To the Editor:

“If you’re not a liberal at 20 you have no heart, if you’re not a conservative at 40 you have no head.” This quote has been expressed differently many times, but the essence of the thought remains the same. Many attribute this quotation to Winston Churchill; however, there is no record of him ever mak-ing that statement. However, it does not matter, because whoever said it provided us with a good perspective on political transitioning.

Whether you are a Democrat, or Republican, a liberal or conservative it will be difficult to argue against the fact that our younger people tend to be more liberal than conservative. After several years of experience, they begin to realize that it costs significantly more to support liberalism, and the transi-tion to conservatism begins. Not for all, but for a great majority of those entering the work force, fend-ing for themselves and realizing that being philosophically liberal does not pay the bills. More impor-tantly, they begin to realize that liberal welfare programs, although some very necessary, take away from their own well-being. It is easy to be liberal when financial responsibilities reside with others, however, when those responsibilities transfer to the individual, conservatism sets in. We do have an obligation to support those who cannot support themselves; unfortunately, over the years that principle has been abused so many times it is difficult to reconcile the liberal and conservative positions regarding the issue.

Since blaming seems to be the operative of choice, whom should we blame? Should we blame the young, who have a strong compassion to help others, especially those who are in desperate need? Should we blame our elders who are concentrated on providing an education, safe home, and shelter for their offspring? Or, should we be blaming the main-stream-media, who present biased positions in sup-port of individuals running for political office? Even, more importantly, how about blaming the “opin-ion” shows that constantly present biased misinformation in support of their politically sponsored ideologies.

Well, as we have seen in the past, blaming just doesn’t work. As long as biased partisanship continues and individuals do not do their homework regarding any of the controversial issues, we will continue to widen the divide in support of partisan politics. What concerns me is that liberals and conservatives will support their constituent positions because they are liberal or conservative, whether they agree with the position or not. I wonder what decisions would evolve if we did away with the associations of Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative. The mere fact that we have different political objectives should not deter us from making good decisions. But, we inevitably take the opposing position regardless of which decision would produce the maximum benefit to all people. I said it before and I’ll say it again: I am an American first. Whether I adopt a liberal or conservative position is dependent on the benefits of the proposal for all the people and not because of my political affiliation.

A.P. Roznicki

169 Hanover Road, Newtown         November 15, 2015