They Think You're Stupid Read Online Free PDF Page B

Dad believed that if he worked hard enough and smart enough, he could achieve his version of the American Dream. His dream was to provide a home and food for his family and give his children a better start in life than he had. He achieved all his dreams, but it was not easy. My father worked three jobs--as a chauffeur, a barber, and a janitor--to achieve his dreams and make sure we always had a roof over our heads, food on the table, and the opportunity for my brother and me to pursue a college education.
    When Dad walked off of that dirt farm, he did not consider himself a Republican and he did not consider himself a Democrat. He considered himself someone working on his American Dream. When he was eighteen, he had never heard the terms conservative or liberal , right wing or left wing . The party label did not mean much to him because a party label was not going to help him achieve his dreams.
    Today someone might say Dad was "blue collar," a member of the "working class," or maybe even the "middle class." The truth is, he never looked at himself as a member of someone else's description of his class, and he did not have much time to care about someone else's label. When all your time is spent providing for your family and working on making your American Dream a reality, you do not focus on your economic situation today--you focus on building the situation you desire for tomorrow.
    Soon after I turned eighteen years old, I signed up with the Selective Service and registered to vote. My early political views were shaped by my dad's views. He told me, "Don't just look at the party. Look at the people, the issues, and look at a candidate's principles and character." His open-mindedness on political issues was influenced by the fact that for more than twenty-five years he worked for a prominent Atlanta CEO. Dad's boss spoke often about business principles, how to make money, how to save money, and how to build a business. This prominent CEO was a Republican. Their professional relationship helped open Dad's eyes to the realities of being a Republican, versus the rhetoric about Republicans told for decades to Black people by the predominant Democratic Party. Dad didn't fall for the rhetoric.
    Dad's advice on politics and politicians has served me well. Though I considered myself a Democrat until my early thirties, I was focused on my dreams, my family, and my career and did not spend much time watching or discussing politics. Around that time, Ronald Reagan was elected president of the United States. I was beginning to make some money in the business world, and I thought the economic policies President Reagan talked about made the most sense for businesses and my family's future.
    It was easy for me to support President Reagan and the Republicans because Dad taught me to look at the candidate's character and the reasons behind his positions on the issues, instead of just party labels and sound-bite rhetoric. President Reagan's policies simply made the most sense to me. I started voting Republican in the 1980s and have always been proud of that decision.
    Though my positions on the political issues have wavered little throughout my life, I honestly did not realize I was a conservative until I began my campaign for U.S. Senate. I am pro-life on the issue of abortion. I fully support the Second Amendment right to bear arms. I am opposed to a government-imposed quota system on hiring practices. I believe we must replace the out-of-date federal tax code, and I believe Congress must severely cut back on its wasteful spending. But I did not know the term conservative defined my belief system. Prior to initial consultations with my campaign consultants when I ran for the U.S. Senate in Georgia, no one had ever packaged my political views into a single term.
    Most people know what they believe in and their positions on the various political issues, but they do not characterize themselves according to others' pre-packaged definitions.