I'm A Liberal But...

[Weirddave]

@Scissorjack

I don’t see how religion can be separated from culture, especially in societies like the US and the Middle East where its influence is so pervasive. And, at least outside the US, Christianity has more or less mended its ways, bar the odd molestation scandal: priests don’t rail at people from the pulpit to go out and kill some Jews and Muslims any more.

Leaving out the odd wacko (I’m looking at you Phred), can you give me some examples of priests “railing at people from the pulpit to go out and kill some Jews and Muslims” inside the U.S.? :dubious:

[KSO]

@DMark

I went there and scored a 7 - so I guess I make Ted Kennedy seem kind of right-wing. Then again, I have tried desperately to think of one single thing I think Bush has done right in the past 7 1/2 years and I came up with zip.

Here you go (Bush’s initiatives with respect to Africa).

[Tamerlane]

@Weirddave

Leaving out the odd wacko (I’m looking at you Phred), can you give me some examples of priests “railing at people from the pulpit to go out and kill some Jews and Muslims” inside the U.S.? :dubious:

I’m guessing you misinterpreted Scissorjack’s comment. Based on his wording, I don’t think he meant to conflate Christianity’s greater presense/reactionary influence in the U.S. with the notion of Christian preachers calling for the death of members of other faiths. I took him to mean that normative Christians no longer do that, period. The two notions just got jumbled up in the same sentence.

[Scissorjack]

@Tamerlane

I’m guessing you misinterpreted Scissorjack’s comment. Based on his wording, I don’t think he meant to conflate Christianity’s greater presense/reactionary influence in the U.S. with the notion of Christian preachers calling for the death of members of other faiths. I took him to mean that normative Christians no longer do that, period. The two notions just got jumbled up in the same sentence.

What he said, although I thought the colon kept them fairly separate.

[Lakai]

@focusonz

independent - not dependent: as a (1):not subject to control by others (2):not looking to others for one’s opinions or for guidance in conduct

Accepting a label of liberal or conservative gives power to the person labeling to put one in a pigeon hole. And if you accept being placed in a pigeon hole then one must also accept the restrictions the pigeon hole places on you. Labels are also emotional in there content. An independent must be unemotional else he be controlled by them. There is only truths, not truths, opinion or indeterminate all of which must be factored to determine the best candidate regardless of the labels. One must be independent in thought.

The labels are arbitrary. Saying your positions are moslty liberal doesn’t mean you are not thinking independently. It means that your independently thought out positions happen to fall within the liberal ideology.

From the positions you mentioned, you seem to be conservative, even if you are “independent in thought”. If you would like to participate in the spirit of the thread, you should list any liberal positions you may have, if you have any at all.

And Regan is also a conservative.

[Weirddave]

@Scissorjack

What he said, although I thought the colon kept them fairly separate.

OK, sorry I misunderstood.

[wevets]

I’m a liberal, but…
I believe the second amendment protects an individual’s right to own a firearm.

I think nuclear power’s not a bad idea and should be expanded, with consideration for safety and waste problems.

I don’t think abortions should be performed in the third trimester without some compelling reason.

(That’s probably not all of my non-liberal views, but it’s a random smattering.)

I am really sick of the idea of a one-dimensional axis in politics.

[Cardinal]

I’m a conservative, but I think:

Limbaugh is a blowhard who couldn’t see the other side of an issue if it tap danced on his head.

GWB is a buffoon who literally has almost no idea what he’s doing.

John McCain is a weasel who also partly just wants to be noticed for being unusual, not correct.

illegal immigrants should leave, but are here because they are the new serfs; low paid labor with almost no rights, with the government tacitly approving the system to benefit the businesses that help prop up the government.

I like driving around with a custom “Republican Against Bush” bumper sticker on my car.

Bill Gates’ philanthropy is motivated partly by the guilt of having crushed so many people on his ascent to the top of the business ladder, and that not all business action is defensible.

Ahhhnold is not a good governor, no matter what his supposed party affiliation is. He’s addicted to opinion polls, and refuses to take any kind of principled stand, and has pretty much said so.

The current Iraq war was entered into on about the intelligence (both kinds) needed to make a choice between vanilla and strawberry ice cream.

The divisions in Iraq especially are about 1000 times greater than Bush/Cheney understood, and democracy will not work there in anything like the near future. When American troops leave, there will be a big civil war in about 3 weeks, gradually created 3 defacto new countries since there isn’t a military to enforce any kind of cooperation any more.

Oh, and since some religious things have been mentioned, I’m a Christian, but:

So many people in the church are more motivated to maintain belief than to seek truth that it makes my head ache.

Evolution is something the American evangelical church is just going to have to deal with some day.

James Dobson sometimes needs to stop equating God with the Republican Party, and also realize that his version of America may just not be the thing he’s going to get. Also, the Great Commission does not say, “Go ye therefore and boycott every entity that employs or shakes hands with someone you don’t like”.

It took a rock star from Ireland to shame much of the church into caring and acting on African poverty (Geldof or Bono, pick one or both), even though the church isn’t supposed to be swayed by lame things like “Well, this famous guy believes this…” I guess this time it actually worked out for the better.

[Carson_O_Genic]

I’m a Republican who strives to be dispassionate but am betrayed every time I see a mangled "War on Terror " vet or hear of extended deployments of the National Guard.
War Crimes trials seem entirely fitting.

[Tastes_of_Chocolate]

I’m a woman, but:
I think that most outspoken feminist are far more anti-male then they are pro-female.

I’m a liberal, but I feel that:
there needs to be a reasonable limit on social welfare. It should be a safety net, not a lifestyle.
nuclear power is a necessary technology, until we can come up with something better
labor unions, as they currently exist in the US, are at best useless and at worst detrimental, to their members, to their employers and to the society.
we need smaller government.
as a country, the people of the US need to move back towards self responsibility and self reliance.
the current generations are not forever responsible for what our ancestors did to yours. We, the society, do owe it to everyone to ensure equal opportunity, but you aren’t owed more then everyone else.

[DanBlather]

Thank you last few posters for putting us back on track.

[cosmosdan]

@Cardinal

I’m a conservative, but I think:
I like driving around with a custom “Republican Against Bush” bumper sticker on my car.

I love this one.

Oh, and since some religious things have been mentioned, I’m a Christian, but:

So many people in the church are more motivated to maintain belief than to seek truth that it makes my head ache.

and this one too. It’s unfortunate that loyalty to a church doctrine is placed above seeking the truth, {which IMO is the sincerest form of worship} but I understand the emotional attachment.