Tuesday, May 29, 2012

What Attracted Me to Conservatism (Part III)


Written : May 29, 2012


Some of my friends asked to read about my memoir in this blog so I decided to comply in a multi-part series.

I like the conservative movement - partly because, like me, it learned from the left’s best teachers. However, progressives either forgot or ignored the lessons. I can't speak for everyone, but many conservatives idolize Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy - and/or took their words to heart. JFK said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." The right agrees with this concept, but the left seems to want more and more from their government(s). Dr. King offered us a vision of the world where people judge others by the content of their character, and not their skin color so that all men could someday live together in peace. The right swallowed this idea whole and is completely colorblind, and yet many politicians on the left tend to use race and financial classes to divide us, to make us fight amongst ourselves. I don't understand why they tend to cling to this losing strategy, but I keep some theories tucked away.

In college I discovered political bias. I loved to photograph people in the peak of action, enjoying themselves. I felt that showing depressed people too often perpetuated the condition. One photography professor said that in order to join a new photo club he started in his spare time - outside of our learning institution - we needed to photograph the poor and destitute. He, like many left-wingers, insisted on showing how the ills of society mistreated and beat down the unsuccessful. He refused me entrance to his team of shutterbugs because of his political views and his desire to spread them. I saw his lockout as petty, especially coming from a college professor, a person in a position of power - an individual to admire and emulate. He should have widened the focus of the group to include, but instead chose to exclude. At the time I saw it as the antithesis of my liberal teachings; bare-bones intolerant and closed-minded.

These are not the only reasons I gravitated toward the right. My memoir explains it by showing you the details. Think about it, my friend. Which way is best? Please don't laugh when I say this: Like me, you too can become a conservative. The saying goes, "Mean people suck," right? Why cling to negativity, frowns, anger, and name-calling - when you can enjoy the benefits of logic and healthy good feelings instead? We may approach problems from different angles, but we can solve them together, and without screaming, cursing, generalizations, or violence. When you make the decision to come over, I promise we won't judge you - we'll shake your hand and walk with you arm-in-arm, instead!


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Keywords: Conservatism, Conservative blog, Mark A. Cohen, From The Left to the Right, JFK, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, MLK, Dr. King, liberalism, college, professor

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See Mark's 'Author of the Month' page at Castle Rock's Local Gathering Place

Mark A. Cohen is currently seeking representation for his memoir, From The Left to the Right.

Mark A. Cohen is a member of and helps run the Parker Writers Group

Mark A. Cohen is a member of the Castle Rock Writers

Mark A. Cohen currently sits on the committee which will host the 2012 Castle Rock Writers Conference.

Mark A. Cohen spoke for about 30 minutes at the Douglas County Republicans’ First Friday Breakfast in Parker, CO, held at The War Horse Inn, on Dec. 2, 2011.

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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

What Attracted Me to Conservatism (Part II)


Written : May 22, 2012


Several people I know expressed the desire to read about my memoir in this blog and I’ve avoided the theme for a long time. Some of my rationale is exposed in this multi-part series.

I expected otherwise, but discovered my educated and intelligent right-wing in-laws embraced everyone. Through careful observation I discerned no prejudice whatsoever. People of all shapes, sizes, races, and orientations shared meals with us and interesting talk, but my in-laws didn't do it to prove their open-mindedness. They questioned, but never bad-mouthed liberals - or anyone else. And, they never mulled over anyone’s nationality or religion. On the other hand, my left-wing radical parents brought up their gay and black friends in casual conversation to impress people. They figured out a person’s country of origin from the spellings of their last name. That's prejudice. I found out from my own observations that what the left says (usually with misguided outrage) about the right is untrue, but instead, actually describes the left. I say this with no malice at all - it just seems factual to me - and I do love my radical, left-wing family!

Dad once told me the main difference between the left and the right is how much each trusts government. He loved his own humanity and placed human beings on a pedestal, but thought little of individuals in general. He therefore leaned toward a strong, centralized government. "People are not smart enough to do the right thing," he told me. I always disagreed with him and instead embraced freedom and opportunity, a chance to get ahead, and a positive outlook rather than bitterness, hand-outs, and dependence upon government. He said that Communism offered everyone the same free life, free apartments, food, the same pay as everyone else... but I always sought to play the game and compete with others for more. Dad thought that if people band together they can improve their circumstance, but although we can help each other, I saw my life more as an individual struggle. Nothing is perfect, but a man striving to improve himself produces the best outcome. Just ask the people who died at the hands of Mao, Stalin, and other Communist and socialist leaders. Our way is better, comrade!

