Note: This is the fourth of a series, “Brainwashed, Incurious, Hard-Hearted or Bamboozled?” The previous installments can be found here.

I have often recounted that my conversion to conservatism began in my late teens, after I left home and began to examine what I believed and how that compared and contrasted with the platforms of the predominant American political parties.

I concluded that the values instilled in me by my parents, who were and are lifelong and loyal Democrats, were more representative of the Republican Party than the Democrats. My parents responded to my question about this dichotomy with the statement, “Republicans hate black people,” a statement at odds with history, my own personal experiences and even my parents’ history since they grew up in a South that was Democrat and hostile to black freedoms and aspirations.

I decided I couldn’t compromise my integrity in that manner, and reached my own conclusions. I’ve learned and experienced so much more since then, but nothing has caused me to deviate from my decision to live out my values in every area of my life, including the political arena.

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