Political Allignment

[Alcon]

I am a left-leaning libertarian - socially liberal, economically right-of-center. I associate easily more with the Democratic Party than the Republicans, but am generally against government intervention unless it is truly needed. I would have voted Kerry, with my three runner-up choices being Libertarian Party candidate Michael Badnarik, Ralph Nader, and stabbing myself with a fork in the left temple.

There's not really any option on the poll that is correct for me, but I suppose overall I would be a centrist, even though I am not really centrist on any specific set of political beliefs - it just sort of balances out that way, with a slight leftist twist.
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She spoke in dialect I could not understand
but one thing that she made clear:
there was no coming onto her;
there was no way.

[Sai Fujiwara]

I think you guys totally missed my point on the whole draft thing... I think military service ought to be mandatory, but I don't think we should be using those soldiers to attack nations overseas, or to be serving in combat situations. Granted, the United States has done a lot of that in the past & even in the present, but I don't see any problem with using our own troops to patrol our borders and to keep the peace in small towns, as well as to aid urban police in tense situations. Come on, you don't continue on a highway chase when you see an M1A1 tank in your path. Not unless you're playing into Darwin's "natural selection," anyway.

lol Also, what harm could using our army as a suppliment to the police bring? I'm sure there will be someone screaming "GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY," but I don't think that could be the case. Anyway, it's not as if I mind the government stepping in. Better them, than some gangs, druglords, terrorists, whatever... We have a lot of crap here in America, and crime and lack of order is a problem here, and I think the Army could help us fix some of that.

As for the comment about them "doing the job of the police," policemen are usually just trained on how to restrain people, and to shoot a pistol. Sometimes a shotgun, or rifle. ALSO, they are NOT trained for combat experience, such as dealing with criminals with semiautomatic weapons, sniping at police and civilians. Military, and special forces are. That's the point. So, why send in "civilian" police, when you could use soldiers to quickly clear out any drug threats, or weapons caches that threaten our own national security? Oh yeah, and I'm talking about WITHIN OUR BORDERS.
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Happily Married to the Lovely Lady Chris Lightfellow! :D

[Georg Prime 2nd]

I think Sai has a good idea on the mandatory military thing, but I think that the age should be raised a little. They should give you an option of what two years you want to serve, as well as what branch you go into. I totally agree on the "defense inside the country" thing. That's why I'm joining the Coast Guard after I graduate. I'm going to work to defend the country from the every-day threats, like drugs and dealers and stuff.

With that said, I'd consider myself a leftist. I'm all for equality, gay marriage, etc.
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I want to be just like my dad.

[John Layfield]

Meh. I feel a nations obligation is to its citizens, not vice versa. Placing a person into military service, be it for use in foreign warfare or not, against his or her wishes seem to me to be a pretty basic assault on individual liberties.

There seems to be more underlying issues in a society that needs to be tackled if pressing people into law-inforcment, whether they want to or not, seems to be the only way of keeping the peace on its steets, which are already policed.

But that's just me.
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One day, I shall come back. Yes, we shall all come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine.

[Saben]

I don't really like the definitions that are in place to start with, left-right divisions mean so many things to so many different people. Politics has so many different scales on which things can be rated that any one scale that tries to lump things together like that cannot be at all accurate. So I didn't vote on the poll.

I mean, how would one classify the Republican Party? Left Wing or Right Wing? Most people would automatically say that they are Right Wing however they are far more complex than such a simple classification. On "moral" issues such as abortion and gay marriage the Republican party take a very conservative and authoritarian stance, trying to restrict the rights of individuals; yet they strongly promote capitalist ideas such as free trade which are thought of as more liberal and they also are more inclined to support the right to own firearms which again is more liberal.

Communists are seen as "left-wing" yet when you look at the Soviet Union you can see that very few of the civil rights generally considered to be on the left of society were given to the vast majority of Soviet citizens.

