NFB: Am I a conservative or ...... *gasp* .... a liberal?

[Dave M]

I'm seriously wondering. I don't know much about Libertarians, but I tend to think I may bend that direction. I have some odd and seemingly conflicting political views. I tend towards conservative in that I believe it's the government's job to protect it's citizens from other governments and from other citizens, but not from themselves. And that's the extent of the government's job. I believe this so much that I tend to take it pretty far. For instance, I do not believe there should be seatbelt laws, except for minors. Minors can't make the decision themselves, so laws protecting them are fine. But if adults want to become intimately familiar with their dash in an accident, that's their choice. DUI laws, however, are good because you're protecting the poluace from the idiots who can't be trusted to put down the keys when they drink. Helmets should be up to rider, again with exceptions to minors. I'm conservative in that I think a smaller government and less government intrusion into daily life is good. I believe in the right to bear arms.

On the flip side, as most of you have probably seen, I tend towards liberal on things like the Iraq war. I believe the troops would be put to better use back here at home protecting our pourous borders and airports and transit sytems. I also believe that government extending it's reach through things like the Patriot Act is bad. This is probably an extension of my smaller=better philosophy, and also of my citizen-centric attitude. This country is all about personal freedoms, or was, and anything that restricts those freedoms is bad, IMHO, even in the name of security.

I consider myself Independant when it comes to party, but if I had to pick one I would have to decide on democrat. Probably because that's what my parents were and what I've known, and because Republicans tend to be for big business and that's kind of the opposite of my citizen-centric attitude. But again, I consider myself Independant, and can find faults easily with both parties.

Now, let me say I DO NOT want this to become a thread of people telling me how I've erred in my political-thinking, or I'm a crazy liberal trader because I'm not gung-ho over the Iraq war, or the republicans out there trying to recruit me to The Cause. I'm just genuinely curious.... where do I stand on the political spectrum? Am I a conservative Democrat? A liberal Republican? Or something else entirely? Please no political flame wars or pep rallies here, I'm just curious and seeking an answer.

[Disifer]

You're not liberal or conservative....your American

[Nightrage]

Does it really matter? This country is all about being able to believe what you want and to feel the way you want (although sometimes it's questionable as the media tends to tell people what they want and how they feel). All that's important is that you're true to yourself. I think that we all have mixed feelings about things. Just last night at a car show, my friend Rich and i began talking to a complete stranger, by chance encounter. We went from talking about his Grand National to talking about the Nazi's (his views on them were oddly enough the same as mine), the Iraq war, how people tend to make Bush out to be the bad guy because it's the "trendy" thing to do, religion, music, etc. To me, it's very interesting to see how many different views people can have about the exact same subject. I personally say that you shouldn't worry about what catagory your views fall under, so long as they're your own and it's how you truely feel.

[bru333]

I don't know much about Libertarians, but I tend to think I may bend that direction.

http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html Go here and take the quiz and find out.


http://www.lp.org/

[Dave M]

http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html Go here and take the quiz and find out.


http://www.lp.org/

According to the little quiz there, I am indeed a Libertarian! With their little dot on a map thing, though, it showed me just on the Libertarian side of Centrist.

"LIBERTARIANS support maximum liberty in both personal and

economic matters. They advocate a much smaller government; one

that is limited to protecting individuals from coercion and violence.

Libertarians tend to embrace individual responsibility, oppose

government bureaucracy and taxes, promote private charity, tolerate

diverse lifestyles, support the free market, and defend civil liberties."


That pretty much describes me in a nutshell, with a little of this thrown in:


"Centrists espouse a "middle ground" regarding government control

of the economy and personal behavior. Depending on the issue,

they sometimes favor government intervention and sometimes

support individual freedom of choice. Centrists pride themselves on

keeping an open mind, tend to oppose "political extremes," and

emphasize what they describe as "practical" solutions to problems."

[Jeff_in_Atl]

The libertarian party "officials" reject the war in Iraq. So you would fit in nicely there.

I think probably half the existing republican and democrats would really fit with the libertarian party's philosophy but either don't know enough about it or feel that their vote would be wasted in voting for a third party. This would make it by far the dominant party. The biggest problem I see with the libertarian party is it is poorly run. They need to adopt a grass roots approach to building their party rather than just trying to fill a position at every level. They're never going to win any federal offices with having a contest to fill the position of who is going to run for president. Without name recognition you're not going to win. They need to start at the local levels and let the people get experience with government.

From what I have seen so far, Arnold fits the libertarian party ideals better than democratic or republican. Zell Miller does too.

Dave as for your parents being Democrats all their lives, the democratic party is not what it used to be. It's been hijacked back the far left and it's being pushed towards socialism.

[Joe 1320]

Dave, I thought you were a Moderator.


Seriously, It is hard to align one's self in any particular division. I know that I tend to chose each particular issue and let it stand on it's own. I also have the odd thinking of being able to see both sides of an issue and adapting various parts of each, something that I feel modern government should do.

[thomas]

Dave, I agree with disifer. You are an American.

[97LT1Z28]

Cool Test! I'm a "Centrist!" I didn't even know the word existed until now...

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Why is it that a conservative will proudly tell you they are a conservative but most liberals won't admit to being a liberal. It's like they are embarrassed by it. For an example look at the title of this thread. (Dave I'm not implying you are one just that people don't want to be labeled a liberal.)

[Disifer]

I'm liberal....but I own guns.

[2Fbodcru]

Well, one of the advantages that you have, living in a "free" country like ours (yet losing more and more freedoms every day), you presently have a choice to just not be aligned with any group -- other than the US government that is. You do have to be aligned with the government, and its laws, to a certain extent, but you can just be neutral if you can't decide. I would suggest researching "Secret Societies", especially the Freemasons and the Illuminati, and that may help you decide. The history Channel had a fantastic documentary on it this past Monday, that showed the reality of past and present history that most don't know about, or feel like they just don't want to "go there". I don't know when it is coming back on again, but it is part of a series called "Decoding the Past", and this particular episode was called "Secret Societies". Try to catch it when it comes back on, and I think that you will find it very informative.

But please don't go liberal in the mean time try to take the time to do some research first-

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

I'm liberal....but I own guns.

Are you an NRA member? Do you actively oppose anti-gun legislation by writing to your senators & congressmen? It would be nice if there were some outspoken gun rights advocates among the Liberals. There are not many, if any, supporters of 2nd ammendment rights among Liberal legislators.

[wood]

Here is a pretty good test to see where you stand.

[Dave M]

Why is it that a conservative will proudly tell you they are a conservative but most liberals won't admit to being a liberal. It's like they are embarrassed by it. For an example look at the title of this thread. (Dave I'm not implying you are one just that people don't want to be labeled a liberal.)

I think it's because conservatives are ready and to jump down the throat of any liberal who stands up and speaks out. Quite often on this board, which is vastly conservative, liberals have been called unamerican, unpatriotic, and even traders. Personally, I find that offensive. Because I may have a different opinion on issues or how government should be run doesn't mean I'm any less patriotic than any one else here, and I'm certainly not a trader to my country. I find the suggestion that I, or any one else who may tend towards liberal, highly offensive. That's why I used the title I did for this thread, because I know on this board a liberal is something to be despised and beat down. To me that shows a very narrow mind, but then again maybe that's just my Centrist "open mind" speaking.