What is left and what is right? (Iraq, enemy, healthcare)

[fishmonger]

Write what YOU think both of these words represent, then write what you think the "other side" thinks they represent. Play the game and try to put yourself in the shoes of those "evil Commie libs" or "fascist warmonger Neocons" or "heartless libertarians," or whatever.

[lionking]

Left,well there are different types,one type are die hard socialists who dislike Capitalism or free markets for whatever reason and see socialism as the answer,they believe in a strong centralized authoritive government.

Many everyday left leaning people,have good intentions at heart,want to see equity among people and see corporations as the evil ones who trample on people in order to make profit(and sometimes this is true).But look to goverment action to solve problems and are willing to sacrifice individual rights if it helps a collective.They fail to understand though that government can be exactly the same things that they fight corporations against.Bottom line they expect government to step in as the great equalizer among profit and people.

Right,again there are different types though typically captitalism and freemarkets are what they champion,though they sometimes don't understand that profit at all costs can actually hurt the country and that balance is sometimes needed,like what Teddy Roosevelt did toward industrial laws.The problem with some on the right is they champion moral lives yet fail to understand that you can't legislate morality.They are typically for less government yet when it suits them are willing to look the other way,for example inacting federal laws regarding marriage.Some on the right are very patriotic which is good but sometimes see questioning government policy(Iraq) as being unpatriotic.

Libertarian...well that's me and I explain my views here on this thread..
http://www.city-data.com/forum/polit...istration.html

[mhouse2001]

My view:

"Left": forward-thinking, not afraid of change, democratic but will come to the rescue of the downtrodden and oppressed, everything is shades of gray, intelligent but tends to not consider the long term consequences, well-intentioned for the larger community, naively idealistic

"Right": resists all change, punitive, claims to be democratic but is actually totalitarian and authoritarian, simplistic, black-and-white and us vs. them thinking, doesn't listen and ignores rational advice and most evidence, well-intentioned but tolerant of only their peers, dismissive, angry

Their view (NOT my view):

"Left": communistic, elitist, 'out there', unrealistic, unpatriotic, too tolerant, undesirable as neighbors or fellow countrymen, the blame for everything wrong in the world, minorities, anyone who doesn't conform, the enemy

"Right": ignorant, uneducated, misled, religious, dictatorial, intolerant, selfish, not worth arguing with because they can't even think, use violence to solve problems, those who desperately need the ability to handle the truth

[silas777]

If you look at the two groups of candidates for POTUS, you have a pretty clear contrast of left and right, as much as people like to lump them all in to one big group. Of course we could all say what we think of the other side, but look what they are campaigning on. Example: every dem has some form of socialized healthcare plan, not one rep does. every dem says out of iraq, rep say finish the job, every dem wants to raise taxes, dont believe any rep does, dems suck up to unions reps suck up to business, etc etc...

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by fishmonger

Write what YOU think both of these words represent, then write what you think the "other side" thinks they represent. Play the game and try to put yourself in the shoes of those "evil Commie libs" or "fascist warmonger Neocons" or "heartless libertarians," or whatever.

That's a good question. Here are some good answers:

Political System Comparison Chart

The links at the bottom are quite interesting, particularly the comparisons. I wonder if the country the Founding Fathers had in mind ever existed...

[mhouse2001]

Originally Posted by silas777

If you look at the two groups of candidates for POTUS, you have a pretty clear contrast of left and right, as much as people like to lump them all in to one big group. Of course we could all say what we think of the other side, but look what they are campaigning on. Example: every dem has some form of socialized healthcare plan, not one rep does. every dem says out of iraq, rep say finish the job, every dem wants to raise taxes, dont believe any rep does, dems suck up to unions reps suck up to business, etc etc...

I think the candidates hands are tied, so to speak. They must adhere somewhat (if not wholly) to the party platform. All of them have, I believe, suppressed their true beliefs in order to get the nomination. And they will continue to be under pressure while in office. Right/Left and Dem/Rep are just convenient cognitive differences to sell to the public to let them still think they actually have a choice in the matter. It's like retail sales: there cannot be any doubt that the product is the right choice for the consumer. There can be no shades of gray, hence our elections are always choices of black or white, us vs. them. A terrible situation if you ask me.