<p>See…as dchow and others have basically said: it depends on what you mean by “conservative.”</p>
<p>I’m a conservative, but not closed-minded at all.
I’m not a status-quo-devotee.</p>
<p>I just view universal healthcare as ridiculously illogical and impractical, and abortion as immoral and unethical whether you’re religious or not.</p>
<p>So I’ll be voting McCain, not because I’m a traditionalist, but because I can’t stand Obama or his views
<em>gets whalloped in face by mob of crazy liberals</em> lol</p>
<p>So, as long as you’re not a total Rush Limbaugh, you’re ok, I think.</p>
<p>I was going to say that yeah, sure, no problem, but I have to edit that statement a bit- I think you should write (like entrancestone said) about how being one of the only conservatives in your environment has had an effect on you, but NOT about certain issues like hookem mentioned like abortion, healthcare, etc. just because it may have negative effects. Although I am by no means an admissions official, if the whole essay was entirely against my stance(s) on issue(s), I’d probably leave with a slight negative impression even if one was trying to stay impartial.</p>
<p>haha I agree with angelican that you obviously, under no circumstances whatsoever, should ever detail any actual views on the issues in your app.</p>
<p>and since we’re, you know, NOT <em>ahem</em> debating…
1)a woman has CERTAIN rights to her own body (suicide and drugs are illegal and cutting is obviously bad).</p>
<p>2) even so, a fetus is never any kind of organ or “part” of a woman’s body. It is a separate, albeit connected entity. Just because it feeds from the mother doesn’t mean it IS the mother…otherwise breastfeeding babies would still be a part of the mother.</p>
<p>3) extensive research has shown that vital functions such as the nervous system develop very early in the process…WAY before the “partial-birth abortion” limit.</p>
<p>4) extensive research has also proven that, when shown ultrasound pictures of their baby, a large percentage of mothers choose not to abort. That’s why greedy abortion clinics aren’t keen at promoting getting a second opinion…</p>
<p>5) I hereby cite every moral and ethical argument on the absolute travesty of killing another being simply for one’s own convenience… by every philosopher…ever lol.</p>
<p>6) There is no option or choice about whether or not to HAVE the child, only what to do with it: give it up for adoption or keep it.</p>
<p>^There are cases where the pregnancy can prove dangerous or even lethal to the mother. Before the advent of modern medicine, 1 in 3 women died from pregnancy related complications. So if all else fails, and the only option left to save the mother is to abort her child, wouldn’t you do it?
I mean, if the mother dies, the baby is probably going to die anyway, so if you have her keep the baby, you lose two lives. However, if you have her abort the baby, you only lose one. </p>
<p>And to once again answer the OP:
If you do write about being conservative, don’t write about specific views. However, I must ask, are you a fiscal/governmental conservative? Or are you a social conservative? Or both? I ask this because I don’t think anyone would get offended by conservative views on healthcare, government spending, etc.
However, people will get really offended if you’re the type of conservative that thinks all gay people are immoral abominations who are doomed to eternal damnation, etc. I should have been more specific earlier. Social conservatives are the ones who are most keen on keeping the status quo, so to speak, and if that defines your views, well that might be bad because college is a very diverse place and people will have numerous different family values, customs, etc. You absolutely need to be open minded and not have that “my way is best” attitude that I’m not saying you have but that I’ve noticed that so many (social) conservatives do have.</p>
<p>If the mother’s life was in danger, I believe that’s a medical decision, not something that the average citizen should be able to decide. Basically, the doctor should determine who has the best chance: the mother or the child, and act accordingly. They already do this all the time during childbirth, when lots of complications arise. This is not grounds for any pro-choice argument.
