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Why do you hold the political beliefs that you do? Please take some time and reflect on the experiences or thoughts that shaped your current political philosophy and share them. At what point did your political view crystalize?
My beliefs would best be described as libertarian, atheist, humanist, soft determinist (in that I essentially believe in free will, but acknowledge that our experiences, genetics, and environment play a large role in the choices we make), and cynical. Still that doesn't explain everything so here is a brief rundown.
I believe that we have the right to our own body and our own mind and that without the recognition and respect of these most basic rights, any concept of rights is laughable.
I believe there are limits to human knowledge and that we will never be able to fully understand the universe (both natural and manmade) completely. However, considering the vast nature of the universe, we will never stop learning.
I believe that morality is based on both the intentions and consequences of an action. I also believe there is a certain objectivity to morality, especially since we that vastly different cultures have a many similarities in belief in right and wrong.
I believe that the desire for power and the desire to mold the world in your own image is far more dangerous than mere greed.
I believe that dogma and extremism of any ideology (both religious and secular) is a recipe for disaster and suffering regardless of what it claims to promote. Supposedly loving and forgiving Christians were responsible for witch burnings, pogroms, and the Inquisition. Supposedly rational and scientific Marxists were responsible for the suppression of science and perversion of the truth.
I believe that the Bible and other religious books are essentially fairy tales and allegorical fables. That being said, there is still some intellectual value to fables and fairy tales as long as they are accepted as that.
I believe that race and ethnicity are merely different flavors of the same species and the differences between them are more mental and cultural than biological. We are all human.
I believe that people of all ideologies have a habit of trying make the facts fit their beliefs rather than their beliefs fit the facts.
I believe that those attracted to high-level politics (and low-level as well) are usually either zealots or power-hungry cynics and that is why we need to limit their power and demand transparency.
I believe that power corrupts and those with power (regards of their inherent beliefs or claimed ideology) naturally become more prone to using their power for their own benefit and less forgiving of dissenting opinion. This is unavoidable. It happens to everyone.
In the end, I believe that knowledge is better than ignorance, understanding is better than hate, freedom is better than slavery, the government's power needs to be limited, and there is always hope for a better future.
My beliefs would best be described as libertarian, atheist, humanist, soft determinist (in that I essentially believe in free will, but acknowledge that our experiences, genetics, and environment play a large role in the choices we make), and cynical. Still that doesn't explain everything so here is a brief rundown.
I believe that we have the right to our own body and our own mind and that without the recognition and respect of these most basic rights, any concept of rights is laughable.
I believe there are limits to human knowledge and that we will never be able to fully understand the universe (both natural and manmade) completely. However, considering the vast nature of the universe, we will never stop learning.
I believe that morality is based on both the intentions and consequences of an action. I also believe there is a certain objectivity to morality, especially since we that vastly different cultures have a many similarities in belief in right and wrong.
I believe that the desire for power and the desire to mold the world in your own image is far more dangerous than mere greed.
I believe that dogma and extremism of any ideology (both religious and secular) is a recipe for disaster and suffering regardless of what it claims to promote. Supposedly loving and forgiving Christians were responsible for witch burnings, pogroms, and the Inquisition. Supposedly rational and scientific Marxists were responsible for the suppression of science and perversion of the truth.
I believe that the Bible and other religious books are essentially fairy tales and allegorical fables. That being said, there is still some intellectual value to fables and fairy tales as long as they are accepted as that.
I believe that race and ethnicity are merely different flavors of the same species and the differences between them are more mental and cultural than biological. We are all human.
I believe that people of all ideologies have a habit of trying make the facts fit their beliefs rather than their beliefs fit the facts.
I believe that those attracted to high-level politics (and low-level as well) are usually either zealots or power-hungry cynics and that is why we need to limit their power and demand transparency.
I believe that power corrupts and those with power (regards of their inherent beliefs or claimed ideology) naturally become more prone to using their power for their own benefit and less forgiving of dissenting opinion. This is unavoidable. It happens to everyone.
In the end, I believe that knowledge is better than ignorance, understanding is better than hate, freedom is better than slavery, the government's power needs to be limited, and there is always hope for a better future.
What does any of this have to do with your political beliefs?
Well, I'm african-american and I hold republican conservative beliefs. I came to this point after getting into a deeper relationship with God over the years. As I began to study the word (the Bible) and reflect on the beliefs of the majority of society and the world, I instantly knew I couldn't support nor be apart of the unrighteousness and corruption.
I never voted in politics because I was too young but from what my family and all the other black people I ever knew told me and I observed growing up was that the Democrats were OUR party and the republicans were racist and rich. Even so, I never took a solid position. I observed and kept quiet. I was never an Obama worshiper either. After I researched and educated myself as I turned legal voting age, I knew I had to figure out who and what I was going to vote for and support. I began to see that the republican party held and matched my beliefs in almost every way.
I began to see the hypocrisy of the Democrats and people in my own race and how we have this unnatural hatred towards people in a party we don't even know. I mostly saw this with the crazy things my mother used to say about Republicans. I knew I couldn't be apart of the foolishness any longer and I had to separate myself from that mentality that Democrats have brainwashed blacks with for generations. Ever since then, it's been history. Now I know who and what I'm going to vote for come 2012.
