“Not having to lie,” according to Andrew Klavan, author of “True Crime” and “Don’t Say a Word.”
Apart from being an author whose books are made into major motion pictures, Klavan is a self-proclaimed Hollywood conservative, placing him in the category of such rarities as California condors living in the wild, and American flag pins on the lapels of New York Times editors:
I don’t have to pretend that men and women are the same. I don’t have to declare that failed or oppressive cultures are as good as mine.
Nor do I have to say that everyone’s special or that the rich cause poverty or that all religions are a path to God. I don’t have to claim that a bad writer like Alice Walker is a good one or that a good writer like Toni Morrison is a great one. I don’t have to pretend that Islam means peace.
But it’s not always easy, being right on the left coast:
I’ve been banned from my monthly poker game, lost tennis partners, lost friends ‚Äî not because I’m belligerent but because I’ve wondered aloud if the people shouldn’t be allowed to make their own abortion laws, say, or if the world might not be a better place without the United Nations.
It’s a rotten feeling. I sometimes think that I’d rather be deemed evil than a boor. Wickedness has some flair to it, even a whiff of radicalism. If you molest a child, there’s always a chance that you can get the ACLU to defend you as a cultural innovator.
But if you make a remark at table about the destructive social effects of broken homes and then discover that your dinner partner is a divorcee ‚Äî trust me, you feel like a real louse. It’s manners, not morals, that lay the borderlines of our behavior.
But what’s to be gained by such politically incorrect candor?
We find ourselves at a precarious moment in an endeavor of great importance: namely, the preservation of Western rationalism and liberty. It does mankind no good to allow so magnificent an enterprise to slip away merely for fear of saying the wrong thing.
Oh. “Western rationalism and liberty.”
That old thing.
(H/T to Jeff G. for the link)
Update: Welcome aboard to readers of Jules Crittenden’s most excellent blog! Set a spell, poke around if it suits you. Anyone interested in a very brief, fictionalized account of life at sea might want to investigate the “Rhythms” section up above.
Shouldn’t take but a minute or two.
6 responses so far ↓
1
SJBill
// Apr 26, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Being conservative out here in CA is a DADT sort of thing.
My most cherished moment is being adjacent to a crowd of “Cold Pink” and other anti-war demonstrators outside of the SF Veterans’ Building, along with a bevy of retired flag officers (not me — the other guys) all of us in silent smirk mode.
Imagine the consequences if we divulged our secret IDs in that city.
Best-
-SJBill
2
EJ Smith
// Apr 26, 2007 at 1:56 pm
I have it a little bit easier.
San Bernardino County is conservative.
I work at a military base and used to work at the National Training Center.
I am surrounded by mostly conservative thinkers.
Woohoo!
3
Kristen
// Apr 26, 2007 at 6:58 pm
That’s an excellent article. I liked it so much that I went to Amazon and ordered a couple of his novels. I live in Los Angeles, and I’m quite conservative. Makes for some interesting chitchat at parties.
4
Kris, in New England
// Apr 27, 2007 at 6:01 am
It’s not just a west coast thing; being conservative and living in New England isn’t easy either. To quote one of my favorite New England bloggers - BlogMeisterUSA - “Conservative discussion & viewpoints from deep inside New England’s liberal wasteland.”
Indeed. My dearest friend is a confirmed and self-described “bleeding heart liberal” who is going to go thru a major life event soon - her nephew is being shipped off to Iraq later this year. He enlisted in the Marines at the age of 26 last year, knowing full well it’s where he’d be going. My friend and I never talk politics for obvious reasons - but I wonder sometimes what kind of personal war she’ll have - politics vs. her nephew’s commitment - once he is deployed.
5
blackeagle603
// Apr 27, 2007 at 7:46 am
Great post/link.
Even better sound bite — I’ll definitely be using that one.
“The best thing about being a Conservative is that I don’t have to lie.”
Conservatives need to master the soundbite. Those 14 words rock with truth.
That one is a 3 point shot.
dw
6
Daveg
// Apr 27, 2007 at 9:44 am
BE -
Everyone knows that 16 words are required to be truly memorable, so I hereby suggest the following:
?¢‚Ǩ?ìThe best thing about being a Conservative is that I don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t have to lie to myself.?¢‚Ǩ¬ù
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