For the most part I talk about politics from a conservative perspective here. Thoughtful debaters on the other side of the issues raise good points; worthy of consideration, for sure. A few have made me laugh with jokes about their take on conservatism. That’s okay, I often enjoy it, and one in particular made me laugh out loud - and filled me with good humor. Several wrote in or spoke to me employing stereotypes and tedious, sarcastic, and angry rhetoric to minimize or make fun of my point of view. That’s okay, too, but it speaks to the closed-mindedness and intolerance I encounter from time to time. Each time I receive impolite and immature comments they serve to reinforce my decision to evolve from the left to the right.


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See Mark's 'Author of the Month' page at Castle Rock's Local Gathering Place

Mark A. Cohen is currently seeking representation for his memoir, From The Left to the Right.

Mark A. Cohen is a member of and helps run the Parker Writers Group

Mark A. Cohen is a member of the Castle Rock Writers

Mark A. Cohen currently sits on the committee which will host the 2012 Castle Rock Writers Conference.

Mark A. Cohen spoke for about 30 minutes at the Douglas County Republicans’ First Friday Breakfast in Parker, CO, held at The War Horse Inn, on Dec. 2, 2011.

Click on the logo below to get to the main CBC site:

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Or, you can find From the Left to the Right on Conservative Blogs Central (it’s now on page 3) by clicking this text.

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Tuesday, May 15, 2012

What Attracted Me to Conservatism (Part I)


Written : May 10-15, 2012


Somehow, I avoided the subject of my memoir in this blog. As a liberal, why consider conservative ideas? My left wing friends can't envision themselves ever switching sides, or evolving, as the mainstream media now calls it, but I did. I discovered they're not 'sides,' so much as different philosophies. I’ll explain some of this in a multi-part series.

At family gatherings my relatives played a game. I learned I could garner respect and laughter if I made jokes about those goofy Republicans. I didn't like this form of subtle manipulation, so I stopped playing.

I salute my left-wing, radical dad for watching Firing Line each Sunday, a political TV show in the 1960's and 70’s. It featured William F. Buckley, Jr., the father of the modern conservative movement. I saw that Dad stretched his self-proclaimed open-mindedness, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't understand Mr. Buckley's positions. Even though he disliked putting anyone down or labeling people, my father subscribed to all the false stereotypes and generalizations the left believes about the right. You know, they are all bigots, closed-minded, uneducated, backwards, and hateful people who would sell their children for a barrel of oil - those sorts of silly ideas. I investigated this and throughout my life discovered a fallacy in everything he taught me about conservatives. He urged me to open my mind, and I'm grateful, but he wouldn't have a conservative as a friend. I know this because he told me so. That's closed-minded.

Jon Lovitz, the comedian, summed up one tenet of the left’s philosophy in April, 2012. A Democrat who voted for President Obama, Lovitz spoke out against the president's take that the rich don't pay their fair share of taxes. To paraphrase, he said that in the U.S. we tell poor people ‘you can do anything you want, so go for it. So then you go for it (and succeed), and then everyone says: screw you.’ Google this phrase: "lovitz speaks out obama taxes" to read Jon’s own, more colorful words.

The right remains calm, even-toned, and factual when speaking about the left, and I like that. The left, however, uses heated rhetoric most of the time and paints a twisted, and highly inaccurate picture of the right. With bitterness, anger, and frowns - which reveal their own hatred - many left-wingers say that “haters suck,” and, we all agree. If you’re a liberal and grow weary of this type of hyperbolic twine and misrepresentation, consider us. If you know something’s wrong but can’t put a finger on it, think conservative. Remember, the environmentalists now say that for them, the future is the past – do you really want to regress? I’ve seen it - the left will judge and disown you in a second for questioning their ideas while the right welcomes you with open arms - no questions asked.


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See Mark's 'Author of the Month' page at Castle Rock's Local Gathering Place

Mark A. Cohen is currently seeking representation for his memoir, From The Left to the Right.

Mark A. Cohen is a member of and helps run the Parker Writers Group

Mark A. Cohen is a member of the Castle Rock Writers

Mark A. Cohen currently sits on the committee which will host the 2012 Castle Rock Writers Conference.

Mark A. Cohen spoke for about 30 minutes at the Douglas County Republicans’ First Friday Breakfast in Parker, CO, held at The War Horse Inn, on Dec. 2, 2011.

Click on the logo below to get to the main CBC site:

Conservative Blogs Central

Or, you can find From the Left to the Right on Conservative Blogs Central (it’s now on page 3) by clicking this text.

