Dear Mr. Turske

This is a response to an email I received from a friend. The email was a conservative persons view of America and what it means to be a conservative. He said he was the liberal-progressives worst nightmare because of his beliefs. I put the email in the comments section.

Dear Mr. Turske,
I am an American. I am the right wing, fundamentalist, nationalistic conservatives worst nightmare.
I am a teacher and I don't believe much of what is written in the bible.
I drive a VW because the US car companies don't build cars of the same quality and fuel efficiency as foreign car companies. If and when US car companies start making a car of the type, quality, and fuel efficiency I want, I will reconsider my decision.
I believe my money belongs to me not some foreign government in Iraq or Afghanistan or Israel or anywhere else. I don’t believe my money should be going to illegal wars in far off places that are doing nothing to keep me safe. My money shouldn’t be going to support corrupt regimes anywhere in the world. Period.
I am in touch with my feelings also.
I don't own a gun, don't want a gun, believe guns are dangerous, believe people should not have automatic weapons, and that makes me a smart American. If you think you want a gun for hunting you should be able to have a gun for hunting. If you think you want a gun for target shooting you should be bale to have a gun. If you think you want a gun for protecting your house from intruders you should be able to have a gun. If you think you should have a gun because you believe the government will try to forcibly take your gun, you are delusional.
I believe minorities do not think are they noble or want special treatment. They want fair and equal treatment. Minorities want the same treatment and opportunities as the descendants of northern Europeans. By all means if you work with the public you should be able to speak English but you should not be forced to learn English. You should learn English in school but if you want to speak another language among your family and friend you may do so. Nothing gives the government or private citizen the right to tell a person what language they can or can’t speak at home or in public.
Everyone has the right to worship god in any way they want but please don't force your religious views on me. Religion has no place in the government of this country. That includes all branches of the government.
My heroes are Jesus, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, John Shelby Spong, Sam Harris, Christopher Dawkins, Charles Darwin, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, FDR, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and Al Gore. People whom through their ideas and actions made a difference in the world and in America.
I don't hate the rich or pity the poor. Everyone should have the same opportunities to work hard and make him or herself better.
I have never been persecuted for being an American with any belief that is different from yours, and neither have you Mr. Turske. If you don't like my views or my beliefs I would never tell you to leave this country. I am an American and I love the United States and I am going to stay and try to change my country into the country I can be even more proud of but your right wing propaganda is not helpful. This is American and it can be better! If you don't like my vision of America you are free to leave and go live in whatever police state you want. I bet I can find recommendations for several countries (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia, North Korea, China, Sudan) where you views would fit in nicely. And take Limbaugh, Beck, Pat Robertson, Bill O'Reilly, Anne Coulter, Sarah Palin, Dick Cheney, and Fox News with you. We don't need their kind of un-American rhetoric here.
I want to know where Rush Limbaugh, Pat Robertson, Glenn Beck, Fox News, Bill O'Reilly, Dick Cheney, etc. get the nerve to say the hideous things they say about the president. They are more of a problem for our country then Jesse Jackson. Their diatribes and vitriol do more to damage to our country than anything Jesse Jackson has ever said and done. Enough already!
Police should pull people over for breaking the law but targeting certain groups because you think they are more likely to commit crimes then other groups is wrong.
Voting is a right to all citizens and the process should be easy enough for the average citizen to do.
More people would be working and off welfare rolls if there were a living wage in this country. Minimum wage is not a living wage and it isn't enough to cover daycare or health insurance costs. Getting work is one thing, being able to live on those wages is a complete other thing. People want to work but when there aren't jobs they do what they have to do to survive.
Two parents working together for the betterment of their children is certainly an admirable standard but when it doesn't work, it doesn't work. Can't change human nature.
Illegal is illegal because someone made a judgment about that thing. Yes there are certain things that are illegal and always should be illegal (murder, assault, stealing, etc.). Many of the other things that are currently illegal may not always be so. Times and societies change. Things that were illegal 50 years ago are no longer illegal today.
A flag is symbol of the country not the country itself. I love our flag and think it is beautiful but it is only a symbol. What the flag stands for is more important than the flag. We shouldn't worship the flag anymore than we should worship the bible.
This all makes me an American. I would rather be a good American than a bad American. In the end, goodness will prevail. I have my country and I love my country and I am not going anywhere. We are the home of the free because of many brave people not just soldiers. Many of our citizens stood up and said something was wrong and our country became better and more free because of it. I love my country and have the same right as you to express my opinion. That is one of the best things about our country. There are many things I am not happy about my country but the good far out weighs the bad.
You say you want your country back, I have to ask: where did your country go? It is still here. It is the same country it has always been. A country of hard work descendants of immigrants. We have problems we need to work together to solve but tearing each other down and tearing each apart is not helpful. Our country is in crisis and it isn't just because of liberals or conservatives. It is all of responsibilities to work together. My country is here and it will always be here. I love my country. I am not going to leave to am going to work with my fellow Americans to make our country better. How about you?