The Bold Independent Conservative Spirit Goes to Vegas

One important facet of conservative mindset as opposed to the liberal mindset became very apparent to me on a recent business trip to Las Vegas. 

Conservatives are more independent- they’re not afraid to travel alone, and they’re not afraid to break away from the group to do what they want to do. Liberals need the approval and security of a group. They must have their choices validated by others. Conservatives know what they like and don’t care if anyone else is with them.

A group of fifteen coworkers and I were sent to a convention at the Bellagio, and the schedule worked out so that most of us had some free time during the days to do as we pleased with. Each of us had made note of a few things we wanted to do in that spare time, but there was a stark contrast between how us conservatives approached our to-do lists and how the liberals did it.

On the first morning, most of us were free until 2pm and agreed to meet for breakfast at 9:00 to make plans for the day. 

Megan- a liberal- asked if anyone wanted to go see the shark tank at Luxor. It was clearly something she wanted to do. However, she seemed to be alone in that. When no one volunteered to accompany her, she simply did not go. 

“Well, I don’t wanna go alone,” Megan reasoned.  “I can’t just go off into Vegas by myself and if no one wants to do it it can’t be all that great anyways.”

Instead, she joined a group who was going to see a hypnotism show. She didn’t want to see the hypnotist, but that’s what everyone else was doing, so she surrendered her plans for theirs.

I wanted to go see the Mob Museum downtown, and I too brought it up at breakfast. As a conservative, however, I handled it differently. 

“Does anyone want to go the Mob Museum? I’m going there now and you can ride with,” I offered. No one accepted. Rather than letting it stop me I simply said, “Alright, I’ll see you in a few hours then,” and went on my merry way. 

Our little scene played out over pancakes perfectly illustrates a key difference in how liberals and conservatives view the world. 

Conservatives have an independent spirit. We aren’t reliant on anyone else for our happiness. We don’t need someone to validate our ideas. We see something we want, we just go for it. We have no fear of being alone in a strange city because we know how to rely on ourselves and trust our own decisions.

A liberal needs the approval of others. Look closely at the reasoning of my liberal coworker: no one else will do it with me, therefore it must be a lame idea so I will not go. 

If you read between the lines, you’ll also notice that she was afraid to go by herself. She “can’t” go off into Vegas “by herself.” 

Why not? Because she can’t rely on herself. She did not trust herself to manage her own itinerary. She was too afraid of some unspecified “what if” to take herself to an aquarium. She needed the validation, company, and support of another person in order to feel comfortable. 

I watched this same scenario play out time and time again. When we took an Uber downtown as a group one evening, we immediately spotted a zip line overhead, spanning about a mile of Fremont street. 

“I’m doing that!” I immediately yelled. 

“Me too!” a fellow conservative chimed in.

“I’ll come if you guys are going!” added Janette, a liberal. 

“What, like, you’re just this idiot flying over everyone in a stupid harness? What’s the point of that other then looking like a dorky tourist?” another liberal interjected. “I’m not going on that thing,” he stated, as if that would somehow discourage us from doing it.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” said Janette, looking wistfully at the zipline. “It does look stupid and touristy. I’ll just stay with you guys and walk then.”

Us two stupid tourists had the time of our lives being that flying idiot 115 feet over everyone’s heads. We put our arms out like Superman and pretended we were flying. Being tiny, I didn’t quite make it to the end and got stuck dangling awkwardly, face down in my harness waiting to be towed in. A lady on the street looked up laughing and took my picture. I struck a superman pose for her, laughing. I was ultimately fine. 

When I got down, I realized that the liberals had been standing there waiting for us so we wouldn’t be left alone for ten minutes. 

A conservative knows that there’s nothing wrong with that. We have an independent spirit to us. We are self-reliant and comfortable in our own skin. We don’t need anyone’s approval. 

Liberals…well, they miss out on a lot of fun.