Use your religion to vote for you pastor, not your president.
And while you're at it, learn how the South became Republican.
I dont have any political view but others look at my likes in society and afix a political label,
I'm in favor of universal health care.
Social security programs,
Unemployment insurance.
Welfare to those who can demonstrate a need for help.
Foodstamps, likewise for those who can demonstrate need.
Free Public education.
Unions.
The list could go on but you get the idea, so whats my political label?
Why do you hold the political beliefs that you do? Please take some time and reflect on the experiences or thoughts that shaped your current political philosophy and share them. At what point did your political view crystalize?
Direct life observances along the journey. School of hard knocks. Catch 22 situations of government policies that at times were less than thoughtful, other times running outright contrary to stated mission. Noting what didn't work was equally witnessing what organizational structures/ systems did work best for a given problem.
My political view crystalized when? That can't be nailed down. I've never had a party of my own but I didn't realize it until the 70's. Seeing the direction of republicans post Ford administration made me averse to them ever since. Ike, Goldwater, & Perot perfect make sense to me. I respect sensible shoes and abiding commitments to stewardship. I have no respect for New age republicans and do not consider them to be American. Not even slightly.
This doesn't mean democrats have a halo on their head. It means they get lesser of evil votes out of me too often & I resent all of the above, particularly their puppet masters, forcing this situation enabling corruption. Whenever practicable, I've registered 3rd party for coming on 40yrs.
Also? Jesus would never be a Republican. Never in a million years. Can you begin to imagine Jesus supporting that party of unfettered capitalism? The party of pandering to and enabling the rich money-lenders at the expense of the poor? It is to laugh!
I grew up poor. Not as poor as my wife , she was dirt poor. But poor just the same.But I grew up in a upper middle class hood ( dad worked 2 jobs for as long as I can remember, I thought that was the norm ) All of my friends were better off then us and had all the fun toys. I realized young that the only way I was going to get things was by working.Delivered news[papers at 10 ( yes there was a time in this country when newspapers were delivered by kids , not poor adults)Spent summers working on farms after 12 .
Started a buss a couple yrs after high school. Realized after a decade or so that one can only make so much money selling labor alone and to make good money one needs to sell both labor and a product thats marked up from 40-400%.
Was never big on people telling me what to do , that and my hatred for my own poverty as a kid was the driving force of working for myself.
Thru my teens I saw the nanny state I was living in erode. Just to the north of me people were still welcome to enjoy things that I enjoyed and could no longer do.
Basicaly my whole adult life I have paid people to work for me. Paying people to not work is something I will never agree with.
I was raised "upper middle class" and Republican. Bill Clinton was a curse word and Reagan was praised to no end by my mother. Made it through the "liberal" public ed system and all those marxist college profs unscathed until I joined the real world.
Then when working in the pharmacy near the end of college, I came face to face with hard working people who were running hard just to stand still, struggling with the high cost of meds due to insurance. I was raised to think that everyone who worked hard would become rich, and if you were poor, then you were lazy and worthless. Instead I saw people who struggled with increasing costs and tightening budgets despite all their hard work. I was also raised to think that the government was always bad and the private sector can do no wrong. Something didn't add up.
Another thing was going into education. I had no idea how much conservatives hated public education until I became a teacher. I've rarely received moral support from conservatives or libertarians, but instead I get negative or snarky comments about my colleagues (lazy, greedy govt workers) or students (stupid idiots, monsters) about 80% of the time. I always got the impression that because I'm not a "job creator" that I'm not worth as much in society--according to right wingers. In fact, I've been told that I'm actually a drain on taxpayers simply because I'm a teacher making an average income. Also, the anti-intellectual streak in today's conservative movement was a HUGE turn-off to an educator like me. I know not all conservatives match the above description, but enough do to where it really turned me off to them.
My Christian faith was also a factor. I simply cannot reconcile right wing politics or neoconservatism with the gospel. Cannot--will not--do it.
I think ppl believe they are being rational when forming opinions, but they are not. I think our world view is formed somewhere around age 10-12 years old. Look at how your attitudes reflect the world when you were in the 5th. grade.
I grew up in a family of abolitionists and was a very strong supporter of both Barry Goldwater and the Civil Right movement and the Feminist movement. But I also believe that when children come into a family someone in that family needs to care for them.
I appears to me on many levels that the more opportunity we got, the dumber we got. Most kids can no longer figure things out themselves because their mommas won't let them or have abandoned them. The school system just wants busy workbook kinds of learning.
I think everyone believes that they are competent but most of the time we are just feeling our way through any kind of problem solving. How the he77 can government or their hires assume a set of circumstances and declare this is the way things are.
Contradiction abounds. Nobody is in charge. I am confused.
I still think McCain threw the election by picking Palin. By 2008 primary time the world knew we were in a deep hole with no way out. The crazies are running both parties. Logic has vanished from all decision making.
I pray that there is a God because humans have really screwed things up. We cannot differentiate between needs and wants. We trash the earth in order to make stuff nobody needs. We go to war and kill children in order to save them. We declare a business is a person and permit business to take all of our capital because business is our God.
There is no political party or person that I can point to as having any answers. Again.
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