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Lisa Bewley Mr. Hawkins/Period 1 January 27th, 2014 Am I Conservative or Liberal? Barack Obama said, There is not a liberal America and a conservative America- there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America theres the United States of America. The question is where does Lisa Bewley from Dixon, California fit into all of this. Surely there is some greater purpose to my life then being a futile citizen of one of the greatest countries in the world. To not take a stand on a side and to not fight for a purpose would be foolish. When one more American decides to leave their rights at the sacrificial alter of freedom then our country begins to mold into a melting pot of Americans at a futile state. Recent polls show that 35% of our country is conservative, 30% are liberals, and 32% lie in the moderate range. After studying the differences and acknowledging facts and reasoning from both sides I have come to the conclusion that I am more conservative than liberal because of social issues, as well as personal responsibility, and crime. From abortion, gay rights, homelessness, hunger, and freedom of speech the list of social issues in our country surpass my bucket list by miles. In the First Amendment, adopted on December 15th, 1791, the document established the freedom of speech. The social issue that deals with freedom of speech has drastically increased due to social media. Last July, USA Today

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posted an article on employees being fired due to venting on social media, like Facebook and Twitter about their bosses and work place. Experts say its a complex and gray area of the law, says Larison from USA today. This situation stretches vastly over social issues. According to poll number 1, I am 75% conservative and 25% liberal explaining my feelings on social issues. As a young American teen, the first news articles I am handed and often the first ones I am drawn to are social issues. Freedom of speech is not a black and white topic, like most social issues, but rather a colorful rainbow of explicit usage of words, extraterrestrial ways of thinking, and some of the most colorful and most bias stories you will ever hear. Freedom of speech is one of the greatest rights as American, but when is to far and where is too much freedom? The gray area that Larison speaks of is uncharted and undefined territory for our own provoking citizen feet to chart personally. Social issues all lie in that gray area. From poll 2, my stats show that I believe in personal responsibility and individual liberty. For example, another social issue that has become a hot topic is abortion. This year, alone, there have been over 90,000 abortions. The social issue that this draws forth is when does one have right over another human being. As from poll 2, personal responsibility that this falls under would be in situations that teens make the choice to have unprotected sex. However, where the 25% liberal comes into play from poll 1, there arises an issue because of other situations such as date rape in which I believe a woman should have a choice to give birth or not to this baby which goes back to individual liberty. Social issues stretch far behind the issues themselves but the gray area in which law intertwines with emotions and morals. From the day we are born we are given personal responsibility. From cleaning up our toys, to eating dinner, to doing chores, to paying parking tickets, to being a kind person, the list

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doesnt end. According to poll 1, I am 75% conservative and 25% liberal when it comes to personal responsibility. After doing some self-evaluating the reason for these percentages were very clear. Let me introduce you to two people. John is a hard working man with a wife and a new born baby who recently lost his well paying job due to cut backs at his company. Bob is a single, self-employed tattoo artist who spends most of his weeknights investing his paycheck at the bar. Now, two very different men both applying for financial aid and a conservative side might argue that neither of them deserves. The reason I fall 25% under liberal is because I believe that the government should be there in times of need like when our friend John is struggling to find a new job. In poll 3, it states that I am a patriot. Patriots uplift and support their partners in times of need with the hopes that when they struggle those they helped will be there to return the favor. However the reason being in poll 1, conservative out ways liberal because there is often many Bobs coming to the government imploring for support. Our tax dollars dont belong to the apathetic but rather the destitute hard workers who need a helping hand. As Edmund Burke said, All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. That being said, every citizen has personal responsibility and everyone deserves it, the issue is where do those who abuse the system get cut off. Defense and crime is a very sensitive topic for me, making the results from poll 1, being 100% conservative not very surprising. My first memory of crime goes back to when I was 7 years old and my uncle was taken from our house in the back of a police car. Crime not only affects our personal lives, but the safety of our country. Out of all the topics on poll 3, I have found that the only issue I am not at all lenient is defense and crime. Crime can be a block on freedom, security, and be obstruent in one of the most conservative goals, to pursue our own

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dreams. Poll 2 states that I believe in traditional American values and a strong national defense. A strong national defense starts with having a strong national safety. Going back to poll 1, the reason I fall on the conservative side is because I dont believe that criminals deserve the chivalrous hand holding of a liberal government in which everyone deserves a second chance. I agree with the death penalty, I agree with a lifetime prison sentence, and prison time with out the option of parole. According to The Monkey Cage, over every democratic presidential term in the last 15 years crime has increased an average about 4.2 million while decreased about 3.6 million for every republican term in between. I dont agree that it is always the liberals who cause more crime but I do believe a traditional way of punishment can reduce crime. Being offered television work out hours, food, and phone calls doesnt scare people into not wanting to come back to a prison. Crime has to be managed at that starts by taking a conservative and traditional approach. You have permission to call me a flag waving everyman, also known as a patriot. According to poll 3 I believe in championing liberty over tyranny. Lisa Bewley, a conservative citizen, who thrives off personal responsibility, having limited government and the freedom to pursue my own goals. However, that is not to say that there are not some issu es I dont hang some skin over on the liberal side of things. Taking a side and a stance as an American turns out I often lean towards the conservative side of things. As Ron Paul said, To me, to be a conservative means to conserve the good parts of America and to conserve our Constitution. I proudly stand as an 80% conservative and 20% liberal. (poll 1)

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