A Response to The Secret Republican Guide to Talking About Gay Marriage

Recently Business Week published an article entitled The Secret Republican Guide to Talking About Gay Marriage. 

Several readers posted comments regarding the article that were wide ranging.  Many of them criticized Republicans for things that had nothing to do with the article or the issue.  Following was my response....

I am sorry that all of you are attacking Republicans/Conservatives with your ill-informed opinions when the facts speak otherwise. Free-enterprise has done more to lift up the poor and down-trodden than any government program has. A review of history shows that those countries that embrace economic freedom most have the best conditions on the poor. Those countries that control and limit free enterprise the most have greatest % of the poor. You want evidence consider China and Venezuela. The former has moved more and more to a freer enterprise economic model while Venezuela has done the opposite. China has lifted the greatest number of people out of poverty while as a % of the population, Venzuela has been most destructive to the middle class with enormous shifts of people into poverty.

Republicans/Conservatives tend to be the most generous donors to private charity. According to an article published in the New York Times, "Arthur Brooks, the author of a book on donors to charity, “Who Really Cares,” cites data that households headed by conservatives give 30 percent more to charity than households headed by liberals. A study by Google found an even greater disproportion: average annual contributions reported by conservatives were almost double those of liberals."
So while liberalism in general and Democrats in particular talk a good game, the facts support that Republicans/Conservatives values actually do the most to lift the poor and less fortunate out of their circumstances.

Finally, according to a recent article in the Washington Post, Conservatives, in general, seem to be at least as committed as liberals to tolerance. They simply are seeking ways of achieving a positive impact on society through most private means (as opposed to government solutions and mandates).

To be clear, I believe that society functions best in a world where traditional views of marriage are uplifted and protected. However, I recognize that the people have the right to define marriage in other ways, even if I may not agree. If the people create new statutes, I will respect the will of the people. To me, focusing on same-sex marriage and birth control pills is a side-show and that the greatest threat to our country and our way of life is the shift in our society from one of individual responsibilty to one of entitlement. Providing an ever increasing segment of our society with benefits with no or little demand for earning that, eats at our core values and leads to a selfish and dark society in which the only way to get ahead is through luck and government connections. If you are like me, you believe that there is dignity in earning what you have and that any indvidual who earns what they posess is worthy of respect. For me, Republicans and Conservatives seem to embrace these values better than Democrats and liberals.