I usually think of myself as a liberal or left leaning person but I am never quite sure when I see just how complicated it is. And that facism is basically the same as communism thing just throws me off more.
I Believe in equality of rights oportunities and social status (no human being is fundementally better or worse than another)
I prioritize understanding over discipline (in understanding why someone does something rather than solving it using discipline)
I am strongly against the 5% of the population owning 95% of the wealth thing (correct those figures if necesary but I think they are a reasonable estimate) I think as much wealth should be distributed as is reasonably possible, not tied up in the pockets of unscrupulous company bosses.
I don’t believe in God. And I am against the influence a belief in God may have on political decisions. But I am tolerant of individuals believing what ever they want, as long as it doesn’t cause a danger to others.
What do the above ideals make me?
they make you a clone of every single highschool student that thinks the have shocking new ideas that will rock the world.
Nice constructive reply. Thanks.
Not that it deserves it, I will give your reply a serious response.
If they make me a clone of anything, it’s all the people who I respect and admire for their beliefs. The people who share my disgust when people who think they’re something and get uppety when someone doesn’t treat them better than all the other people, the “don’t you know who I am” people.
I did not mean my OP to sound pretentious if it does. I don’t think my ideas are radical, new, or shocking. I think they are probably quite common. All I want to know is can I call myself liberal based on them?
It makes you you.
For some time I have been perplexed at the tendency to use (and over-use) labels. I don’t know if that is due to intellectual atrophy, or if in our fast paced world we need such things to quickly assimlilate who a person is.
We also use these labels as weapons. So terms like “liberal” from the mouth of Rush Limbaugh and the like conjure up very negative images. The same thing can be said of labels like “conservative.” Some terms have an allmost perjoritive quality. (“Fundies”)
I’ve always been amazed how disparate the grab bag of ideals you must hold to be able to call one’s self a “good” liberal or conservative. I mean if you’re pro-life, must you then be against gun control to be able to call yourself a conservative? What’s the logic? What if you believe in fiscal discipline but think the tax cuts were a mistake?
Who are you then? Well…You’re a populist!
I for one hold a variety of views, that if plotted, would be all over the map. I generally hold such labels, then, in something between amusement and contempt.