So I think you need to break things down a lot more and start using slightly more complex terms. Are you Progressive or Conservative? Liberal or Authoritarian? Socialist? Capitalist (which are not opposing terms)? Minimalist? Communist? Populist? Democratic? It takes you a while to get your head around such ideas but I think that once you do you can really start to appreciate politics a lot more. Once you start to seperate Liberalism, Communism and Socialism as different ideas that come into conflict or can be utilised in a single system you are starting to be able to understand what politics is really about.

I made a massive post about this in Harmonia recently and I said that overall I consider myself a Liberal Socialist Democrat, in that order. I won't go into the massive detail I went into in the Harmonian post (it was over 3000 words) but essentially I believe individuals have certain rights that should be protected and those rights basically echo the tune of the Wiccan Rede, "An it harm none, do what thou wilt." (Liberalism). I also believe that there are certain rights which citizens should be granted by the government, even if it does cost in taxes, such rights include education, health care and social security benefits (Socialism), I do believe that socialist agendas should not over-ride individual choice, there should be options of private schooling/ health care for those that want them, just not at the expense of the public sector. Finally I believe in democratic principles of people deciding what it right for them rather than politicians, although I do not believe the rights of the minorities or poor should be able to be taken away just because it is what the majority thinks is right.

On the issue of federalism versus central government, well I believe in the right and benefit of smaller government and authority being given to regional governments in order to better cater for their citizens however I believe that rigid state boundaries as they currently exist are less helpful than local council boundaries that are drawn more along realistic lines. After all the people in LA and the people in NYC have more in common than the people in NYC when compared to the people in rural New York State. State-based federalism and the division of powers is important but only when the boundaries are constantly being updated which is something we rarely see happen.

About the proposed compulsory draft, well I do think that the role of the defence force in western countries should be re-evaluated and extended more to domestic issues like crime, natural disasters, etc as well as international DEFENCE. But I would be reluctant to make something like the military compulsory, mostly because I am against forcing anyone to do anything. Personally I think the government should have a more conditional approach to these matters "if you don't want to receive immunisations, fine, but you won't have free health care provided" or in this instance "you don't have to serve in the defence force, but if you don't then the benefits of the protection given to you by the defence force may not be granted" or some such. I do think that it should be flexible though so people with ethical objections to combat roles are able to still serve in other capacities. It is an awkward issue, but I think overall serving in the military or another structured thing like that (think Mormon missionaries) does benefit the people that do it, but it can't be forced on them. If it is something that benefits their nation/ society (I prefer to think of it in terms of the latter I am against the idea of nations) then people should be encouraged to be involved, but forcing them to do it? I don't like that idea.

[Jurhael]

I don't follow any particular political philosophy since all my beliefs tend to be all over the map and I have a difficult time articulating what I do believe politically.

I tend to fall to the Left, Far Left, but I don't agree with OP in terms of the definitions.

Let's just say that I tend to match Sai in some ways, but I have zero problem with welfare programs and am very much FOR the choice to have an abortion. Actually, I match Saben almost perfectly.

On soclal issues, I'm generally quite Libertarian to the point to where I have little regard for Authoritarian views. So, sometimes, I'll use the term "Libertarian Socialist". No, it's NOT an oxymoron as the concept of Libertarianism came from Socialists(it's rigth-winged Capitalists that used the term for their own purposes). But, it's generally where I fall into.
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Let's waste time chasing cars....

[Sadness]

I fit the definition of centrist, but I guess I really don't care about politics most of the time. Only when it matters is if it has to do with local issues.
















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Make me feel with your razor.

[Drakken]

I find myself agreeing with aspects of both sides of politics, but more than not I find myself siding with the leftist.
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When you feel your life ain?t worth living
You?ve got to stand up and
Take a look around you then a look way up to the sky.
And when your deepest thoughts are broken,
Keep on dreaming boy, cause when you stop dreamin? it?s time to die.

[Ninjar]

[Sai Fujiwara]

Ha ha, Ninjar... In Paducah, a lot of people there probably do not know what "far-left" even means. (That's a joke, by the way...) Anyway, I do feel it's neccessary again, to point out a few things there.

