You're right. I'm sorry, it is public. "Safe zone" was an obnoxious choice of words.   I am responding viscerally to the posts in this thread--not always a good idea. Ron, I will stand by my claim that our basic values are conservative. Maybe we have different views on what constitutes conservatism? My basic take on conservatism is that it celebrates self reliance, a limit on taxation, a wariness towards goverment solutions to societal issues, (including military intervention in foreign countries, health care and personal freedoms) Included in my sentence on America being basically conservative was the reality that we are also reflexively generous...but not to the point where we want huge sums of money thrown at the problems of our society, and not to the point of being dictated to by others countries who do not share our interests and risks. To me, this is very different than right wing social activism. I think it cuts a broad swath through our culture. I also think it takes on different characteristics in different parts of the country. I think it has been reinforced through every wave of immigration to our country. What is the closest thing to "the heartbeat of america." ( a jingle coined for Chevy by a popular American Folksinger)