To the editor,

Congratulations, Mr. Obama. I am glad that you have figured out what Conservatives have known for a long time. Charity begins at home. Your call to service is admirable, yet a little “Johnny come lately.”

Although liberal families’ incomes average six percent higher than those of conservative families, conservative-headed households give, on average, 30 percent more to charity than the average liberal-headed household. People who reject the idea that “government has a responsibility to reduce income inequality” give an average of four times more than people who accept that proposition.

While conservatives tend to regard giving as a personal rather than governmental responsibility, some liberals consider private charity a retrograde phenomenon – a poor palliative for an inadequate welfare state, and a distraction from achieving adequacy by force, by increasing taxes.

I am sure that these facts will startle some, including Republicans. Why is this information not widely known? Simply, Conservative Republicans are modest people. They do not lend themselves to self-aggrandizement. A Conservative is a principled person that believes in the power of the individual much in the same way that Martin Luther King did. Equally, I am sure many will be surprised to learn that Mr. King was a Republican.

It is time for the silent majority of the Republican Party to be heard, to become vocal and stand for principle again. This left-leaning trek to the center is no more than capitulation and fear.

So while so many shiver in reverence to the new President of the United States, I say, good luck Mr. Obama, and welcome to what we Conservatives have known for a long time. Charity begins at home. I hope your service plans re-enforce this idea and do not include my tax dollars in your grand scheme.

Eric D. Miller

Stuart, Fla.