Being Politically Weird

Being a conservative in a politically left community

By Darryl Weng

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I despise cheese, but I will eat pizza, preferably Domino’s. I love cake, but I hate butter. I’ve been unrelatable in many ways. Being a conservative at school hasn’t really helped my case to be relatable.

Most of my fellow highschoolers are either non-political, progressive, or didn’t want to be labeled as a conservative. Clearly “logical,” I created a conservative youth club, thinking many people would join. The obvious result? Basically no one joined. So, I advertised volunteering for a “Election Integrity Forum” by the Red Cardinal Institute as a way to increase presence in my club. When I arrived at the forum, the only other volunteer besides me was a friend who was a German exchange student, and the most progressive person I’ve ever personally known. As my friend and I were signing in all the participants of the forum, I couldn’t help but notice the bizarre scenario I found myself in. Not only was I the only asian and had a different skin color than the rest of the participants, the only other volunteer, my German friend, for the evidently Republican event was extremely liberal and not even American.

How I managed to convince a non-American liberal rather than a fellow American conservative to enjoy a Republican event still stumps me. Being conservative in Northern Virginia has made me see what minority feels like. Progressives certainly don’t want to be a part of the conservative cause, and conservatives my age have reservations. In my area, conservative youth organizations are nearly inactive, Democrat/liberal youth organizations are everywhere, and nearly all Young Republican Clubs in my county’s high schools are wiped out or nearly inactive. I guess that’s why people thought I was crazy when I created a local conservative youth club, but, till today, I see my creation of my conservative club extremely logical. I’m just a conservative and have a passion for conservative causes.

It doesn’t matter if my county doesn’t follow a newly-elected Republican governor’s executive orders or if a GOP supporter at my school was assaulted. I aid conservative causes, because I love my country, believe in freedom, and won’t bow down to the adversity of the many people who try to brand me as an outcast.

Many people around me find my conservative efforts and views baffling and unrelatable, but I won’t let that stop me from fighting the everyday political norms I see made by the progressives. I hate being the minority, but I love to fight for a conservative cause when I’m given a chance.