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Tuesday, May 8, 2012

It's Not Fair (Part II)


Written : Apr. 30 and May 8, 2012


Mainstream talking heads used terms such as vicious, hateful, violent, among others, for the peaceful, polite, and orderly Tea Party protests. CNN reporter Susan Roesgen, with a condescending, sarcastic, and angry manner, reprimanded and lectured several intellectual men and women in Chicago on April 15, 2009. Visibly upset that anyone might their right to protest the current president’s policies, she tried to educate the crowd to the benefits of the stimulus bill. Ms. Roesgen labeled the gathering a party for Obama bashers, but why would a reporter use such a partisan tone? The supposed objective observer, at times sporting a scowl, interrupted her interviewees many times. For no apparent reason, and with no proof to back her up, she went off about how FOX News instigated the protest. She said, although no foul language permeated her report, that the segment was not for family viewing. Mainstream Media reporters covered the Tea Party in the same, slanderous way (using the charged pejorative "tea baggers," for example), as if to defend President Obama against an imaginary onslaught. The Tea Party protesters, actually from different political parties, oppose taxes and skyrocketing debt, and the inability to have a say about where their money gets spent.

At the same time, when Occupy Wall Street protesters, some violent, took to the streets, many of the same microphone holders took them seriously. They described these mobs as peace rallies, often using understanding and sympathy for the ruffians. Clearly divisive, they pitted the one percent vs. the 99 percent. How clever! Occupiers, appearing unaware, uneducated, and disorganized, committed sex acts and perpetrated violence against one another. They illegally blocked thoroughfares, called for the beheadings of bankers, promoted theft and vandalism, and defecated on police vehicles. Yet, the media portrayed them as geniuses. You're right, it's not unfair, it's unbelievable!

CNN, doing the right thing, did not offer Susan Roesgen a contract beyond July, 2009. Ms. Roesgen, (I tip my hat to her), instead of quitting, quietly works in Illinois to salvage her career by moderating local news shows. However, CNN and the rest of the lame-stream media should examine their distorted, unethical, and biased-beyond-belief reporting.


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Keywords: "Conservatism", "Conservative blog", "Mark A. Cohen", "From The Left to the Right", "Barack Obama", "Susan Roesgen", "Mainstream Media", "Occupy Wall Street"

See Mark's 'Author of the Month' page at Castle Rock's Local Gathering Place

Mark A. Cohen is currently seeking representation for his memoir, From The Left to the Right.

Mark A. Cohen is a member of and helps run the Parker Writers Group

Mark A. Cohen is a member of the Castle Rock Writers

Mark A. Cohen currently sits on the committee which will host the 2012 Castle Rock Writers Conference.

Mark A. Cohen spoke for about 30 minutes at the Douglas County Republicans’ First Friday Breakfast in Parker, CO, held at The War Horse Inn, on Dec. 2, 2011.

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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

It's Not Fair (Part I)


Written : Apr. 30 - May 1, 2012


The rallying cry of the left is, "It's not fair!" The right rarely uses it, but what if it did? Can we say it's not fair that the media sent an army of reporters to Alaska to dig up any dirt they could find on Sarah Palin (remember?). Many pushed each other out of the way to get the story of how Rick Perry didn't paint over a rock on his ranch - just for the chance to call him a racist. Meanwhile, they did not vet the current president. No one looked into his past, even if there was nothing of significance there, they didn't want to know, so they asked no questions and sent no swarm to find out.

Candidate Sen. Barack Obama said his family was off-limits in 2008, and we are not red or blue America, just one America. Now the president permits some of his operatives, Bill Maher and Hilary Rosen for example, to say slanderous things about Mitt Romney's wife and other conservatives. It's not one America anymore, but one of rich America squashing poor America. The discrepancy in Mr. Obama's changed tune (and tone) is not merely allowed, it’s ignored.

At the end of President Bush's second term the left called for his and VP Cheney's hanging for war crimes. Google still hits over 5 million entries for "Bush and Cheney War Criminals." Look it up if you don't believe me – and the media didn’t bat an eye. Many reporters didn’t openly support the call for ‘killing Bush,’ but they didn’t question the new precedent for holding trials for former presidents, either. However, the media considers off-limits any questioning of the current president's policies. God forbid they hold Attorney General Eric Holder even mildly accountable for the Fast and Furious gun scandal.

Can’t you hear the cry, “It’s not fair?”


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See Mark's 'Author of the Month' page at Castle Rock's Local Gathering Place

Mark A. Cohen is currently seeking representation for his memoir, From The Left to the Right.

Mark A. Cohen is a member of and helps run the Parker Writers Group

Mark A. Cohen is a member of the Castle Rock Writers

Mark A. Cohen currently sits on the committee which will host the 2012 Castle Rock Writers Conference.

Mark A. Cohen spoke for about 30 minutes at the Douglas County Republicans’ First Friday Breakfast in Parker, CO, held at The War Horse Inn, on Dec. 2, 2011.

Click on the logo below to get to the main CBC site:

Conservative Blogs Central

Or, you can find From the Left to the Right on Conservative Blogs Central (it’s now on page 3) by clicking this text.

You might also find From the Left to the Right on the left hand side (after clicking this text) under ‘navigation’ (scroll down a bit) – or, look for/search for/find the text ‘from the’

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