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

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

www.squidoo.com

Right-Wing in a nutshell ...

Someone who supports social or economic conservatism ... more "conservative" about economic and social change.

Left-wing in a nutshell ...

Agree that some form of government or social intervention in economics is necessary.

(visit the link for the full news article)



[edit on 30-9-2009 by grover]

Those are about as simplistic answers that you can get for the left/right divide. By those standards I am definitely to the left.

On another thread: www.abovetopsecret.com...

We have been discussing this very issue in the (abit loose) context of the subject matter of what the Nazi party was along that divide.

then I posted this:

Okay take me and my political ideals and tell me what you think I am.

I am in favor of a small, strong, effective government but I understand that it is not the programs that need to be cut but the bureaucracy administering them.

I believe in strong regulation...especially in matters of worker safety, the environment, consumer protection and finance. I don't think any business should be allowed to get so large that its failure would adversely effect the national economy.

I believe that environmental protection is easily as important to national security as a strong police and/or military.

I believe in a strong but not bloated military. No one can actually physically invade us so border protection should not be the reserve of the military but law enforcement. I am against a foreign policy that maintains bases overseas or props up governments. Charity begins at home. I do not believe we need a military as large as we have since what we spend on it is more than the 5 nearest competitors combined. I believe that our troops should be used rarely and sparingly but if used at all should get the maximum support that they need...but I do not equate objection to any given war as unpatriotic like the hard right slurred the left with during the bush minor years.

I don't believe in bailouts and tax cuts etc. to corporations or to the wealthiest...they should pay their fair share just like everybody else. Period. Paying their share in taxes should be a requirement to do business here and if you take jobs overseas you should pay a tax penalty...especially if you are an American business.

I am fully in favor of the public option...if the insurance companies do not feel threatened then whatever change happens will be minimal and the average person still gets screwed.

I have no problem with public assistance...we are the richest nation on earth...if we cannot afford to take care of our own, something is seriously wrong. It should not be a lifetime crutch though and those receiving it should not be penalized if they try to improve their lot like many states do.

I am in favor of the immediate legalization of all drugs...to be sold at state run ABC stores with the proceeds to be used for education and rehab...it is the only sane way to take them (and the subsequent violence) out of the hands of cartels and gangs...it is a flawed answer but better than what we are doing now.

Federal laws should trump states rights in national matters but in local matters states should have the final say...prime examples of this are environmental and educational standards...which should be set by the federal government...but how they are applied should be the state's preserve.

Do away with teaching to the test standards...the purpose of education is to teach children to think for themselves not to parrot.

A woman's right to chose is inviolate...it is her body not some religious opponent's...if they are opposed to abortion then don't have one but don't you dare to presume to take the freedom of that choice away from another.

I believe that certain national resources belong to the nation and should be controlled by the state via oversight and regulation. The government doesn't need to run them but the state shouldn't be all but giving them away either.

I believe in a universal public service between the ages 18 and 21...Those who are inclined to go into the military will always gravitate that way but it can also include Vista, Peace corp, Community Conservation Corp type agencies...community work etc. Once the four years are completed then a college education would be provided for as in the original G.I. bill...with military veterans getting special considerations. The same sort of benefits could also be a way to segue into a national health care system again with special benefits and considerations for veterans.

I could go on but that is a general overview.

and I got these two responses:

From Johnny2127:
Well you definitely are not a liberal through and through. Some of your beliefs are liberal, while others are downright conservative. I would call you a progressive libertarian if not for many of the beliefs you have in govt-based assistance. I think you are more of what are referred to as a Blue Dog Democrat.

In many ways you are a dichotomy politically with some very libertarian beliefs and some very liberal ones. Very tough to define. But I would definitely not call you very liberal.

And:

from Billybob:
i'll weigh in, grover.
most of your thoughts are libertarian/liberal except for the ones on conscription and policing which are more authoritarian.
that's the fun, we can have little left/right sovereign/state slave battles inside ourselves!

i believe in heavily policing big power (which should be a capitalist system, with monopolies being illegal), and the total freedom of the individual to do anything but trample someone else's right to exist peacefully and freely.

what does that make me?

Which got me thinking that it would be interesting if we posted what we thought made us left or right and let our peers respond.

www.squidoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 30-9-2009 by grover]

Not much of a definition when you put conservative in quotes, is it?

