<p>OK, Montgomery County has many intelligent people and they vote Democrat. You have failed to display cause and effect.</p>
<p>Meateater, everyone makes generalizations (i.e. Asians are supposed to be smart). Also, I am sure your parents are well educated conservatives - I don't doubt that. Geez dude, chill a little. My comments are not meant to spark your emotions.</p>
<p>Well, I believe that the more intellectual a person is the more likely he/she is liberal. Most prestigious colleges are filled with liberal students/professors.</p>
<p>I'm trying to help you out, bro. You can't make incendiary statements and not expect a response. I'm not emotional at all, I'm simply refuting your points.</p>
<p>Thanks for you help! My statements come from all the religious rhetoric in politics. I am a religious person. However, I don't believe my opinions and beliefs should be put on other people. I may not agree with the other person, but I will not stop them from exercising their rights. The Vatican opposes homosexuality, abortions, etc. I'm fine with that. However, why are Christians in this nation trying to limit a person's right to choose.</p>
<p>Why do people refute this? Liberals tend to be more intellectual. This isn not always the case. Most top colleges (infact most colleges) tend to be liberal, their students and professors. Also, conservatives often value their religion more so than education and scientific knowledge (i.e. "christian science" which is bogus and "intelligent design" and "creationism"). And it is also true that liberals tend to be more accepting of other races/cultures/sexual orientations (duh) and more progressive. By definition, conservatives do not like change. Too bad, I think change is good, I do not like traditionalism.....anyway my rant is done</p>
<p>I'm conservative, and I'm an Atheist.</p>
<p>again mcz, read my post carefully. I said conservatives TEND to value their religion more than scientific knowledge....meaning not all conservatives. Understand? so if your being an atheist was supposed to prove a point or something, I am sorry but you have failed. Do you have anything else worth mention other than that you are atheist, however fascinating it may be....</p>
<p>Also an atheist conservative. Relax ^</p>
<p>Dude, GreenDayFan, this thread is for conservatives. We are talking about the connection between conservatism and religion. mcz posting that he is a conservative and an atheist runs naturally from the flow of conversation. His saying that he is an exception to the trend does not negate everything you said.</p>
<p>mcz could have expanded that the rule does not necessarily follow, he could explain his beliefs, but then people would jump down his throat. I'm personally very scared to put anything up here. People can be vicious with words.</p>
<p>It is people who get all worked up over things on public forums that prevent possibly intelligent discussions on interesting topics. This is just a thread for conservatives to unite, not create more controversy.</p>
<p>I did not jump dpwn anyone;s throat. I already knew that were exceptions to conservatives who are religious. That is why I carefully said in my post that I was referring to the majority of conservatives, not all of them. Also, what is wrong with me debating. I disagree, I am going to voice it. My "liberals unite" thread was hijacked by a number of conservatives who wanted to refute what we were saying. I am doing just the same. I like debating. I like voicing my opinion. There is no controversy....and please do not be scared to voice your opinions either. When I refute your opinions, I am not attacking you, I am disagreeing. Okay?</p>
<p>I agree with GreenDay Fan. The most prestigious colleges in the nation are highly liberal. Most redneck states are also the poorest states in the nation. Also, conservatives such as Bush, Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell are trying to push religion down the throats of non-Christians. Conservatives should give people the freedom to choose according to each person's values and not the teachings of Jesus. Christianity is a good religion. However, not everyone believes in it. Also, Christians values should not been taught in schools. I support teaching intelligent design in a religion class. However, teach evolution in a science class. Science is supposed to be unbiased, not polluted by Christian propaganda.</p>
<p>You are both welcome to voice your opinions, but bashing ours will not make us open to accepting them.</p>
<p>Why does it matter if "most prestigious colleges" are highly liberal. There are conservative who can argue their thoughts just as well as any liberal intellectual. In fact that conservative may go to those colleges. Politics is about what u believe and being conservative or liberal is also about that. Stating that those colleges are highly liberal seems to show that you are trying to argue that since many of those colleges are liberal so liberal is intellectual and right. That is a completely wrong argument. Besides not all conservatives are christians. Remember that a lot of asians are conservatives esp. socially conservative not because of christianity. I'm agnostic but i happen to be socially conservative FYI</p>
