PrintDecember 4, 2010
Young and Conservative in Manhattan
In the early 2000s, it was hard to be anything but a lefty coming out of New Jersey -- especially for a kid. No surprise, then, that I grew up liberal, spending my formative years as I did in a progressive Jersey private school. My science classes got me worried about anthropogenic global warming (taught in terms a kid could understand), and I wanted a fuel-efficient car not for the savings, but for my carbon footprint. "Catholic" to me meant "Bible à la carte," and I venerated a woman's right to choose once I was old enough to think about such things. (Remember, I came of age before the Kevin Jennings era.)I started tilting right in my sophomore year of high school. It had a lot to do with my burgeoning desire to be self-sufficient, to drive a car and work a job and distinguish myself on my own. And the more politically aware I became, the less I saw of that self-determined spirit on the left. My transformation was complete by November 2004, when I...(Read Full Article)