And yes, if anybody was wondering, I do believe that if a woman is raped and gets pregnant, she should have the baby, and then decide what happens to it.</p>
<p>^what if the woman was 12 years old, and the rapist was her father? Can you really expect a 12 year old to carry a baby to full term? That’s quite intense, especially with the trauma she might be feeling (+the incestuous child). </p>
<p>Sorry, I don’t mean to get into a debate, especially on a thread that’s not supposed to be about us. I do agree with you to an extent. I mean, the average woman having sex should be careful enough not to let herself get pregnant in the first place and an abortion in this situation just seems horribly out of place.
However, I think even you can agree that there are certain extenuating circumstances that can arise where an abortion would be the least immoral thing to do.</p>
<p>Incest and young victims getting abortions is a touchy subject. HOWEVER, if you look at all the numbers related to the type of women having abortions, rape victims make up less than 1%. Incest/rape victims? even less than that. So, I would much rather ban abortion, because 99.9% of women are getting them just because they were stupid and careless, or because they have no consideration for human life.</p>
<p>Yeah, I definitely plan on talking about the personal experience of being the lone dissenter–which is fun! And I am actually, as mochamaven pointed out, more libertarian than conservative, so fiscally conservative, socially not so much. </p>
<p>500 words cannot give justice to any viewpoint beyond the trite, so I’m definitely avoiding trying to argue for my views in the personal statement.</p>
<p>for the love of all that is holy, don’t go into “omg poor me I’m a MINORITY as a conservative/white/male/heterosexual/whatever at my school”…there are people like Yale who love to talk about how hard it is to be a conservative at a place like Yale, and that they’re “true” minorities there, etc. Yes, conservatives are minorities in elite schools. However, feeling sorry for oneself for being a minority for 4 years out of one’s life (as opposed to one’s entire life less 4 years, haha) is a little ridiculous.</p>
<p>But it could be a great essay as long as you don’t seem like you’re feeling sorry for yourself :-)</p>
<p>I am a young black conservative, but i don’t understand why it would matter as far as being admitted to college. DOn’t mention it, if you want, it probably doesn’t matter unless it is for political involvement which looks good either way. Bear in mind that these are ppl, ppl are not as polarized about politics as the media would have you think.</p>
<p>I find it extremely sad that students ask this kind of question. Since when is being conservative something you have to hide for fear of being persecuted?</p>
<p>Exactly, middsmith. You want to know the sad truth? The main reason that more and more kids are becoming liberal is because it’s “the new cool thing.” Think about it. Wearing Obama shirts, hating President Bush and watching Jon Stewart have become the new fad.</p>
<p>From my own personal experience, the vast majority of teenage liberals that I’ve talked to are largely ignorant. They hate the Iraq War, but they don’t even know the details. They like abortion, but they don’t know any of the facts. It’s all based on “well, I think that policy sounds good to me. It sort of gels with my inner vibe.” bull***</p>
<p>I can’t imagine it would hurt as long as you don’t make your essay an unintelligent, unjustified, and nonsensical tirade on why evolution is false, scientists are going to hell, homosexuals are evil, blacks are inferior, Obama is a muslim, those atheistic Europeans are doomed, people who love each other should not get married, the very act of procreation is evil, and war is just dandy. There is no justification for social conservatism except possibly on the issue of abortion. </p>
<p>If you mean economically conservative, good for you.</p>
<p>Hookem – your comments don’t really make much sense. Why shouldn’t kids not like war? Why do they need to concern themselves with the details? If I don’t think “we have a disagreement, so let’s force some people who don’t disagree or even care about our disagreement to shoot each other” is a valid approach, I don’t need to delve in the nuances of every war before I’m qualified to label myself as liberal. The same goes for abortion: what sort of “facts” does one need? You either consider a fetus a person or not.</p>
<p>Since my senior year of high school, I’ve become more and more comfortable referring to myself as both socially and economically conservative. I don’t think social conservative means hating on gays and strongly opposing abortion. In fact, I stridently oppose discrimination against gays and know so little about abortion that I don’t open my mouth when it comes up as a topic. When I think of social conservatism, the first thing I think of is strong family ties.</p>
