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My father is the only Republican within my large extended family of Democrats. Being the impressionable child that I was, comments from my cousins and uncles made me view Republicans as “bad” and Democrats as “good.”

As I matured and began to experience the world, I developed my own set of values and found that, for the most part, they aligned with a modern conservative philosophy — which in this day and age seems almost synonymous with classical liberalism.

I believe in laissez-faire economics, limited government and individual freedom, to name a few. As a result, I am very much pro-choice in reproductive health for abortion. I still can’t quite figure out how the Republican party abandoned one of its core ideals and how so many people find it possible to accept this incongruity in their beliefs.

I believe a woman’s freedom to decide what she wants to do with her body is ethically responsible and principally correct. Perhaps my opinion is influenced by my socially liberal family, but I think it has more to do with my ideals of personal autonomy.

I didn’t arrive at this view blindly. It took research, data, thoughtfulness and a willingness to deviate from conventional politics and thought policing. So before taking a position on abortion, I reviewed the conservative and liberal arguments and found I agreed with the left on this particular issue.

This felt like an odd phenomenon at first, since most politicians I see in the news rarely deviate from their party’s platform. In fact, not many people I know, regardless of political affiliation, are willing to admit that the opposing party has a better argument. Rep. Mike Johnson, a Republican congressman from Louisiana, has 7 Core Principles of Conservatism which state that the government “should always aim to maintain and increase the liberty of the American people.” Therefore, would it not be a violation of their liberty for the government to dictate what people can and cannot do with their bodies?

Despite his tenet of individual freedom, Johnson is one of Congress’s main leaders in the pro-life movement. His hypocrisy alone illustrates Republicans’ detachment from so-called core principles, yet the fact remains that being pro-life is currently considered a central conservative value.

Jacques Megnizin | Design Editor

Even though I am pro-choice, I still consider myself a Republican. I don’t need to subscribe to every concept or every policy. There’s room for nuance and disagreement even in my own thinking. I have noticed that people can be blinded by conformity — so allegiant to their party that they deny the reasonableness of the opposing viewpoint.

Conformity is a psychological trait of being human; it makes us feel secure, especially when we lack the confidence to diverge from the norm. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, “people sometimes conform to groups because they are uncertain about the correctness of their beliefs and believe the group is more likely to be correct than they are.”

So when it comes to straying from your rigid and resolute political party, acceptance will always feel like the safer route. As a result, a groupthink mentality — a tendency to conform without critical reasoning to avoid upsetting others — develops, which promotes a partisan divide and creates a culture of political apathy.

I urge everyone to step outside their normal route and take ideological risks. I believe diverging is critical not only for innovation but also for individual development.

Being pro-choice as a conservative has given me the freedom to deviate from hardline positions and made me receptive to other ideas. The first step away from the herd is always the hardest, but now I am more open to revision when faced with new issues, either political or social.

I’ve now noticed when discussing issues with my peers, especially here at Syracuse University, people are more willing to listen to my opinions because they know I’m willing to acknowledge theirs.

Ronan Hussar is a freshman finance major. He can be reached at rahussar@syr.edu.

Published on January 31, 2023 at 11:53 pm