far-right kook because I believe that marriage, a religious sacrament, is between a man and a woman. After all, isn't the purpose of the joining of one man and one woman the propagation of the human race? Speaking of children, I'm a wacko because I think the best thing for children is to be in a two parent household with a mom and dad. The New York City public schools had kindergarten books titled 'Heather Has Two Mommies' and 'My Daddy's Roommate'. But I'm closed-minded because I think these are inappropriate books for 5-7 year olds.

I'm a racist extremist because I don't believe in affirmative action. I actually believe that all men are equal and you should be judged upon your merits, not your skin color.

I'm mean-spirited because I think that our tax system is unfair to the wealthy. I don't agree with the regressive tax system that we have today. To me, the punishment of achievement that is the result of higher and higher taxes is immoral. After all, who should determine for someone how much is enough? The fact that I whole-heartedly disagree and am appalled by higher tax brackets for higher incomes makes me a hater of the poor. On a side note, I've always wondered how the argument is made that the rich take from the poor. I always thought that the poor had nothing. That's why they're poor. And because I believe in hard work, and keeping what you've earned versus what can be given out to someone via a government handout, I am mean-spirited.

"You're a fascist". This one still baffles me. I wasn't aware that I was advocating an oppressive government over its people. I didn't know that I wanted to take over other nations and start an empire. Maybe it's because I support the Iraq War, even though that was a liberation of 50 million people, and an attempt at establishing democracy in the Middle East, not the start of a United States empire there. Along those lines, I'm an insensitive jerk because I believe that the terrorists who flew jets into American buildings were at fault for the flying of jets into American buildings. I believe that people are responsible for their actions.

Because I believe in the basic goodness of the human spirit and more importantly in the concept of the human mind, I must be an evil person. If if that is what is considered evil, I'll take being evil to what our society considers 'good' any day of the week.