So, why am I not a conservative?

Alternative title: Why I am a Liberal.

I assume that not everyone reading this knows that I was raised a Southern Baptist Republican in a family that preferred Reagan to Roosevelt. So, what happened to me? Here is the short version:

I am a short male, but I bought into the male superiority. As I matured, I realized my limitations in that paradigm. Some of the women I admired could out-do me physically (though not many) and all of them were easily my mental and intellectual equal if not superior. As that contradiction became clear to me, I began to question those assumptions that would prefer a male over a female.

In the church, that sexism was reflected in male superiority, especially in the Baptist church. Women were not to be ministers, deacons, or even to lead men in Sunday School classes. What a crock. I remember asking someone I respected why women were unfit for ministry, and he responded with a shrug. He didn't know either. The slippery slope was engaged. I was not questioning the assumptions I had been raised with.

Once that sexism was rejected, much of the rest of the assumptions I had been raised with were open to question. Literal Bible. Equal playing field for all. The superiority of certain Christian beliefs.

This does relate to politics, just bear with me. As I began to question those religious assumptions, the political ones followed.