Unleashed

I can’t even remember when I first started writing about politics, but I’ve had a lot of practice. Each time I sit down, pen in hand, and start scratching on my yellow legal pad, I never know exactly what I’m going to write about, but I follow my instincts. They never fail me.

However, I do remember a certain calm, summer day. I was sitting patiently, tapping my pencil, waiting for the right words to fall into my head as I gave life to my very first column.

At that time, the War on Terror was the dominant political issue dividing the American public. I would turn on the TV and watch so-called “objective” journalists rail against our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. I listened to political gurus purport half-truths and even bald-faced lies to the American public about President Bush’s reasons for the invasion. I saw protesters burning flags, and waving not Old Glory, but posters reading, “Bush lied, children died!”

I was almost nervous to disagree with these people, and found myself asking, “Will liberals force us to lose yet another war we are capable of winning?”

So I gained the courage to tell the world my opinion, and dictated a short, sincere letter, entitled “Freedom worth fighting for,” to the largest newspaper in South Dakota. In it I passionately described why Americans fight and win wars, and why the invasion of Iraq was justified.

I mailed the letter, and several days letter, the editor called my dad. “Did your son really write that editorial?” the editor asked. My dad knew nothing about it, and told her yes, that if Joe had sent a letter to their newspaper, then it must have been all his doing. The editor was shocked; she said my letter would be printed in a few days.

I was 12 years old.

Looking back, I have to say that my editorial was a very good one. It used words that sent adults searching for their dictionaries, but I never anticipated the backlash that would follow.

When my letter was printed, I was ecstatic to see my name on the Voices page. I checked the newspaper’s website to see what kind of comments were being posted about my writing, and they cut me. Deep.

My article was filled with comments. People were accusing me of plagiarism and parroting the political beliefs of my parents. There isn’t a 12 year-old in America who can write like that, they said. Only one man, a soldier in Iraq, bothered to defend me.

To put it mildly, they stomped on me. But that wasn’t the worst of it.

I started receiving hate mail. That’s right; a 12 year-old was receiving horrifying letters because he thought he had the arrogance to express his opinion in print. Law enforcement got involved.

That is how the Left retaliated: they saw sincerity, passion and opposition in a 6^th grader and viciously attempted to silence me. (That’s when I discovered I was a columnist—if people were accusing me of plagiarism and sending me hate mail, then I knew I was doing something right).

This incident made me start thinking: liberals call the Democratic Party the party of youth. Democrats take pride in how much they value the input of young Americans, but when I dared to open my mouth, they filled it with vinegar.

That’s when I became a conservative. I realized that the Democratic Party did not share my politics, and the GOP couldn’t quite grasp my passion. Defending free speech, our flag, and human life; fighting for limited, Constitutional government, free enterprise, and fiscal responsibility; resisting tyranny and upholding justice; these values do not comprise a party platform, but a way of life.

Our nation has always been at war—whether it be the “war on drugs,” the “war on poverty,” or the “war to end all wars”—we have always been at the center of conflict. Today as we fight the War on Terror, we are also engaged in another struggle: this one is internal. It is a war of ideas, and I hereby declare myself a warrior, armed with pen and patriotism.

With the creation of this website, you and I embark upon a mission. It will be a long journey, and I will need your help to get the word out. But we will succeed; patriots always do.

I will close with two warnings to my Left-Wing counterparts:

To the liberals who demonized me after writing my first column, watch out: that 12 year-old is back.

And to the rest of you, be afraid: I’m the 12 year-old conservative your friends warned you about.