Jaron's Journal
| March 25, 2010, 9:43 PM Weekly Blog #5: Where am I politically? |
| Alright lot, I've got to make this quick as I have some serious Post-NaNoWriMo-ing to do.
In thinking about politics, I must say that I don't enjoy the Republican/Democratic dichotomy very much. We're just so blasted...polar! And I'm not a fan of ridiculous extremes. In any case, as with almost anything, I'm right in the middle somewhere politically. Here's some things that are important, or have become important to me. 1. Environment: I really must side with democrats/liberals on this one. I don't know why we think it's alright to trash our environment with such abandon. We've got to live here, right? We're commanded to be good stewards of the place, right? 2. Abortion: I must side with conservatives on this issue. To me, life is life is life. There is no neat line. I could go on saying that it is my "choice" to kill people in my life who bother me; but then I would be labeled a sociopath, wouldn't I? Does it make any sense for me to be like, "Well if I'd only gotten to this earlier..." 3. Big/small government: Wow, I'm...split on this one. We need...a good sized government? I'm tending towards the small here... 4. Taxing the rich: I'm...more on the democratic side here. Those of us who make more money can stand to be taxed can't we? But then again I totally understand the "we should do what we want with our money" argument. I only wish that we'd give it away more freely just to do it in those instances, but that's against human nature unfortunately... Ha, ha, that's all I've got for right now! Forgive my over-generalizations, as I'm not clavicle-deep into politics. I only know I'm somewhere in the middle. I like what republicans say about some things; I like what democrats say about other things. Can't we form another party...? |
Comment by Rachel Heston Davis on March 25, 2010, 10:06 PM Fence Rider As someone who identifies as NEITHER Republican NOR Democrat but rather chooses on an issue-by-issue basis and votes for the person who looks the best in any given election...I CANNOT understand why people find my mode of politics so shocking. I was once talking to a woman who was asking about my political standpoint (whether I was R or D) and I said neither, a little of both, whatever. I thought she was going to topple backwards out of her chair. Really? Is it that hard a concept to grasp? Okay, enough soap box. |
Comment by Chad Garrett on March 26, 2010, 9:08 AM It's so much harder to have your own opinion That's why people are always "Republican" or "Democrat." If you don't know the answer, someone will tell you what to think. Or I just connect the dots with whatever my major party lines are. It hardly even matters which side is "right" when you look at how they handle compromises. The healthcare plan, which I agree with neither side on, was passed by sticking in little incentives for individual politicians who did not want it to pass. One gets a cushy job at NASA, and the other gets special treatment for their state. As for Healthcare? I don't think we should do nothing, and I think what the Democrats are trying to do is highly unconstitutional - that is, requiring Americans to purchase a specific product from private companies. That violates our right to privacy as much as it does making private companies an intimate part of government. I'd rather have nationalized healthcare than that. At least then, it's my tax dollars funding it. The number of doctors in our country is kept artificially low. Get too many, and the wages go down a bit from the competition. And to some extent, it does keep our supply of doctors limited to the very best. But if we could prevent doctors from having to buy expensive malpractice insurance plans, then we could probably double the number of doctors in circulation without the doctors taking a real cut in pay. |
Comment by Sean Jordan on March 26, 2010, 11:56 AM The truth lies in the middle... Any extreme position is usually just a caricature of the truth. The reason extremes exist is because the middle is far too complicated for people to fully understand. Take Israel, for example. It's easy to be pro- or anti- Israel. But when you really examine the issue and the players involved, it's hard to take either position because there is some right and some wrong. I always try to encourage folks to think of that third alternative -- the one that doesn't result in gridlock. So, on abortion, for example, rather than taking a pro-life or pro-choice stance, I would suggest that it's better to take the stance that educating people about preventing unwanted pregnancy is something we need to address seriously as a culture. If we can win that battle, the abortion debate is moot. |
Comment by Jaron Davis on March 26, 2010, 10:26 PM To all To Rachel I say, "I could not agree more!" To Chad I say, "Well said, well said. And I think neither side is particularly 'right.' And not only because of (perhaps) their motives, but also because their so ridiculously polar. To Sean I say, "Indeed, plan C might eliminate the need for plan A or plan B; but in extreme cases where the only option is plan A or plan B, I think we're morally obligated towards plan A. But like anyone else, I'd prefer plan C; self-control is a good think :)" |