Political labels being used during the election (thought, liberal, conservative)

[Marines4Commonsense]

It seems there is an obsession with certain characters (on the Presidential Election forum), so I had to come up with a catchy phrase (“Palin nailed by Joe the Plumber”) that would grab one’s attention.

Now that I have your attention this thread is really about the political labels being used by members of this forum, the media and politicians.

When it comes to politics, we are hung up on labels. Everywhere you turn, somebody is assigning a political label—short-hand for what the other person's political philosophy or ideological leanings are perceived to be.

Conservative, Liberal, Secessionist and now Socialist (the latest buzzword) are nothing more than political labels being thrown around in an attempt to define a person's ideology.

Many of us tend to categorize someone's ideas to avoid real thinking about actual issues. I dislike labels because it pigeonholes others in a fashion that may be quick and convenient but is usually superficial and misleading.

In a nutshell, when someone's philosophy is labeled and compartmentalized, thinking stops and name-calling begins. It’s no secret that members on this forum are constantly pinning labels on each other. This constant back of forth distorts and oversimplifies each other's beliefs.

As much as it might make for colorful verbal combat, the labeling game tends to make compromise between opposing viewpoints difficult.

[Centaurmyst]

You're so right. I'm a fairly conservative Independent and I get called a liberal and socialist at least once or twice a day on here, lol.

There's too much of this:
Ideologue

[Docket Professional]

Marines4Commonsense -

I'm starting to be a fan of yours because your threads and posts are a welcome change. I, for one, am SICK and TIRED of all the non-sense (total gibberish) found on this forum.

Common sense is something you rarely find these days.

Thanks and keep on posting...

Originally Posted by Marines4Commonsense

It seems there is an obsession with certain characters (on the Presidential Election forum), so I had to come up with a catchy phrase (“Palin nailed by Joe the Plumber”) that would grab one’s attention.

Now that I have your attention this thread is really about the political labels being used by members of this forum, the media and politicians.

When it comes to politics, we are hung up on labels. Everywhere you turn, somebody is assigning a political label—short-hand for what the other person's political philosophy or ideological leanings are perceived to be.

Conservative, Liberal, Secessionist and now Socialist (the latest buzzword) are nothing more than political labels being thrown around in an attempt to define a person's ideology.

Many of us tend to categorize someone's ideas to avoid real thinking about actual issues. I dislike labels because it pigeonholes others in a fashion that may be quick and convenient but is usually superficial and misleading.

In a nutshell, when someone's philosophy is labeled and compartmentalized, thinking stops and name-calling begins. It’s no secret that members on this forum are constantly pinning labels on each other. This constant back of forth distorts and oversimplifies each other's beliefs.

As much as it might make for colorful verbal combat, the labeling game tends to make compromise between opposing viewpoints difficult.

[meson]

Oh geez after seeing the title of this thread I thought Joe the Plumber was going to be the male actor in the new porn movie Nailin' Palin!

Another good post Marines4Commonsense, still can't rep you yet though.

[VetagainstMcCain]

I agree 100% with this thread. Thanks for posting.

Originally Posted by Marines4Commonsense

It seems there is an obsession with certain characters (on the Presidential Election forum), so I had to come up with a catchy phrase (“Palin nailed by Joe the Plumber”) that would grab one’s attention.

Now that I have your attention this thread is really about the political labels being used by members of this forum, the media and politicians.

When it comes to politics, we are hung up on labels. Everywhere you turn, somebody is assigning a political label—short-hand for what the other person's political philosophy or ideological leanings are perceived to be.

Conservative, Liberal, Secessionist and now Socialist (the latest buzzword) are nothing more than political labels being thrown around in an attempt to define a person's ideology.

Many of us tend to categorize someone's ideas to avoid real thinking about actual issues. I dislike labels because it pigeonholes others in a fashion that may be quick and convenient but is usually superficial and misleading.

In a nutshell, when someone's philosophy is labeled and compartmentalized, thinking stops and name-calling begins. It’s no secret that members on this forum are constantly pinning labels on each other. This constant back of forth distorts and oversimplifies each other's beliefs.

As much as it might make for colorful verbal combat, the labeling game tends to make compromise between opposing viewpoints difficult.

[jfre81]

Everyone's hung up on labels because it precludes the requirement of actual thinking.

It's a binary system. Like computer code. You're a zero or a one. That's the way a lot of people in this country operate. There's no room for nuance or any of that fancy crap.

[TnHilltopper]

sorry, but forum rules require that thread titles be descriptive to their content.