<p>i cant understand why people insist that because more professors in prestigious uni's are liberal/more phd's are liberal it must mean liberals are smarter. people get phd's to become professors. professors in the pre-professional schools(im ignoring the liberal arts because there are relatively few real-world applications) make as an average less than those in the real world. this, along with a strong predisposition against conservatives mean top uni's and phd programs draw less conservatives than liberals.(i believe this is the same argument used to explain why so few intelligent women pursue the hard sciences)</p>
<p>Are women in the hard sciences horribly discriminated against? Sucks for me, then.</p>
<p>We're coming up with some interesting combinations of beliefs. We have a conservative atheist, a conservative agnostic, and I'm a moderate liberal Christian. If we find a radical Christian, we'll have completed the spectrum :)</p>
<p>i'm a agnostic taoist, buddhist moderate liberal if that counts for anything lol</p>
<p>Okay, well I'm a Republican and an Atheist, and the only times I've ever been to churches were for funerals. I do not read the Bible, yet I've developed my opinions for myself on various issues. I find that my beliefs tend to be quite conservative in the vast majority of situations. To go over some of my beliefs on "hot button issues", I am in complete support of the death penalty. One should be required to take responsibility for his or her actions, and if one savagely kills, why should he or she be granted anything less. The death penalty is used in most states, and laws allow it as a punishment. If one neglects this, killing without justifiable cause, why should we show leniency? When the death penalty was eliminated for several years, there was a large influx in crime rates, and its being reinstated seemed to further deter crime. If someone violates the law, viciously taking the life of another human being, he or she should not be sympathized with. By unjustifiably killing, one strips him or herself of a part of his humanity and does not deserve clemency. If there is a possibility of the killer ever being paroled, what does that say of our justice system that we let a murderer walk, only to kill again?
I believe abortion should only be used under such situations that the mother has been raped, the pregnancy is a result of incest, or in which the mother's life is endangered. There should be no other circumstances. Once more, it all falls into the importance of responsibility. One shouldn't be able to have unprotected sex and get an abortion with taxpayers money, because she was drunk or was just having casual sex with a stranger. People must take the initiative to care for themselves and not get pregnant if they are not ready or willing to have a child. President Bush has similar beliefs in regards to the use of abortion.
One of the few exceptions in my beliefs, however, is gay marriage. My mother has a good friend who has been married to his husband for 25 years. I know this man, and he is a person. Contrary to the belief that homosexuals are incredibly unfaithful and promiscuous, he has been faithful to his husband, and their marriage has certainly stood the test of time. Science has shown brains in homosexual men differ than those of heterosexual men, developing as women's do. As I am not religious, I have no problems with homosexuals marrying, and I think it is an infringement on their rights to prevent it. Since I don't view marriage in a religious light, I have no problem with this, and I think any idea that people will want to start marrying lizards or dogs is ridiculous. Homosexuals are homosexuals, and they prefer the same gender. To suggest that it is comparable to bestiality is ridiculous. One does not have control over who he or she is attracted to; biology plays a large role in this. This is the one exception to my ideology. I am conservative on most other issues, although I am not on this one, as it is more religion-based or because of the presence of homophobia in society. I would like to know how some call homosexuality a sin if so many believe in God and believe that he created man. People tend to avoid the question as to how "God" would create something if it were a sin.
I base my ideology off my personal beliefs and opinions. I'm not religious, but I do have morals and these are what influence my stances. I do not see the need for one to be religious to have my views; I think my views represent common sense, and I have found that the most common sense lies within the Republican Party aside from the one exception.</p>
<p>I am against the death penalty. First, I think giving a criminal the death penalty is letting them off easy. One quick injection and its all over. it hardly avenges a vicious murder. I say let a murderer rot in prison. Also, something else has occured to me. There are instances where innocent men have been convicted, and I would not be able to live with myself knowing that an innocent person was put to death. i think is too much of a risk, personally. I think the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment. I think a life sentence is punishment enough for even the most vicious, coldblooded killer. I do not support the death penalty nor will I ever.</p>