A new political party?

Yes, I'm a conservatarian. What in the world is that??


For as long as I can remember, I've had conservative points of view on pretty much everything. I'm a big believer in our Constitution. It's not perfect, but the principles ring true. Limited government, states rights, equality for all.


As I've gotten older, my views have "evolved" so to speak. Ronald Reagan was president when I was a teenager. He was one of our best presidents because he believed in the best in all of us. He believed that limited government was the best kind of government. I've watched 2 generations run from those principals like their pants were on fire. Life is so much easier when we get "free stuff". My generation (Gen X) started to wander away from the hard working, merit based philosophy and now they've raised another generation who have completely the embraced "free stuff over freedom" way of thinking. So all of a sudden, working hard isn't worth it because, why bother? There's a government program for literally everything. Food? Yep. Housing? Sure. Cars? Phones? Here you go. Healthcare? Big fat yes. (but really not. It's riddled with flaws.) So now we have hundreds of thousands of young people who think it's not worth it to work.  Keep in mind that none of that stuff is really free. EVER.


Where am I going with this? What does this have to do with my evolving views? Well, it's like this. I do have a biblical view of the world. My faith informs everything that I think. Nowhere, anywhere, in the bible does it say accepting free stuff or sitting on your butt is OK. We're commanded to work and work hard. To do our absolute best. God doesn't reward laziness. If you don't work you don't eat. At least that's the way it should be.


Living in this country is a great privilege. People who are born here are blessed with freedom they won't find anywhere else on earth. We can say anything we want. We can worship any way we choose. We can defend ourselves. We can take risks and start businesses. We can work hard and make as much money are our talents will allow. That is not the case in most countries. The murder of Boris Nemtsov is proof. So is the mass slaughter of Christians, Jews, Muslims, and women going on around the world. Nowhere on earth can people do what they do here. What I've observed, however, is people willingly giving up their freedoms for a raft of free stuff.


I believe with my whole heart that government is one, big screwed up mess. Everything they touch turns into a steaming pile of crap. When you take the free stuff, you're just wading into the pile. Speaking as a mother of many children, I can tell you that once you get crap on you, it's very hard to get off. Why on earth would anyone want that? Because free is easy. But free is also a prison. It will never give you the best, nor will it expect the best from you. It deadens motivation and inspiration. Even well intentioned government programs to "help the poor" just end up being a jail sentence. It becomes this tangled web that just traps anyone willing to take the bait.


This is where my libertarian views have really started to dominate my thinking. I don't want the government looking over my shoulder, at all, ever. I realize this is virtually impossible. Government has managed to weasel it's way into just about every part of our lives. It's so wrong! Just leave us alone. People will figure stuff out. Most of us can work hard, raise families, and go about our daily lives all by ourselves. As a matter of fact, we'll work better and harder if the government leaves us alone.


"Give unto Caesar the things that are Caesars" Mark 12:17. The problem is Caesar (the government) has become this multi-tentacle creature that demands more and more. More money, more freedoms, more control. Yet we keep electing people who are part of the problem. We keep believing that they'll get it right this time. Question-When has this ever happened? Answer-Never. Taking our stuff doesn't make things better for us. It just feeds the beast. Now, I'm not advocating not paying your taxes or disobeying the law. When Jesus said "give unto Caesar", he meant pay your taxes. We're also commanded to obey the unless it contradicts His law. Here's the thing, government has created so many laws it's impossible to keep up. And taxes? Don't get me started. Here in MD, we have a RAIN tax. No joke. Look it up.


My point is, laws should be minimalist. Our taxes should be few. Enough to keep the lights on and fund our vastly underfunded military. That's it. LEAVE US ALONE! STOP TAXING US TO DEATH AND EVEN AFTER WE'RE DEAD!


So, what's a conservatarian? My definition is someone who has a deeply rooted faith in God but also believes in a minimalist government so I can go about my daily life, worshipping how I please, conducting my marriage, raising my kids, homeschooling them, feeding them how I see fit, WITHOUT the government telling me otherwise.


So, who's with me?