Who are the REAL Fascists?

Think back a few days to Mitt Romney's now-famous "Mormon speech" - and then go look at reactions from the Left and the Right.

Those on the Right call the speech "well-thought out", "brilliant" and "a good example of true religious liberty".

Those on the Left? Well, I'll quote the MotherJones blog as one shining example that is easily found on many other Left-leaning sites: "Romney to Atheists: Go To Hell". A quick look at other columns and you'll find the old liberal chestnuts about the Right trying to force a "Fascist theocracy".

And look at most liberal sources. There's always that recurrent theme that somehow, we evil conservatives are out to steal all your liberties away and impose our philosophy on everyone at gunpoint. But let's look closely at just who really wants fascism in this country of ours. I'll hit a few topics here:

Abortion: Sure, let's start with one of the biggies. Yes, many conservatives want to see this atrocity outlawed, and I'm one of them. But walk with me down the road of logic and reason:

• Our "inalienable rights" include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
• These are put in that order for a good reason. One right provides for the one following it. But, to make the point clearer, I'll work backwards...
• A person can't pursue happiness if they do not have liberty. Simple enough - if you're not free, how can you possibly pursue happiness?
• More importantly, how can there be liberty if anyone is denied the right to live? When a nation allows the death of innocent humans, how can we really be free?

Liberals pretty much universally support abortion, hiding behind a fictitious "right to choose" for parents. (I don't say the mother, because the man is equally responsible in these cases.) But someone's freedom of choice is limited where it affects another's life. True freedom is the freedom to do good. Every society has laws to protect the rights of others. We may be free, but we're not free to kill or harm others with impunity.

Gun Control: Again, the Right are often called "gun nuts" because we support the Second Amendment's guarantee of people to bear arms. I support it, but I don't own any weapons for a variety of reasons. But that right is there explicitly to protect us from our own government. I quote the Second Amendment in its entirety, emphasis added by me:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Can't get any clearer. Now, that said, even conservatives have the good sense to know that not everyone is stable enough to own a gun, so there ARE laws on the books to prevent unfit persons from getting guns (at least through legal channels). Liberals, on the other hand, would prefer guns be out of our society, the line of thinking is that no guns means safer streets. I doubt that highly - there's plenty of other ways to make the streets unsafe and our endeavoring gang members will have them at the ready - not to mention they're not going to give in their guns without a fight.

More importantly, think about this: if the people of the US became unarmed, what's to stop a future government from imposing a dictatorship? I know, right now that sounds far-fethched, but it's a possibility nonetheless. But such a change would be very costly to a regime that sought totalitarianism if the people had access to arms.

Religious Freedom: I brought up Romney's speech for a reason: While conservatives are more likely than liberals to have a strong faith, we read the First Amendment in its entirety, which says that the government will not only create a state church, but it has no place restricting religious freedom or expression. This means that people and towns can put up religious displays at Christmas, Easter, Hanukkah, Passover, Ramadan...whichever holiday. This is NOT establishing a state religion. It is allowing the people to freely express their faith, as is protected by the Constitution. Kids can and should be allowed to pray in school if they wish, and those who don't can show a modicum of respect by allowing them to.

What does the Left want? Well, take a look around: mention of God is strictly verboten in schools, if a town DARES to put up a Christmas (and in a lot of places, Hanukkah) display, some militant atheist is screaming that it's a violation of law. And look at another issue - gay "marriage". If the Left gets their way, churches would be FORCED to have such ceremonies in their buildings in direct violation of the churches' beliefs. Don't believe me? Look at Canada. Prests were being threatened with "hate crimes" for speaking out their beliefs that homosexuality is a sin. So this would mean if I taught my kids to believe what my Church teaches, I could get put away.

This is just a sample, friends. The Left likes to call names, but look closely, you'll see that the accusations they sling are generally what they themselves support but don't want to be identified with.

How free do you really think you'll be if they get their way?

- F.d. for 2 Joe Schmoes