The Making Of A 9/11 Republican

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 2/24/5 | Cinnamon Stillwell

[Valin]

Cinnamon is an active FReeper and was a leader as the SF Chapter (all 20 of us LOL)

Quality not Quanity.

20 Freeper against (?)thousands of loony toon lefties? They don't stand a chance!

[Primetimedonna]

Thanks for the Ping! I'm forwarding this to a bunch of friends....conservative AND liberal!!

[prairiebreeze]

excellent op-ed

[Peach]

Having been indoctrinated in the postcolonialist, self-loathing school of multiculturalism, I thought America was the root of all evil in the world.

Now that I'm mentoring in school, I see this is a bigger problem than I'd originally given credence to. It's a major problem but glad the writer was able to overcome their earlier indoctrination to write such an excellent letter.

[Chgogal]

BTTT...........I think I slept too long!

This in the SFC. Unbelievable!

[TheForceOfOne]

A tree grows in Brooklyn San Francisco?

[SmithL]

On the Columnist page at the Chronicle, her's is identified as "Conservative commentary from an ex-liberal." You know that printing that had to hurt them, since they assume that conservatives are either stupid or just haven't seen the light, yet.

[TheForceOfOne]

I use to read the Baltimore SUN which is very liberal, I'm sure you have heard of all the nonsense going on with them and the Maryland Governor. While the entire paper spills editorial commentary from the opinion pages into their perspective of the news, they claim legitimacy in non biased reporting. When I see columns from people in the opinion section from Linda Chavez and a couple others it is in the extreme minority when it happens. I am not sure why they allow conservative commentary when they do, but I'm sure it has to do something with trying to offset something else being stated in liberal terms that shows a complete bias bordering on outrage and they can use these columns to say, see were fair. The decline in circulation of this paper and others at some point has to create a breaking point of biased reporting versus survival by becoming more balanced. Some will go down with the ship while others will jump ship from the liberal arena of journalism for profit.

[Tolik]

Cinnamon Stillwell:

....Having been indoctrinated in the postcolonialist, self-loathing school of multiculturalism, I thought America was the root of all evil in the world. Its democratic form of government and capitalist economic system was nothing more than a machine in which citizens were forced to be cogs. I put aside the nagging question of why so many people all over the world risk their lives to come to the United States. Freedom of speech, religious freedom, women's rights, gay rights (yes, even without same-sex marriage), social and economic mobility, relative racial harmony and democracy itself were all taken for granted in my narrow, insulated world view.

So, what happened to change all that? In a nutshell, 9/11. The terrorist attacks on this country were not only an act of war but also a crime against humanity. It seemed glaringly obvious to me at the time, and it still does today. But the reaction of my former comrades on the left bespoke a different perspective. The day after the attacks, I dragged myself into work, still in a state of shock, and the first thing I heard was one of my co-workers bellowing triumphantly, "Bush got his war!" There was little sympathy for the victims of this horrific attack, only an irrational hatred for their own country.

...Never mind that every country in the world acts in its own self-interest, forms alliances with unsavory countries -- some of which change later -- and are forced to act militarily at times. America was singled out as the sole guilty party on the globe. I, on the other hand, for the first time in my life, had come to truly appreciate my country and all that it encompassed, as well as the bravery and sacrifices of those who fight to protect it.

Thoroughly disgusted by the behavior of those on the left, I began to look elsewhere for support. To my astonishment, I found that the only voices that seemed to me to be intellectually and morally honest were on the right. Suddenly, I was listening to conservative talk-show hosts on the radio and reading conservative columnists, and they were making sense. When I actually met conservatives, I discovered that they did not at all embody the stereotypes with which I'd been inculcated as a liberal.

Although my initial agreement with voices on the right centered on the war on terrorism, I began to find myself in concurrence with other aspects of conservative political philosophy as well. Smaller government, traditional societal structures, respect and reverence for life, the importance of family, personal responsibility, national unity over identity politics and the benefits of living in a meritocracy all became important to me. In truth, it turns out I was already conservative on many of these subjects but had never been willing to admit as much.

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Moral Clarity BUMP !

This ping list is not author-specific for articles I'd like to share. Some for perfect moral clarity, some for provocative thoughts; or simply interesting articles I'd hate to miss myself. (I don't have to agree with the author 100% to feel the need to share an article.) I will try not to abuse the ping list and not to annoy you too much, but on some days there is more of good stuff that is worthy attention. I keep separate PING lists for my favorite authors Victor Davis Hanson, Lee Harris, David Warren, Orson Scott Card. You are welcome in or out, just freepmail me (and note which PING list you are talking about).

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on or off this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

[Zivasmate]

Here's a copy of the email I sent her:

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Welcome to political reality. We live in the greatest country the world has ever known, and so few of us appreciate it.As you have come to realize, the Left is out to destroy the founding principles of our nation, except when using them for their own political convenience.

As an observant Jew, I also appreciate your seeing the light in the Israel vs. Palestinian conflict.To see the Left side with a bunch of terrorists simply sickens me.

I am tempted to ask you what took you so long, the Left being who they are well before 9/11, but better late than never.

I enjoyed reading your column and wish you much success in helping to carry the banner of the Right.

[bboop]

It's my story too.

[thegreatbeast]

When you understand that the radical muslims want to kill YOU the nature and breadth of the conflict becomes hypnotizingly clear.
Good article.