Hello, again!

Hello, again!

After a lapse of over four years, in which I posted no new entries in "The Art of Conservatism", I'm back, re-introducing myself, and starting this up again. Let's go!

What you're now reading is an almost new Conservative blog, among many Conservative blogs, yes, I know, called The Art of Conservatism. My name is Art Reis. 

I am a Conservative. Not just a Conservative, but a Tea Party Conservative. I'm not the type who was a Liberal in my early life, but who then grew up. My parents actually raised me this way. I was the only Conservative in my class at Pontiac Northern High School in Michigan, I was a Goldwater guy, and my social studies teacher hated my guts for it, enjoying the practice of pitting me up against the rest of the class. As a matter of fact, a lot of my peers hated me too for that reason. I could have sued as a suppressed minority. 

While I'm not classically trained in politics, I took the required boilerplate political science courses in college, and from that albeit Liberal training, I still managed to learn a lot. Although the professors there were decidedly Liberal, they still had some truths to tell. No matter. I stayed the course, and while it has cost me some (my mother went rogue to the Dark Side, big time, late in life, and wrote all of her children out of her will) it hasn't changed my resolve. I've read a lot and I have to read more, but I have ideas on restoring this country to the greatness it had before, many of which are shared by other pundits as well, but even so, I'm not afraid to send them out there to be shot down or made policy for this country, and for my home state of Illinois.

At around age 12, I heard the first broadcast I would ever hear of the great Paul Harvey. I was transfixed, because alone of the newscasters of that time, he validated all the conservative principles I had. More importantly, Paul had an almost God-like way with words; no one in the media could turn a phrase better than he could, and some tried. I learned about as much about life and government and politics from him as I learned from my parents, and that's saying something, since my own father was incredibly literate and knew a thing or two of his own about getting a point across in the most unforgettable way. Between my dad and Paul Harvey, I was well led toward becoming the kind of principle-oriented Conservative that I am today.

At this point in my life, I'm supposed to be retired, but instead I am far from it. I still work in the geek side of Broadcasting, but now I've added indulging my passion for writing as an avocation, and I love it. Yes, it's a learning experience, but it's not my first foray into Conservative writing. For almost four years, I proudly served on the editorial board for the Crawford Broadcasting Company, where the group station owner, Mr. Don Crawford, and Company Program Director Bill McCormick, were my mentors and provided encouragement. Both are wonderfully fine gentlemen, with whom I am proud to have been associated. Before that, I spent 14 years editing and publishing a newsletter for Amateur Radio operators. So I do have some chops in the game. Even so, I consider this blog to be a learning experience, and I want to learn from you, my readers as well.

On the personal side, and since my first two entries in this blog, I have re-married. I was rescued from emotional oblivion by a most wonderful lady who has become the great love of my life. My first wife Susie was a political Conservative who, however, did not really like politics much. My present wife and girlfriend, Kathy, was raised a Chicago Machine Democrat, who, however, doesn't like politics all that much either, even though she was an election judge for over twenty years. We refer to ourselves as being in a Mixed Marriage. I've learned that she's more of a Conservative than she lets on, but she won't hear of it. Still, our political debates, when they happen, are a part of what makes our marriage vibrant, and for that I am grateful.

I never expect you the reader to agree with me on all that I will put into this blog, but I do hope that I give you both thoughtful encouragement and hope, through well-thought-through Conservative ideas. With out collective efforts, hopefully one day this wonderful United States of Americans can be restored to the greatness that it once had, and that I truly believe it can have again.