An open letter to conservatives (Part 1): why the election does not matter, but you do.

As was inevitable Tuesday night, half of the country felt elated, while half were overwhelmed with a wave of depression, anxiety, and ulcers. I also fell into this emotional whirlpool despite my attempt to distance myself from it by voting third party. Secretly, deep down somewhere, I really hoped Mitt Romney would come out victorious, even if it was just to prove some pollsters wrong. Furthermore some of the local races didn’t go my way either. And so gloom surrounded me.

I began analyzing these feelings and had to slap myself, as should the rest of Conservadum. Was I a different person because of the outcome of the election? Were the people of the United States any different? NO! We are the exact same people as we were Tuesday night at 6 p.m. as we were at 10 p.m. We were personally no more “losers” than the other guys were “winners." So why were so many depressed then? The reason is because we believed a false idea completely contrary to the ideas of liberty: that government can solve our problems.

The questions we have to ask ourselves is whether we are personally more independent? Are we personally more capable of being free from government than we were before? Are we more capable of helping our fellow man? 

These are the question that matter, not who for whom we will vote.

The sooner conservatives realize that liberty will not come from spending millions on TV adds to try and get someone elected, the better. Liberty will come when those millions are instead spent on private charity to help people get food, job training, and health care. That is when liberty will come, when the American people stand up and show that we can do it, and we can do it without government. This is our fight for winning. If you truly believe in liberty’s message, you understand that people solve problems, not government. That means while others are petitioning government, and spending money to get government to do something about problem X, we should be out actually doing something about problem X.

In reality a Mitt Romney win would have been just as false as this supposed loss. If he had won would people have understood liberty any more than they do now? Would people be any different, depend on government any less than they do now? NO! Simply advertisements and publicity got them to vote for Mitt Romney for being slightly better (often for reasons not having anything to do with real principles) better than Barak Obama. It is not like anyone would have come to understand truth any better, and that is what matters.

The battles for America’s future will not happen at the ballot box. Forget all that junk Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh say about this being the most important decision of our lives. It is not, it was not, it never will be. The most important decisions of our lives are decisions to tell the truth even though it is advantageous to lie, decisions to live our beliefs, even when it would be convenient to forget them, decisions to live morally, to serve others, and be good citizens. Those are the decisions that matter; those are decisions that actually change people’s minds, decisions that truly help people understand liberty. Our decision to help our neighbors read, and volunteering at schools, and sharing the great books of history does more to influence America’s future than any decision you will ever make at the ballot box.
               
Elections follow automatically if the principles of honesty and liberty are being practiced in homes and communities. The people get the leaders they deserve. If we want to change America, we need to change ourselves. We need to live independently, we need to live charitably, and compassionately, we need to love all people regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual-orientation, or whatever else. The principles of liberty can only survive if we have an honest, hard-working, and indeed loving people. If we don’t become those people, we can never win.
               
As we become those people and work on converting people to Liberty and Truth, and not Mitt Romney, or whoever else, we will win. People will see the difference and know the truth. We can be better every day. We can become more educated and search for truth in everything. If we spend our time understanding truth, instead of arguing over personalities and trivialities, we will win.
               
It is ours to win, but it takes a people who are dedicated to living honestly and justly every day of the year, not just on Election Day. People who believe government can solve all of our problems ask for your vote. People who believe in Liberty ask much, much more, they ask for your life and your responsibility. This is not an easy task, but it is possible.

The election should simply be a thermometer of where we are, and why spend millions changing the thermometer? We should spend our time and effort changing what it is measuring, and it is measuring ourselves.
               
The long and short is this: Truth will win if we stand up and live truth, if we shun government entitlements at all costs, and embrace independence, philanthropy, service, and charity. Love is the most powerful force on this earth, if we employ it on our side, we will win, if we don’t, we will lose. It really is all about love, conservatives need to realize that and live it. That is their only hope.