I am a conservative who finds his beliefs and morals constantly harassed, mocked and insulted by liberals all over the place.

Conservatives are characterized as evil, suit-wearing businessmen laughing in sky scrappers at how much money they make off the suffering of the little guy. Or, ironically, sometimes they are characterized as the opposite, such as hillbilly red-necks living in the back woods, married to their sister, whose wedding dress was made out of the Confederate flag. Rarely in the media are they represented accurately, or fairly.

So, what exactly is a conservative and what do they believe? I cannot speak for everyone who considers themselves conservative, but I can speak for the vast majority.

A conservative comes in all shapes, sizes, colors, ages and backgrounds. They can be African-American, or Indian-American. Conservatives can’t tell the difference because they look at all people the same way, equal individuals given rights from the creator above. Race and sex are not important; the individual is.

Conservatives believe the Constitution gains its power and legitimacy from the Declaration of Independence.

Both are inseparable and must be understood from the context in which they were written, not by today’s standards. The government is obligated to serve all Americans as the Constitution dictates.

Conservatives believe judges are to strictly interpret the law by what is in the Constitution and other correctly-decided court decisions, not create laws to fit their ideological fixes.

Conservatives believe the right to practice ones own religion how one sees fit shall not be infringed upon, and neither shall the right of Americans to own guns, even at state and local levels.

Guns are not evil. Some people wielding guns are, but that is why we, as Americans, are allowed to keep firearms in the first place: for protection.

Conservatives believe the Constitution guarantees the right to life, and as such, Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided. Abortion is murder.

Conservatives believe the government that governs best, governs least. This means less bureaucracy, more efficiency and a need for less taxation. Two great quotes come from two great American politicians. Former President Ronald Reagan said, “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Former Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater said, “A government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away.”

This is merely the tip of the iceberg. I could go on and on, but these beliefs make up the core of conservatives: small government, less taxes, large individual freedoms and the belief in it all comes from a higher source.

Perhaps this sort of problem wouldn’t exist if those in the media gave everyone a fair shake. All too often one side is permitted to speak its mind consequence free, and most often it is the liberal side. Not to take an overused phrase, but more news outlets need to be like Fox News and report but let you decide.

So, the next time you hear someone call a conservative a red neck or an evil businessman, kindly point out their assumptions are wrong.

If it were true all conservatives are either evil businessmen or hillbilly red-necks, then it would be safe to assume all liberals are either pinko-commie hippies, sitting around smoking LSD-heroine mixtures, talking about how great the 60s were, or seven-foot tall hermaphroditic lust-fiends marching around wearing rainbows and complaining America is a racist, homophobic and sexist place.

I’m sure neither picture is accurate, but I can’t speak for liberals.

Columns reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Northern Star staff.