About the Author

Hi,
My name is Susan Shannon.  I am basically a conservative, Independent, news junkie .  I love to know what is going on around me.  But it wasn’t always this way- I used to blithely go about my day spouting uber-liberal opinions around San Francisco, CA without having watched a single day of news in the entirety my 25 years of life.  I was a single issue voter (abortion rights) that rejected all conservative thought because of it.  I have always been very religious (Christian), but felt the need to be a ‘cool’, ‘informed’ and ‘intelligent’ Christian to my liberal friends.  I abhorred all those ‘ignorant, red necked, embarrassing’ people that claimed to be Christians.  I was absolutely shocked at the Republican landslide in 1994- I actually felt America had been overtaken by ignorant farmers!

All that changed on Sept. 11, 2001.

Like so many Americans, I had absolutely no idea what had happened or why.  I had, of course, caught wisps of news events in years past- I vaguely remembered conservatives like Gingrich (whom I hated at the time) hammering Clinton about his weak response to the U.S.S. Cole bombing in 2000.  But I didn’t understand why it was such a big deal.  To me, it seemed like an insignificant group of dirty, skinny little guys just got lucky with their little boat full of dynamite.  I said, “so what? these people are no threat to America!  Why is that jerk, Gingrich, making such trouble?”  I felt he was just being political and hateful toward Pres. Clinton.  I couldn’t stand all the accusations he was leveling at the Clintons (including the Lewinsky affair)- to me, he was an international embarrassment to all Americans.  I felt that he was preventing our government and Clinton from doing its job.   I thought President Clinton was a good president.  (I still have no real ire toward him, as president, except that I learned he had shrunk our military so severely.)

On 9/11, I discovered the depths of my ignorance and arrogance.  I was completely lost in the ensuing debate- why Afghanistan?  who was Al Qaeda?  Bin Laden?  Why were the people in Muslim countries cheering so insanely as they watched the towers burn and fall?  All I knew was that I was an American.  I loved my country and was absolutely furious.  I was ready for war- hell, I was ready to sign up for the Army.  But I hated that I was so confused.  I was suddenly thirsty for real facts and information.  On 9/12, I bought books and began to scour news archives online.  I also watched CNN & Fox News non-stop  for several years.

The result is that I am now a staunch conservative.  I marvel at my earlier arrogance and ignorance, but am glad I experienced it.  Now I understand how the youth blindly follows Obama.  I also see beneath the thinly supported outbursts of most liberals.  I, too, used to just call people ‘ignorant’, ‘racist’, and acted as if the conservative scum before me was simply beneath my attention- I did this as I flounced off with my middle finger in the air behind me.  What no one saw was my immense relief to be away from that conservative.  I knew I had no actual proof for my opinion- I also had not understood the news reference he had used for his argument (as I never watched the news).  I simply ‘knew’ I was right and he was wrong.  Period.  Oh, I laugh when I see liberals do this now!  I KNOW why they flounce away.  Why they need to just call names, degrade conservatives, and especially, why they always LEAVE the argument.  They know they will look like idiots if they stay.  But deep down inside, they do actually believe they are right.  Been there, done that.

I like that I was a liberal and that research, reading and facts forced me to drop old, strongly held opinions.

For liberals who might be checking out my blog, I acknowledge that there are reasonable liberals who can support their arguments with facts and without hysterics or name calling.  I welcome you to my blog!  I am ready to learn more in this life.  Show me why your positions on the economy, government, environment, religion, etc and let’s have a robust debate.  I warn you, however, that I have grave doubts that I will agree with you.  The more I learn, the more conservative I become- not the other way around.  It just happens that way for me.  I have heard a few liberals’ opinions on subjects like capital punishment which had powerful effects on me.  I just want to say that I am open to being convinced on another person’s opinion.  As I stated in my ‘A Thinking Nobody is a Dangerous Nobody’, I am seeking the Truth- not to be ‘right’ or to ‘win’.  If we disagree, help me to see the truth as you see it.  At the minimum, it will make us more friendly toward each other’s positions and hopefully, more respectful of one another.

As for me personally, I am a small business owner, a college graduate, a wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend.  I have a dog.  I also love cats.  I’m not rich and I’m not poor.  I went to public schools through high school.  I am an Army brat- my father is basically a generic white guy and my mother is Korean.  I have lived in 23 different places, several of which were overseas.  I tend to get into trouble with people  because I hate hypocrisy and tend to address it when I see it.

You will figure out the rest as we go.

Susan