I was compelled to write this - it is about my mother. I thought I'd share.

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I am a firm believer in man's ability to reason. His ability to conform his thoughts to a particular set of facts and judge the best course of action accordingly. Political ideology on both sides of the proverbial aisle is so rigid that it leaves little room for compromise and far less space for reason.

My mother is slowly dying. She is in her final throws fighting a dehabilitating disease with little opportunity for recovery.

As a conservative, I am apt to side with my convictions that advance the banner of life at any cost. It compels me to urge my mother to fight because life, in of itself, is worth any amount of pain.

As a son, I am apt to side with the vulnerable parts of my psyche that are fearful of losing my mom. She raised me on her own and has been responsible for the man that I've become both as a father and as a husband.

These are somewhat selfish positions.

As a rational human being, I recognize that in certain stages of terminal progression of an unstoppable disease that the liberty of blazing your own path to relief will sometimes outweigh the irrevocable pain that increasingly pertrudes into everyday life.

The role of government should always strive to be one where individuals are free to pursue their limitless potential. Not just in an economic sense. Not just in a social sense. In all avenues or none at all. I am optimistic that in time we will recognize the importance of liberty and the best way to accomplish this is to encourage our fellow men and women to reason.

Do not live by ideology. Reason. A rational human being would not live by the exact same rules throughout their whole life. I am not saying we need to abandon our primary principles. Instead, recognize that circumstances change and that we evolve.