Confessions of a 9-11conservative (9-11con)

5/1/2003 | Jon Alvarez

[judicial meanz]

Good for you John! Keep up the good work.

[Paradox]

Awesome! As a former liberal and Democrat, I'd like to congratulate you not only for your political persuasion, but for what you have actually DONE for your beliefs!

[BreitbartSentMe]

Welcome Jon!

You're not alone, there were many eyes opened on 9/11 and during the aftermath. I applaud your actions. We all need to take a cue from our president, lead by example.

[Desecrated]

Count me in that category. Never took much of a stand either way before 9-11, but the actions and words of the left since then have disgusted me. This was mainly caused by the chorus of voices saying, "What did we do to deserve this?" after 9-11.

Coming from a proud military background, having close friends/relatives on the ground in Iraq and Israel certainly made it a bit more personal for me.

[b4its2late]

I'm glad you left the darkside.

Welcome aboard!

[GOP_1900AD]

Indeed, sometimes it takes a shock to the system to be awakened. Prior to 1996, I was a "moderate" who believed in a squishy middle set of ideas that would have made both Bush Sr. and Klintoon proud. Well before the writing of "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" I blindly followed a similar naive, globalist, America-last policy and even helped to industrialize, and by extension arm, our enemies, most notably the PRC but also other players to the West of them who are now showing their true colors. What woke me up personally was being in Taiwan in 1996 when the PLAAF were threatening to nuke the island with IRBMs. That was the crack in the dam and started me along the road of questioning my assumptions. By the time of the EP-3 attack, I was well along the way. 9-11 hardened my stance even further. And hence, my handle, stating that I am un-PC even to many who call themselves "conservatives" but in the end who always compromise rather than fight. Which therefore begets the statement Right makes right. In otherwords, classical Rightism, which is the defense of our Western protective strata of church, home and nation state, puts one, ultimately, in the right position both morally and geopolitically. Welcome aboard Jon!

[spookycc]

Hey, John, way to go!

You story sounds a LOT like mine, except that you've done more with your newfound "politics" than I have.

I was a non-practicing 'cRAT until 9/11. After I saw Dubya at ground zHero on 9/14, I joined the RNC and signed up for the Freedom Corps (no one has EVER contacted me from that group, even though I've contacted the head of the local chapter).

I travelled to NYC in August of 2002 - a pilgrimage to ground zHero. It was empty, and sad. I'd never been to NYC before, but I felt *pulled* there.

I did some emailing for protests, etc, but not much until I found Free Republic, this year. Since then I've FReeped a local peace rally and have been to a Rally for America (Auburn, Indiana - 12,000-15,000 people).

I feel like I've found a home here. I don't post a lot, but so many people here feel like I do, post-9/11. My soulmate and I thought we were "the only ones" who felt the way we do, about America, about Dubya, about boycotts, etc...

It was great to find out we're not alone!

[Badray]

Welcome home to both of you.

[foto]

Keep it up, alot of eyes were opened on that day including mine. Starting with my joining the NRA and GOA membership rolls during the campaign of AL Gore for president, every new event seems to push me further away from the darkside. Big question for myself is always, how the h*** didn't I see this all before?

[Tamzee]

You are an inspiration, now another among the many here at Free Republic :-)

[nyconse]

I am a recovering Democrat. I was a true leftist. I didn't even date Republicans. However, I fell madly in love with my Republican husband 15 years ago (still mad about the guy). My family was extremely amused. I set out to convert my husband to a Democratic, liberal way of thinking (leftists are very arrogant). I started with Rush Limbaugh. I asked my husband why he liked Rush; after all Rush was a woman hating rightwing crazy. My husband asked me if I had ever listened to the show. I was insulted. Of course, I did not listen to this terrible show. My husband opined that perhaps I should not judge a show if I had never listened to it. I began listening to Rush. To my surpise,Rush did not hate women, and he was very funny. I began to notice that liberals consistently lied about Rush and other conservative. When the Berlin wall fell, I began to think maybe Reagan had been correct to call the Soviet Union "the evil empire". I had never been exposed to conservative thought. Then, Clinton was elected president. I watched President Clinton steal FBI files, lie constantly and ruin a man's life for no reason (Billy Dale -travelgate). In 1994, I became a Republican and placed my husband's signed picture of President Reagan in a prominent place in our home.

[OldBlondBabe]

My eyes were opened during the 2000 presidential election. I'm not quite as activist as you, but I do my best to keep myself informed. I also write letters to my local papers, and to my representatives. (I've sent various E-mails to Senators Levin and Stabenow, although I know it doesn't do a damn bit of good.)

[WOSG]

Thanks for a great article.

We all have a duty to our country. 9-11 shook us out of complacency.

I am a Reagan Conservative and been a conservative since I realized that Socialism leads to poverty, high tax rates destroy prosperity, and Government should be supporting families not undermining them. ... but since 9-11 I am less concerned about my pocketbook and more concerned with the fact that many in the world LACK BASIC FREEDOM. I dont want them growing up to be terrorists. It's why even though I am a small Government conservatives, I fully support our current war on terror and the war to liberate Iraq.

Our interests (US security) and our Ideals (freedom) point in the same direction: We stand for human liberty.

A paraphrase from President George W Bush tonight, who I fully support.

[Susannah]

That covers a lot of territory. And an excellent reminder of how much we value FREEDOM.

p.s.: time for a replacement of one 'ism' for the lefties:


"Then there's the matter of the source of many of Joe's accusations – accusations being proved by release of the so-called Venona intercepts of Soviet cable traffic whose code was broken back in the mid-forties and remained top secret until recently.

These intercepted cables proved that there were over 350 Americans spying for the Soviets, and enabled investigators to identify about half of them. Joe McCarthy had access to the information contained in the top secret Venona intercepts – access given him by J. Edgar Hoover and others concerned with the extent of Soviet espionage and penetration.

But he could not defend himself against charges of recklessly accusing people of being Soviet agents by revealing the source of his information without alerting the Soviets that some of their most important secrets were known to U.S. intelligence.

One of the more revealing admissions recently made by the left was Carl Bernstein's quote from his father, who, with Carl's mother, was a top Communist Party member. Here's what Bernstein recalls his father warning him when his 1989 book, "Loyalties: A Son's Memoir," was published:
"You're going to prove [Sen. Joseph] McCarthy was right, because all he was saying is that the system was loaded with Communists. And he was right. ...
I'm worried about the kind of book you're going to write and about cleaning up McCarthy. The problem is that everybody said he was a liar; you're saying he
was right. ... I agree that the Party was a force in the country."

[exDemMom]

Welcome to the Right side.

As you might be able to tell from my screen name, I, too, have made the journey. For me, it was long and difficult, and the events which set me on the path culminated with the nomination of Klintoon, whom I perceived is a psychopath, and whose nomination and election profoundly horrified me. I'm so glad you have been able to join us.

Anyway, 36 might be too old to enlist in the Army, but it's not too old for a commission, if you're qualified. (I know this because I'm older than you and have applied for a commission...still waiting to find out if they accept me.) Goarmy.com has information on officer specialties and eligibility requirements.

[dubyagee]

A BUMP for your awakening! A good piece, I enjoyed it.

[moodyskeptic]

Welcome, my children. You have discovered the guilty pleasure of intelligent company. Freepers are smart, funny, kind people, if you've been to a public event with Freepers, you know what I mean. We love our kids, our country and the simple pleasures afforded by a free nation.

The left is desperate, hateful and humorless.