First off, I don't mean protecting the boarders on JUST land... There are also numerous waterways and the entire sealines that the United States is exposed to. Also, the border with Canada SHOULD be policed. In these crazy times, God knows what type of criminal or terrorist organization could be shipping between us. It's easier for them to do it there, because we know we face no threats from Canada. But, it's only a matter of time before people start taking advantage of the lax security.

[Inko]

you should let the people decide what they want to do with there lives not have the Government dictate everything the person does which is why i am not a lefty.

I also believe that the individual comes first in everything, and that is way i am not a right winger. I don't like people as a whole but i like individuals.

I really don't fit any of these so i chose centrists though that is not what i am either. I think that all the government should is protect the country that they support and that is all.

order is not immportant to me in any way, shape, or form.

A communistic society would never trully work because many people in this world are ambitious because it is human nature to want more.

[Sage]

[Ninjar]

[Wolf Stew]

I'm more or less a centrist, although specifically I favor a conservative economic policy and a "live-and-let-live" social policy. Socially, as long as you're not hurting anyone, I don't care what you do.

I don't know how I'd describe myself for foreign policy, though. I don't like the current direction of the US foreign policy at all, as I think we're going to bankrupt ourselves if we keep sticking our noses in everyone else's business. I'd like to see us re-think our commitment to NATO (do we *really* need US troops and bases in Europe anymore?), too. And I'd like to see us be less confrontational (and more respectful) toward our traditional allies.

[Sai Fujiwara]

Ha ha, well , first off, I'm glad you didn't jump all over me at that joke, Ninjar, but I'll get to a couple of your points a little later.

The first thing I want to address were inko's satements. I'm pretty much totally opposed to your position, though I suppose it would be a waste of time to try and get you to see things my way. (Not an insult, we're all entitled to our opinions...) I can only assume, based on how you wrote that post, that you must be an American. Believing that the individual comes first seems to be the core value in American culture, and it's something that I find incredibly irritating and selfish. I believe that the COMMUNITY ought to come first. Who cares what's best for ONE person, when it is done at the detriment of others? That's more or less a philisophical question, and I don't really expect an answer to that. Just something I think you ought to ponder.

Order isn't important to you? So, I suppose if someone looted your house because there was no law against it, or killed your parents because they looked at them funny, you wouldn't really mind that there weren't any laws to protect them or your property? Or maybe, you'd be happy if there were no police around to enforce these rules?

I don't mean any offense when I say this, but I'd advise you to think about the weight of a statement before you go and say something like that, because it really doesn't make you look very intelligent.

And, it isn't neccessarily human nature to want want want and to want more. Sure, we might be brought up to think that way, but consider some of the still-existing primitive hunting and gathering cultures. They communally share everything, without thoughts of selfishness or desires to want more. Since food and resources are so scarce to them, it's the way they must live to survive together. Sure, it's primitive, but it's the way they live. Try reading up on some of those cultures, it's pretty interesting stuff.

Anyhoo... Ninjar, right. Back to some of what you were saying. I wasn't trying to suggest that we patrol the Canadian waters, but our own coastal waters. Also, we should tighten security on our own land borders as well. Both Canada and Mexico. Why should we have lax security when people could be smuggling drugs and weapons into our country? It's that precise reason that we have such lax security before someone starts to take notice of it, and tries to expolit it.

Also, you and I seem to disagree on what the police SHOULD be doing. Sure, they can be a hero, but I don't think that the average policeman wants to go to work, hoping to gun down some felon, breaking the law... I think your view of the cops is a little too trigger-happy. Also, soldiers would only be used in extreme circumstances, or to HELP police in doing their job. Police are there to "book" the criminals and investigate. Also, to make routine traffic stops and all that good stuff. Soldiers could also be used to help direct traffic, like during that outage we had, back a year or so ago. They wouldn't really be TAKING OVER the police's job, just helping them out, and helping to keep the streets safer. And that's really what any GOOD cop should want anyway, right?

Oh yeah, and for our forces being spread thin... That's why I suggested mandatory military service for ages 17-19. It's just that, well... Um, people wouldn't like it. But, I think it'd do this generation some real good.
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Happily Married to the Lovely Lady Chris Lightfellow! :D