Right vs. Left -- Which Side Are You On?

reply to post by ninecrimes


I agree with everything you said, my post above also states labels are what got us into this whole mess.

Thanks for the response.

~Keeper

I play both sides, depending on the situation. I don't really hold myself to fancy labels like that. I act based on how I feel, not how I'm supposed to respond according to my clique. People seem to forget that opposing viewpoints don't necessarily equal right or wrong. For the most part, they're just different ideas or different outlooks.

I don't subscribe to to any ideology though I do lean to the conservative. That won't come as a shock to liberals here but the conservatives will be shocked. I look at a given issue and use my own moral compass to decide where I stand on it. For example, I believe in a strong military. We're getting back there slowly. I'm against abortion. I believe in the social "safety net." Health care and welfare. Everyone has # that happens sometimes. I believe in funding the "arts". Culture is important to any society.

I'm for "gay rights". They are people too. A lot of people think that that is a "liberal" view but really it isn't. When Trudeau said, about this issue back in the 70's, "The government has no place in the bedrooms of Canadians". That's actually a conservative view if one thinks about it.

There are many other issues and I don't let "ideology guide my choices in thinking about them and I'm happy with where I am and WHAT I am.

reply to post by intrepid


When we shed our labels, and identify ourselves as free thinking individuals, we become fellow Americans again. And it's a LOT of fun to be a true American. A true intellectual. A true lover of freedom.

I appreciate your post and fully agree with your anti-label sentiments.

reply to post by ninecrimes


I think there is more to being just "American" when we shed ourselves of labels.

You see, calling yourself "American" is just another division, that includes both the left wing and the right wing.

I would rather use the term Human, which is something nobody can deny we are. Everything else is subjective.

~Keeper

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Not really. Americans and Canadians are very much alike but we have many DEEP differences. It comes from the fact that America gained it's independence through a revolution while we went the political avenue. Gun issues are a good example. We Canadians like our guns but we don't go to the extreme(not saying that is wrong) of saying, "You can have my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers." We're like twins that grew up in different families.

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Oh- I like that.

I guess I was limiting my thinking to my nation, because that's what this thread is in regards to. However, I completely understand and agree with your point- which is really just taking my "anti-label sentiments" one step further.

However, when we look at ourselves as "humans" in a political arena, we might be overgeneralizing ourselves. To be humans, together, we cannot have borders or governments (only one government could exist, which would be the Human Government).

So while, again, I understand and agree with your mentality... I think in the political sense of the term, we are not quite ready to be the "human race" together and in sync.

I'm happy with being an American, until we are ready to break down the walls.

However, I am not only unhappy, but MAD AS HELL about being classified as "left" or "right".




A big tip of the hat, to you, sir.

reply to post by intrepid

That is very well said...thank you.

I feel the same. While I consider myself a staunch liberal I too follow my moral compass and while I vote Democratic it doesn't mean I always agree with them. As Johnny2127 pointed out that some of my views are conservative and I know that, still I vote Democratic because while I may agree with some conservative stances I cannot abide what I consider the extremists that seem to have taken over both the Republican party and the conservative movement...as I have said before even Nixon would be too liberal for that crowd.

[edit on 30-9-2009 by grover]

Originally posted by grover
reply to post by intrepid

 

That is very well said...thank you.

I feel the same. While I consider myself a staunch liberal I too follow my moral compass and while I vote Democratic it doesn't mean I always agree with them. As Johnny2127 some of my views are conservative and I know that still I vote Democratic because while I may agree with some conservative stances I cannot abide what I consider the extremists that seem to have taken over both the Republican party and the conservative movement...as I have said before even Nixon would be too liberal for that crowd.


[edit on 30-9-2009 by grover]

You really aren't getting the discussion at hand, are you?



[edit on 30-9-2009 by ninecrimes]

reply to post by intrepid


I certainly agree with that. I wonder how different Canada would be had we gone the same way and the US had gone the other?

What an interesting thought.

In any case, yeah we are the same with different parents.

~Keeper

reply to post by ninecrimes


Yes for the sake of this conversation, your term is definetly appropriate. All americans working together under a single label is what needs to happen.

It's the multitude of labels which cause the problem.

I too don't think we are ready to tear down the walls, and probably won't be for another thousand years, maybe more.

~Keeper

This non-sense is has gotten us right where we are NOW. Left-Right? THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are the same government. stop posting these smoke screen post. People need to wake up to the fact that if you support the right or left you have landed this country in the shape it is in now. Point blank no way around this. You can piss and moan and say it's not my fault but it is your right and left political biopoly that has been the only hands in the cookie jar. There fore you are the cause!

I am a rail splitter, fence rider, and politically oblique. I am a chameleon without ever showing my true colors. I am Janus. I wear the masks of Comedy and Tragedy equally. I am neither red, nor blue, but an ever changing changing hue of purple. I am a cosmopolitan rustic, a hick in a tux. I chew straw while wearing a top hat. My polished Florsheim Shoes have holes in the soles. The laces have three knots each. I'm a hayseed, hay shaker, and Continental. I drink champagne out of a mason jar! I lie to pollsters every time I can.

