Aug. 24, 2010 — One of the fundamental differences between Republicans and Democrats is smaller or bigger government. It is also one of the issues the Tea Party Movement has raised the last couple of years — How much interference does an average American adult want from the U.S. government? For the most part those in the Tea Party Movement are conservatives and align themselves with the Republican Party, which for a while now has been the conservative party.

I know that I have had a hard time defining in simple words what a conservative is, or should I say why I am conservative, because many of my conservative views are not based on politics but on how I choose to live me life. As an adult, I choose to live within a framework of constraints. Gone are the college years of testing boundaries, thus putting others and myself in jeopardy. I guess you can say, I grew up and matured.   

That’s why my question in the headline: Does the government consider me mature or still a very young adult who needs to be told what to do? At some point after age 18 or 21, each contributing member of society has to take responsibility for his or her actions and not expect the government to “baby” them.   

Liberals believe in governmental action to achieve equal opportunity and equality for all, and that it is the duty of the state or the federal government to alleviate social ills and to protect civil liberties and individual and human rights.  They believe the role of the government should be to guarantee that no one is in need, and they tend to believe that people are basically good.    

Liberal policies generally emphasize the need for the government to solve people's problems.   

Conservatives believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional American values and a strong national defense.  They believe the role of government should be to provide people the freedom necessary to pursue their own goals.    

Conservative policies generally emphasize empowerment of the individual to solve problems.   I like having empowerment to solve my own problems. I was raised by my parents, teachers, spiritual leaders, friends, neighbors and government that by the time I was 21 I would be able to be an adult and take on the role necessary to be a functioning member of society. I was given the right to vote, hold a job, pay taxes and the other freedoms afforded an adult as long as I kept the law. Not a bad deal.   

If I kept the law, the law left me alone. Somewhere in the last 29 years that has changed, and those in charge decided too many adults were not taking care of themselves so they decided to interfere.    

A press release went out this week stating the Cal OSHA is looking at heat regulations and the writers of the release come from the “you aren’t capable of caring for yourself” group.    

Dr. Gina Solomon, associate clinical professor of Medicine at University of California, San Francisco and senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council said Cal OSHA should consider toughening the standards that give outdoor workers mandatory cool down breaks every hour when temperatures rise above 85 degrees Fahrenheit because most workers won’t take a break on their own fearing repercussions. If a boss is that big of a jerk, laws don’t change that. Find the jerks and nail them. If I were an outdoor worker, I would feel humiliated to learn that there are bleeding hearts out there who don’t think I was smart enough to know when I needed to drink water.    

The author of the press release, Fran Schreiberg is an attorney and she wrote, “California must do its very best to provide protection for the most powerless among us. These outdoor workers, many of whom are low-wage workers, play an underappreciated and vital role in making California great. These are the people who pick our vegetables, wash our cars, move our commerce in warehouses and on the docks, and build our roads and houses. Ensuring their most basic human needs — water, rest, shade — won’t cause a ripple in the state's grand river of commerce.”   

Many of my family members were blue collar workers like Schreiberg describes and I never thought of them as powerless. They were tough, hard working, voting people. I wonder if she is backhandedly saying she thinks those who do manual labor are not smart, are dense, are unable to care for themselves, are lacking common sense or using the nonpolitically correct phrase, are mentally slow. Hmm? Doesn’t sound like the landscapers, Army depot warehouse employees, construction builders, farmers and ranchers I know. It doesn’t   sound like the seasonal firefighters, forest personnel and even fire camp prisoners who work in this area.   

I know whom this liberal attorney is referring to, do you? But to be politically correct, disguise her racial bigotry and be part of the nanny state mentality she sugar coats whom she is talking about. Even the seasonal migrant workers and immigrant workers I have met are not powerless and idiots.