“Dad, I’m a Republican.”

I could imagine what was racing through my liberal father’s mind — that his 18-year-old, first generation Syrian-American daughter was identifying with a party associated with old, rich and white bigots. It’s not just my father who holds this common misconstrued perception of the GOP. 

I identify as one of the comparatively few Republicans on Pitt’s campus, and, from my experience, students often misinterpret the Republican Party and what it champions. I was raised by Syrian immigrants who came to America in their 20s. They identify with the opposing party, but I forged my own beliefs and views and found a party that matched my ideals, which include protecting civil liberties, limited government, and real social equality. 

I now identify as a Republican. 

While college students commonly trumpet liberal ideologies, most misconceive aspects of the Republican Party that, if properly identified, would be attractive to them. 

To start, the Republican Party is closely aligned with this country’s founding principles. Its patriotic resonance is no coincidence — with pride, we adhere to the values and ideals instituted by our country’s Founding Fathers.

“I think that it’s important not to forget what the Founding Fathers had envisioned for this country,” Cameron Linton, president of Pitt College Republicans, said. “Society changes, but the principles this country was built upon should not.”  

As a member of Pitt College Republicans, I know that many contemporary Republican politicians stress abiding by the Constitution. 

“My touchstone for every question is the Constitution,” Ted Cruz, Texas Senator and 2016 GOP presidential candidate, said. 

The mainstream media often mocks Republicans for their overzealous patriotism. But, having experienced the more oppressive Middle East, I appreciate this aspect of the GOP platform. I take pride in the degree to which they advocate for being proud of American values, such as our freedoms ensured in the Bill of Rights. 

Critics often accuse Republicans of hating the poor, opposing welfare and being greedy capitalists blessed with privilege and lacking regard for the less fortunate. People accuse big businesses of being too money-hungry to raise the minimum wage, for example. 

These accusations against Republicans and their free market principles are simply not true. We believe in equality that stems from opportunity, not condition. Government cannot be the only method by which we achieve equality. Government should try to create equal opportunity, but it does not need to guarantee equal results. That is up to the individual.

Governmental efforts to redistribute wealth have not made the poor significantly richer. A 113th Congress House Budget Committee report shows a 15 percent poverty rate in 2012 versus 17.3 percent at the onset of President Johnson’s “War on Poverty,” a decline far too slim and reliant on natural economic cycles to be considered a triumph for big government.

The Republican Party seeks to counter the poverty rate by promoting strong families, education and work. The Rev. Robert Sirico, author of “Defending the Free Market,” writes that jobs are the best anti-poverty program. A House Budget report called “The War on Poverty: 50 Years Later” also suggests the breakdown of the family as one of the main causes of poverty. Although more men and women are seeking high powered careers that can sometimes get in the way of stable family relationships, there is no reason that career ambition and a successful family life, if one wishes for that, must be mutually exclusive. 

According to The New York Times, 38 percent of public school students were eligible for free or reduced lunches in 2013, and this rate is rising. Our government must reform our social programs to elevate individuals from such indigent conditions. But Republicans understand that the government taking from the rich to give to the poor exacerbates the already worsening problem by creating “class warfare.” 

The GOP encourages a system in which everyone works hard for prosperity. One’s background certainly influences certain available opportunities, but with the help of charity, scholarships and hard work, every American has the opportunity to gain success. For some more than others, such success is often difficult, but if individuals can achieve success anywhere, America allows them perhaps their greatest chance. No system is perfect, but ours is a system that most of the world’s population only dreams of having..

Moreover, for our country to achieve economic growth, we must limit the size of government. Specifically, the federal government should stay out of social matters whenever possible, and reserve governance and public policy to the state and local levels. More than 42 million Americans are now on food stamps, according to The Wall Street Journal. This number of people are destitute and totally dependent on the government.. The large number of citizens on social welfare is one example of big government’s effects of creating a dependence that citizens could possibly exploit, and this is unfair to the impoverished. 

Large federal government intervention in society affects more than just our country’s indigent population. Substantial federal government regulations can cause the destruction of small businesses. According to Forbes, at the end of 2012, the number of federal regulations affecting small companies was 13 percent higher than in 2008 — an alarming increase. The Federal Register, the official government journal of federal regulations, totals more than 80,000 pages. Imagine having to comply with an 80,000-page rulebook — that’s the struggle of American business owners. Their struggle is an ugly reality of big government.

Republicans favor a freer, capitalist-oriented economic system in which individuals and businesses are less burdened by an overreaching government. Taxes are a central part of this goal. 

“I think that I’m a Republican because when I got my first paycheck in my first year of high school, the government took 20 percent of it,” Linton said. 

True equality, small government, low taxes — these are the principles that create a fair, peaceful and prosperous society, and thankfully these principles remain the foundation of today’s Republican Party.  

Marlo Safi primarily writes about politics and public policy for The Pitt News.

Write to Marlo at [email protected].