This is my first post.  How do you start this kind of blog?

Years ago, I was a staunch conservative.  I was harsh.  I was unwavering in my belief that my opinion was right.  And was I ever "right", in the political sense.  Now, I am older and (hopefully) wiser, and have experienced more of the world.

Am I still a conservative?  Well, yes.  Especially in the fiscal implications of the label.

Am I more understanding of the view of the other side?  Yes, for many reasons.

Am I right?  Probably not, and maybe not most of the time.

But this is what I believe.

How am I the same as before?
--I feel that with the Bill of Rights comes the Bill of Responsibilities
--I feel that the duties of the Federal Government are to, as Ronald Reagan said, "Defend the country and deliver the mail."
--On that note, I believe that states should have say over more of the laws than the Federal Government.  Yes, I'm more of a States Rights kind of guy.
--I feel that the greatest President of my lifetime was Ronald Reagan.  Not because he was the best at being President, but he was the best at making us feel proud to be us--US.
--I grew up around guns and have known how to use them my whole life.  They are a tool to use in the same way a knife, or a pressure cooker, or a bag of fertilizer are tools.  In my whole life I have personally only seen guns used in appropriate ways.  I have read stories and have seen news articles of them being used in inappropriate ways, as I have pressure cookers, knives, and fertilizer.
--I am thinking of getting a carry permit
--I think that people should work for their sustenance, except in instances where true disability makes that an impossibility.
--I believe that the unemployment rate is vastly different than the unemployed employables rate.
--I believe that if you get paid by the government (be it my state employee salary, or Welfare), that you should be subject to a random drug test.
--I think that many people call for "accessible healthcare", yet they do nothing to help.  There are many avenues to help, and one of the things that I have continued to do in my career as a physician is to volunteer in free clinics to give healthcare to uninsured patients, both homeless and working.  I am continually frustrated by "liberal" people who decry the state of healthcare accessibility, yet only work as a physician or nurse for monetary remuneration and never donate their time.  Others can donate money to those worthy causes.
--I respect the office of President of the United States.

How am I different?
--I have never personally owned a gun.  There is not currently one in my house.
--I am for sensible, enforceable gun laws that mandate background checks and keep guns from being bought by criminals or mentally unstable people.
--I am much more culturally aware than my upbringing taught me.  My parents are sweetly not racists.  For that, I applaud them.  My ministers for my whole life were blatantly racists that could have poisoned my mind, and it is only by the grace of God and the influence of my parents who checked that thinking that I escaped being a racist myself.
--I grew up in an appallingly, viciously cultish church.  I can never forgive those people for the irreparable harm that they brought to me and to many other people.  I am not sure that I know the right way to Heaven, but I can assure you that the way I was raised is not it.  I am now in a loving, affirming church.  It is not the job of the church to fix you.  It is the job of the church to give you a place where the worship of God is made accessible to all, and it is God's job to speak to you.
--I am for a healthcare system similar to Great Britain or Australia.  Yes, a single payer system.  When you look at patient outcomes, the US performs waaaay behind all of the countries that have universal, government-run healthcare--in cost, and in patient outcomes, and in life expectancy, and every other measurable outcome of the efficacy of healthcare.
--People who love each other should be able to marry (if that is what we call the legal document).  It's not the fault of two men or two women that the legal document is called the same thing as the religious procedure.
--I didn't vote for Trump.  How is that different? I have voted for the Republican nominee for President every other time I have voted since 1988.  (I didn't vote for Hillary either.)


These are a few thoughts in my mind as I start this blog.  I will talk about each one at length.

Conservatives think I'm Liberal.
Liberals think I'm Conservative.

I just take each question, each topic, and decide how I feel about it.  Yes, I lean conservative.  But I am now a more compassionate conservative.

I look forward to sharing my ideas with you.  You may not like them, but, hey, this is America. And I believe in the first amendment, as I hope you do also.

Peace,
Anthony