Conservative at Brown?

chsowlflax17
Thu, 16 Dec 2010 06:38:07 +0000

I like to be as involved as I can be in political discussions. I’m registered Republican, live in a suite of people who all would vote straight down the Democratic party ticket (i.e. I’m outnumbered 5-1), but it’s never derision I get when I express my views. Rather it’s interest: most people here want to have a genuine discussion, and WANT to understand the side they haven’t heard their entire life. I’m the same way, and I won’t lie: my views HAVE shifted since coming here. But I’ve shifted my views based on the evidence presented. I’m still pro-life, but believe that there’s a need to discuss options to prevent unwanted pregnancies. I’m all for a decreased government, and would love to end the police state we’ve created due to the war on drugs (even though I’ve personally used no illicit drugs).

If you’re a pure-Republican, and you truly believe that EVERYTHING the Republican Party votes for has a coherent basis (i.e, as it is now, anti-immigration, pro-drug war, pro-tax reductions, queer-discrimination, pro-life, pro-death penalty, etc.) AND you’re not willing to consider other views, then you’d better not discuss politics, or have some fine evidence, and be willing to concede that you won’t convince most people. But most people are neither pure-Republican or pure-Democrat, but rather a mix of, to varying degrees republican, democrat, libertarian and socialist. And if you can explain your world view, people will likely happily engage with you.