You will never know which side I am on. Now you know!

reply to post by grover


Why can't people be in the middle? Some of us have seriously conservative views on punishment for horrible crimes whilst supporting the legalisation of drugs and even protitution.

I hate this stupid left and right divide. It is designed to, well, divide us! Forget such arbitrary labels and think for yourself! Decide your own views not because of your loyalty to a party or political stance but because of your own moral compass and where your logic leads you.

Quiet frankly I wish that the government worked more for the people than one political ideology or the other. Why can't we just elect people who can do the job of representing us and out needs. Is that too much to ask. We should do away with political parties and just have people who want to run tell us what they can do for us and what they plan to do to accomplish what we the people want. I am one of the middle of the road people who is looking for a person who is above political parties.

My point of view is.

I don't care about the right or the left.

I care about this country, the constitution and the people that live in it.

Everything else is a superfluous dumptruck full of bullcrap.

My 2 cents: I -think- that I am complex on all matters of life, as I hold no dogmas, even though, however, I do hold prejudices formed by negative experiences. No-the-hey, I like President Obama a --lot--, I voted for him (proudly), and --even though-- I am socially conservative, I am economically governmentaly more Left Wing. I want universal health care for all. I want 'the public option'. I WISH the USA would mind it's own business and STOP attacking countries cuz they --might-- be a threat to us. I would like this country to spend it's trillions on the American people at home. Say, are we still giving billions in foreign aid, out, even though we are nearly in Great Depression II ?
I was unsure about our President for a long while, and worried that I had made a mistake, after he was bailing out the Big Bankers. I believe he will get better, as time goes along.

[edit on 30-9-2009 by simonecharisse]

Right vs. Left -- Which Side Are You On?

BOTH.

Nice thread grover. If we look at our actual beliefs, the right and left kind of fade we are all just people.

This is what I can come up with right now. What am I?

I am pro-choice, but wouldn't choose to have an abortion myself.
I support the second amendment (all of them, actually)
I support civil rights, including gay rights
I am against illegal immigration and think they should be legally punished
I think all drugs should be legalized
I support health care for everyone
I believe in a strong military, but protect our borders and us FIRST
I believe in personal responsibility
I support social programs for those who need it
I am "green" and energy conscious
I believe in enforcement of current laws instead of adding new ones
I don't support hate crime legislation
I believe in complete separation of church and state
Foreign Policy - We all live here together and need to work together for the benefit of the planet
We should help other countries, but take care of ourselves FIRST
Abolish the FED
"Values" are the business of families, not governments
Corporations are out of hand - No bailouts or tax cuts
Get out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Now.
I have never been a member of a political party and have voted for several different parties

What am I?

[edit on 30-9-2009 by Benevolent Heretic]

Originally posted by bigvig316
Quiet frankly I wish that the government worked more for the people than one political ideology or the other. Why can't we just elect people who can do the job of representing us and out needs. Is that too much to ask.

Actually your system is based on that very idea, the problem is that people are easily influenced by the media and the media is in the hands of a few people.

For example take the situation in the UK at the moment. A newspaper called "The Sun", owned by Rupert Murdoch is now backing the conservative party. This paper has backed the succesful party for the last 5 elections or more. The paper, despite being a tabloid and an utter disgrace to journalism is read by around 10 million people in a country of 65 million.

This is why you can't elect who can most look after your needs and rights, because most people trust the press and so vote for who the press tell them to. Most people don't think for themselves, they don't truly examine the issues and policies. They hear soundbites on the news that play to their emotions and vote accordingly.

I am sorry to be so cynical but this is the truth.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic

Right vs. Left -- Which Side Are You On?

BOTH.

Nice thread grover.

If we look at our actual beliefs, the right and left kind of fade we are all just people.

This is what I can come up with right now. What am I?

I am pro-choice, but wouldn't choose to have an abortion myself.
I support the second amendment (all of them, actually)
I support civil rights, including gay rights
I am against illegal immigration and think they should be legally punished
I think all drugs should be legalized
I support health care for everyone
I believe in a strong military, but protect our borders and us FIRST
I believe in personal responsibility
I support social programs for those who need it
I am "green" and energy conscious
I believe in enforcement of current laws instead of adding new ones
I don't support hate crime legislation
I believe in complete separation of church and state
Foreign Policy - We all live here together and need to work together for the benefit of the planet
We should help other countries, but take care of ourselves FIRST
Abolish the FED
"Values" are the business of families, not governments
Corporations are out of hand - No bailouts or tax cuts
Get out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Now.
I have never been a member of a political party and have voted for several different parties

What am I?

[edit on 30-9-2009 by Benevolent Heretic]

Thank you...finally the type of response I have been looking for.

We agree with some things and disagree with others...specifically I do support hate crime legislation for those crimes that are specifically and clearly hate crimes.

I also believe that until we address the underlying problems that support illegal immigration then the best approach I have seen was bush minor's guest worker program.

Overall though we agree more than we disagree...

this is the type of dialog I am talking about.