Bleeding-Heart Conservativism

There are a lot of people who believe that all Conservatives are hard-asses when it comes to social justice. And in a way that idea makes sense. People who are very much “government out of my business” types are not going to want a ton of social programs to held the down and out, even if they themselves are more than willing to contribute.

I learned social justice from the best – liberals. However, social justice is one of my values so I didn’t shed my heart with my liberalism. Over the last few years I’ve watched my parents become bleeding heart Conservatives also. I have no doubt my brother and sisters will be as well.

When I have conversations with liberals about social justice my parents are actually my shining examples of how they are dead wrong in their assumptions. Sure my parents are not fans of Social Security. But they give money every month to one of the Catholic hospital in Portland – St. Vincent’s – for people who can’t afford their medical bills and don’t have insurance. (See? How rad are my parents?!)

I hear a lot of talk but don’t see a lot action on the liberal side. That’s fine if you want the government to do all the dirty work for you, but please don’t expect it to be done well. “90% of all people with Medicare love it.” That’s great but doesn’t most tax money actually go to employee pay and not to programs? Holy efficiency!

Just because someone doesn’t want the government interfering with private sector doesn’t mean they want people to starve to death on the streets and it’s shameful to think so.

World Vision is an organization that I’ve supported for many years and hope to continue doing so for the rest of my life. They spend 5% of what they bring in on overhead and 87% on programs. Has the federal government even come close to those numbers? If we’re hemorrhaging tax dollars, why do we even have programs set up to help people? Conversely, if the government could be more efficient than World Vision, shoot, son – let ‘em help the people out! You can’t get much better than a mere 5% for overhead.

I wouldn’t say that most Conservatives are generous because I don’t have numbers. I do know that the United States by all accounts is the most liberal country on the planet in the area of generosity.

When some bleeding-heart liberal like Shane Claiborne says we could solve our disputes without enemies by “sharing”, my response is "we already share... a lot". It’s true – we give money to everyone from Pakistan to Uganda to Palestine. (Thank you, capitalism!) Giving more money to more of our enemies will not absolve us of our grievances in their eyes. That’s not a solution; in fact, it's usually called bribery.

That said – all of you, conservatives and liberals alike – find a private sector organization and start giving to a cause you’re passionate about. Stop talking and put your money where your mouth is already! It's worth every penny.