I remember hearing a talk show host describe how a school board in Torrance was successful in defeating a Christian candidate and remember feeling glad that there were others out there working to keep radical influences away from our children. I never questioned the premise that Christians were considered radical.
I adopted as fact the headlines I saw on the news. I was busy living my life. It wasn't until 1992 that I became aware that I had only been exposed to one side of the story. I was not even aware that there was a conservative point of view.
In 1992, Ross Perot was on TV holding up a toilet seat. Perot said the Air Force had paid something like $700 for that toilet seat. He then said the 5 words that changed my life forever. "And this is public knowledge."
Huh? I decided to check out his claim. And I found that, yes, that information was public knowledge. Only problem was, the media in Los Angeles had never reported it. Just as they never reported anything other than the liberal point of view.
After some searching, I latched onto National Review Magazine and the Washington Times. What I found when reading those publications made my blood boil. There was a whole school of thought out there that I had never been exposed to. The conservative point of view. And I found I agreed with their premises.
No matter how thin the pancake, there are always two sides. For 22 years, I had only been exposed to one side of the story. And I came to find that side I had been exposed to was far different from what I had been led to believe. Shame on me.
I assumed that my husband, family and friends would be just as angry as I when I informed them of my new insights. I quickly found out that, then, as now, they were totally opposed to hearing any facts that challenged their long held views.
Long story short, I became a pariah. Conservative views were simply not tolerated back in the 90s in Los Angeles. When I persisted in voicing my opinions, most of my relationships suffered. My husband left me and my family made clear that there must be something wrong with me. I got tired of the raised eyebrows and condescending smiles. I realized nothing I said would penetrate. The frustration drove me to anger, which pretty much nixed any chance I had of influencing others to my new point of view.
For 8 years, the only place I could be myself was when I covered conservative gatherings. Finally, a stray news item had a catalytic effect on me. I found that 7th graders in San Francisco were being taught how to fist (a homosexual practice — enough said). Under the guise of teaching tolerance, my tax dollars were being used to fund a weekend "health" fair that brainwashed children into believing that the gay lifestyle was normal — merely a lifestyle choice. That was the last straw.
I took off on a cross country trip, seeking a place where I could be myself and where my tax dollars wouldn't be continually funding policies with which I fundamentally disagreed. I finally decided on South Carolina. I sold my business and home and left California for good.
I miss many things about California. But after last Tuesday's election, I realize that living in California is no longer an option for me.
The blatant media malfeasance, the lack of intellectual diversity and the continuing reign of liberal politicians guarantees that California will remain mired in failed liberal policies for the foreseeable future. And I will not condone paying the taxes the state insists upon when I know the money will be spent on promoting a largely discredited liberal agenda. That's not the America I want to live in.
Since 2002, several of my friends have also left California for good. Studies show that the only increase in population in California right now are immigrants. Which begs the question: Who will be paying the taxes required to fund the utopian agenda put in place by far-left liberals? And how long can California continue to ignore reality before the whole state comes crashing down?
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's possible Governor-elect Moonbeam can solve the state's fiscal crisis. Just because he's a lifetime member of the far left doesn't mean he can't change his stripes and usher in the reforms California so desperately needs. By golly, I just saw a pig fly right by my window!
Nancy Morgan is a columnist and news editor for conservative news site RightBias.com She lives in South Carolina.
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