Liberal is not a four letter word!

Today I was reading this list of things about living in the South - it was great until I got to the last one - if you're not Republican, it said, just get the hell out!

Well, I'm not Republican and I ain't going nowhere! I don't know exactly when the word liberal became a four letter word, but I'm here to defend my position.

I am actually quite conservative in the way that I live and think. I believe everyone has the responsibility to get an education, get a job, and live within the means they can provide themselves. I believe everyone has a responsibility to register to vote the day they turn 18 and exercise that right every single time the polls are opened. That also includes finding out who the candidates are, what the issues are, and making a decision based on your own convictions that you can defend if you're asked about it. I believe each person has a responsibility for their own spirtuality - I personally believe in GOD and Jesus and the Holy Spirit, but I respect your right to believe otherwise. I'm thankful I've never had to make a decision on abortion for myself, and pray daily for the women who face that decision and feel there is no other alternative.

I don't believe homosexuality is in accordance with God's plan or creation, but I choose to love each human as the Holy Bible directs us to do. I will stand, as each of us, alone, for my judgment day in front of God. I will have plenty to answer for myself, so I will pray for you, but you will have to answer for your own sins.

I'm proud, if you believe differently than me, that you know what you believe and WHY. I greatly respect the ones that have fought and died, have waged lengthy battles in legislatures, courts, and battlefields for us to be able to stand here today, possibly polar opposites, and still respect each other.

These are the things that make me a liberal - I won't apologize for them. I won't shove my beliefs down your throat or comdemn you for thinking otherwise - that's just the way things are. But, I will work with you to try and reach compromises or understanding so we can all live happily.

After all, it's still America!