James, why are you a Republican?

By James Young on Monday, October 1, 2012 at 12:21am
Every few days, I'm asked that one, never-ending question: "James, why are you a Republican?" However, lately it's been: "James, why are you voting for Mitt Romney?" And boy, do I love getting those questions.

For me, it's the simplest, most complicated answer to any question I could ever face. The typical line of "Republicans are for the rich, Democrats are for the poor" has boiled my blood for years. Just about every other person I've met in the last two years have eventually ended up asking about "my background;" assuming my parents are upper class business types from a nice neighborhood who drives a fancy car. For some reason, my response always seems to blow their mind. The truth is, both of my parents are registered Democrats, one from Louisville, the other from Eastern Kentucky. My mother has never made over $25k in a single year, and my father has worked security for the last twenty years. Before my involvement, my parents believed politics started & ended with Mayor Jerry Abramson. I spent my childhood in a gravel trailerpark in Fairdale before moving to Valley Station for my youth. Oh, and I went to Valley High School. Yes, Valley. I was raised the definition of "middle class." I have never known what that "silver spoon" looks like that the political gossipers insist us "Republicans" were born with.

But then again, that explains everything. Even I have had to turn to my roots of where I come from & how I was raised to truly understand what it is I believe in. You see, I come from a family that has felt the government pinch. My father lost his 40+ hr/wk job during the economic recession, my mother began scrapping pennies to pay for a few more ounces of gasoline to get to work. Going to church on Sunday was the only "hope" we could ever truly rely on. All I've ever known is Gods grace, the importance of love, always work harder than anyone else, and never forget where you came from.

When molding my own opinion, I turn to what makes sense: Smaller government, lower taxes, and balanced budgets. I believe in a brighter tomorrow for not only myself, but for my friends, my family, my neighbors, my community. A swelling government, higher tax rates, and a national debt that has surely reached "infinity" at this point has done nothing but shackle my dreams of ever reaching success. To me, the idea that "government can do it" is the real problem. Instead of debating how to fund these "new" programs, lets cut what's unncessary & fix what we have. I cannot help but think about those from my graduate class, those who I went to college with, the many friends I've met with entrepreneurial spirit to succeed that are being consistently held back by the burdensome problems from our nations Capitol. Let's get government out of the way, and get back to work.

So, why am I a Republican? Because I want to be free.