Many liberals in America feel put off by the results of this past election. It bears mentioning that the reason the Republicans won does have something to do with the feelings of a good number of Americans towards the liberals who have insisted that we not only accept, but embrace their values as they decry our values as anachronistic. The fact of the matter is, the conservative values are no less valid than the liberal values.

I stand firm against the liberal values because I have seen their downside. Child Protective Services, once used to legitimately protect children from rampant abuse in this country, has now turned into a revenge mechanism by which spiteful family members, medical professionals, teachers, and law enforcement officials can hurt a family simply because that family's values do not conform with those of the reporter's (examples that I can cite: a mother who had her child removed for breastfeeding the child [it's documented in my case files and is NOT an urban legend], parents who have been investigated for homeschooling their children or refusing vaccinations, parents who have been investigated and/or had their children removed for "religious indoctrination" that runs afoul of the religious beliefs of the noncustodial parent). As these cases are civil cases, parents do NOT have the right to an attorney, and they are considered guilty until proven innocent. In many cases when the children have been returned, it has only been AFTER the family has been torn apart for months or years.

Another prime example is the welfare system as it stands. The "welfare reform" pretty much removed the safety net for the honest workers who could have benefitted from its protection, and while many liberals opposed it, it was signed into law by a DEMOCRATIC president. Even its passage was a backlash to the much publicized abuses of the system, which many of us have witnessed firsthand (and which have been beat to death on many posts on this site, so I won't delve into that side of it further).

Still more of an affront has been the virtual insistence that states accept gay marriage, despite the stated will of the majority. The gay and lesbian lobbies are mounting legal challenges to the state initiatives to ban gay marriage. There are many political analysts, and I number myself among them, who feel that refusing to marry homosexual couples may one day constitute grounds for removal of a church's tax exempt status, as similar court precedents have been set in other areas.

I firmly feel that the Supreme Court was a mmajor reason for the overwhelming Republican victories this year. For the past 30+ years, SCOTUS has insisted on WRITING law, instead of interpreting it, essentially reducing the US to an oligarchy ruled by nine jurists who are neither elected, nor possessing of the checks and balances given to their illegal legislative actions equal to those given to the Congress and the President.

I believe there's room for all views in America today. But the liberals will not continue to advance if they continue to disrespect, devalue, and mock the values of the conservatives of this country.

Respectfully submitted,

Gideon MacLeish