You got to have the class to understand everyone counts

Being conservative in politics is a tough deal for most people.  You have to believe in freedom.  You have to believe that the guy whose opinions and ways you do not like has to have the same freedoms you do.  You have to believe the lowest amongst us contribute and make a difference.  Believing the in the worth of everyone and their freedoms is hard stuff.  Respecting everyone is something not easy for people to do.

Liberals like to talk about freedom, but they often have a set of ideas that they think of the rest of us should live by, and if we don’t, we are evil in their eyes.  Unfortunately, there are a growing number of people who call themselves conservatives who actually feel the same way.  They just have different ideas.  But, they still want people to live like them, think like them and be under their control and they, like liberals, work to make government make that happen.

Frankly that is not American.  I guess we go up on the Homeland Security watch list now, as we believe in true freedom and the value of everyone from sports teams to everyday life.  What made America great, when other world powers were competing against us, was that we were a people who saw the value of everyone and believed that they should be free to fail, and find ways to achieve not thought of by some government planner after they failed.  The American spirit has always been one of contributing to the greater good in the way found, making a difference through freedom.

Such differences are found in sports teams and in life in general.  For example, the kid who only plays a few downs in a football game helps the stars perform by showing up and working hard in practice, helping to make the stars better at their jobs.  The custodian who keeps the office clean of trash helps keep the mind the great businessman free from such worries and allows him to think of innovations.

What is missing so much today is the class that comes with pride.  The kid who does not play every down should not be ashamed or complain about not playing every down.  Instead, he should have the class to be proud to be a part of making the team better.  In the real business world, the low man on the business totem pole should be proud to be a part of the team that achieves and makes a difference.

That said, those at the top of the heap should show their respect.  As the running back who scores a touchdown in football should thank the lineman for the block or the kid on the scout team who helped to make him better, the businessman should respect the people who freed him from things like taking out the garbage and cleaning bathrooms.  As stated before, everyone in a free society counts and should be respected.

But, that is not happening in politics today.  The people who do not have big money to give to candidates of both parties are shunned  or patronized.  They might be willing to work day and night to do the little jobs of placing signs at precincts or making phone calls, but by and large, they are treated like they are worthless.  Some twenty something who has no idea about the political landscape that the poor volunteer actually lives in will treat that volunteer like he or she is a piece of manure.  They just cannot help themselves.

And, we wonder why there are groups like the Tea Party rising up on the right and shocking nominees like Alvin Greene on the left.  The politicos think that they can manipulate people and patronize them.  The media thinks people are worried about who is having sex with whom.  Both groups jump the first chance they get at the rawest idea.

The people, though, still try to make a difference in their own little way.  That is the saving grace of America and South Carolina.  Everyday there are people who go out and work their hearts out to make a difference in their jobs, charities, churches and things like youth sports.  Those people are America.  Those people are cheated by the game players and greedy people that make up the so called political class and media. They simply think that we average people do not count and are just sheep to be manipulated.