CHAPTER 1

THE BATTLE IS ON: WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?

TODAY THERE IS A BATTLE, and the outcome of that battle can have a direct impact upon the existence of America as a nation, and more specifically individual Americans’ fate and destinies. Many voices can be heard in every spectrum of the media vying for the attention of all humanity. One arena that is shouting loudly for everyone’s attention is the arena of politics. Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, conservative, or liberal: which one is right? With an onslaught of information being presented to the public, one may wonder,Am I conservative, moderate, or liberal? I clearly remember when I began to ponder the answer to that question for myself. I assumed I was a liberal because I thought the root word ofliberal must beliberty. As a black person from the Southeast who grew up in North Carolina during the’50s,’60s, and’70s in America, anything related to liberty was certainly something that I would want to be associated with. Dealing with injustices as a way of life contributed to my seeking to strive for self-improvement and progress. Progress from a political perspective has come to take on a whole new meaning in America.

Many in the liberal party have chosen to change their political affiliation to be coined as Progressive.Progressive, as defined inWebster’s Dictionary,1 was definitely something I wanted to be, especially since I was raised in the South and faced racial prejudice as a part of everyday existence. Webster definesprogressive as“moving forward or onward; favoring, working for, or characterized by progress or improvement, as through political or social reform.” As I have matured over the years, I have come to realize that a person can say anything about who they are. However, a play on words does not change the essence of their being and their agenda. A person’s fruit, or outward behavior, will tell the real story. Liberal or progressive, call it what you may; examining the facts will cause you to see that it’s all the same.

In order to clarify my understanding of exactly what the termsliberal andconservative actually meant, I decided to do some research. More specifically, I began to pursue knowing for myself what these two major political viewpoints condoned. I had come to a point in my life where I was no longer interested in what someone else was“saying” about the political parties, but I wanted to know the factsfor myself. One of my main questions was,“What are the major principles represented in the platforms of these two groups?” The more I researched, the more my eyes begin to open. I began to realize that I was walking in sheer ignorance about so many things.I had been so confident in what I thought I knew. But my pursuit of knowledge and truth in this area has led me on a journey in which the scales were removed from my eyes, and I can now see. It has been a journey from darkness to light.

Looking