By JARED O’BRIEN
CASA GRANDE HIGH SCHOOL, 17, SENIOR

It is easy to forget that from the election of Dwight Eisenhower to the election of George H.W. Bush, California voted Democratic exactly once, for LBJ. The high water point for conservatism in California came when its 33rd governor, Ronald Reagan, won overwhelmingly in 1980 and 1984.
However, since the election of Bill Clinton, California has swung from a Republican bastion to a Democratic lock as Barack Obama received more than 61 percent of the vote in the Golden State. It is not like California is in love with Obama, as Hillary Clinton actually won the California primary. The state is in love with liberal ideals.
That is fine. There are plenty of states that grip their conservative ideals much harder than California’s newly found liberal agenda.
What is difficult is being a conservative like I am in a heavily blue area. My age group already is one likely to be liberal. Coupled with the fact that Sonoma County is competing with San Francisco and Marin counties to be the most politically left, I do not make very many political friends as a red in a blue sea.

Jared O'Brien of Casa Grande High School

It is extremely rare for me to initiate a political debate. When asked about my views, I just sheepishly smile and briefly and politely explain my views and leave it at that. I am not saying I will not engage in a debate, but I have found that to “win” the debate, a person must be loud, not necessarily factually accurate.
I have learned that people will not be persuaded and no amount of debating will change that. People who initiate political talks with someone they know are on the opposite side of the political spectrum are itching for a verbal fight.
So like many other conservatives, I have taken the silent route, choosing to believe in Nixon’s “Silent Majority” idea. I believe the disenchantment after failed promises of “hope” and “change” and addiction to government debt spending will ignite a conservative reemergence as evidenced by Scott Brown’s Senate victory in Massachusetts.
I sit back and listen to people slander conservative-leaning Fox News and other conservative media even though I can guarantee none of them have actually watched “The O’Reilly Factor,” “Hannity” or Glenn Beck. However, I have watched them, and I find them interesting and not the right-wing extremists as portrayed by the liberal-leaning other media. I can defend this position, but I find it better if people experience a few episodes to gain an authentic perception.
It is funny. You would think that everyone is a political expert as long as no one challenges them as they rant about their views. I remember a specific instance when someone blamed President Reagan for the recession in the 1970s. That is pretty difficult to attribute that to Reagan considering he was not sworn in until 1981.
I get the most sarcastic responses and scoffs when he comes to former President George W. Bush. Somehow he gained a reputation as a barely mentally functioning person in the minds of my classmates and teachers. Everyone cracks jokes without any actual merit yet fail to acknowledge any successes, such as his tactics preventing more 9/11-like terrorist attacks since he started the war on terror.
When I point out foolish decisions President Obama has made and claim he already has done damage to America, I receive responses as if I insulted a deity.
I have no animosity toward opposite views. I will continue to stick to my principles and if someone will actually listen, I will explain my side of the argument. When people commence arguing that my principles are wrong, I will just continue to nod and remember a quote by Winston Churchill: “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”