Grover,

I disagree with you on many points, but like yourself, I can't define myself as either left or right. I do believe in standard tests in school, and I don't believe in illegal immigration, I think military bases abroad have their role etc.

Bottom line is, there are plenty of common sense ideas that plenty of common sense people may want to espouse. For that, however, they'll always be the target for right and left wing pundits.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere

It seemed to be the simplist approach since I did not want the article to define left right so tightly that it restricted what they meant to everyone else. I want the responders definitions of what makes them one or the other...or for that matter in the middle.

Part of this thread...that is if I get a lot of responses...is that when we each look calmly and clearly at what we each actually believe politically that there is more that unites us than divides us.

[edit on 30-9-2009 by grover]

I don't define myself as a left or a right. It all depends on the situation.
BTW, what is conservatism anyway?

Do not allow them to categorize you
don't be part of any group

what is right is right and what is wrong is wrong
end of story!

Right, i despise socialism

Center-right as are a lot of Americans, more than the current president and congress anticipated.

They have made the fatal assumption that most Americans were left leaning, when in fact most are either center-left or center-right............ They tried to pull this nation to the extreme left which pissed off people who are either center-left or center right.

Those on the extreme left and right are the problem, and should be eliminated from power in Washington, they are collectively responsible for the current state this nation is in.

It is time for those closer to the center to do everything in their power to set this country on a new path, one which will move away from both right and left, more toward the center.

I'd like to think I'm somehow not on the spectrum, or that I'm some kind of third option. When you get down to it the main people on either side are rich people who want to get richer at the expense of the common man. Whether it's the stern, scowling Right wingers or the soft, huggable Left wingers, neither of them represent the common man, woman or child.

I find the idea that you can crowd everyone's political ideologies into two opposing categories to be ridiculous because at that level of simplification they lose any distinguishing characteristics.

This is why political debates are "X" and "Not X" even though the end result is usually the same.

People say that we shouldn't have a two party system, I say that a two party system would be better than the one party system we have now.

reply to post by ModernAcademia

NO NO NO!!!

What do you believe politically.

Originally posted by Jazzyguy
BTW, what is conservatism anyway?

It's all so stupid. Depending on how you reason your opinions/beliefs you can be both conservative and liberal on all things all the time.

If I want government in my life am I being liberal with government or conservative with liberties? Does not wanting government in my life make me conservative with government or liberal with my liberties?

It's really some of the most frivolous garbage. Amazing how completely so many define their lives by what are essentially relative terms devoid of any constant meaning.

Was I liberal with my salt last night or conservative with the chickens moisture?

Originally posted by Walkswithfish
They tried to pull this nation to the extreme left

You have to be kidding...
"Extreme left"? Sheesh. I wonder what's left for you. US Postal Service is government-run, should we close this communist cell?

The whole idea of Left vs. Right made me think of a big plane. The wings and their engines are on opposite sides of the object, but they are still connected via the middle, and still depend on the other structures that are located in the centre.

A Left-wing cannot survive by itself, the same as a Right-wing cannot survive by itself. They are both connected to each other via their dependencies of other parts of the plane located mainly in the centre.

I believe that anyone who has to follow either political philosophy totally and with a religious like denial of reality is very much doing what TPTB are manipulating them to do...... Any time anyone comes along and tries to have either side focus on the reality of what is going on, they are ignored or labelled as being out of their minds...... We are divided and it appears to me that we are also conquered..... The two party's are no different than dog crap is from cat crap, because both are dirty and stink.

Originally posted by Dark Ghost
The whole idea of Left vs. Right made me think of a big plane. The wings and their engines are on opposite sides of the object, but they are still connected via the middle, and still depend on the other structures that are located in the centre.

A Left-wing cannot survive by itself, the same as a Right-wing cannot survive by itself. They are both connected to each other via their dependencies of other parts of the plane located mainly in the centre.

Extending your analogy, right now the engine on the right wing is making defamatory statements against the Captain on the flying deck, and tries to make him commit a pilot error. It puts his flying certificate into question and burns the fuel erratically to make the plane hard to steer. It also makes announcements on the plain's PA system about the pilot being a secret Muslim and Anti-Christ.

reply to post by grover



I'm a realist. There is no left/right in America. Those that subscribe to either label are just living in a media induced fantasyland to keep the plebes controlled and easily manipulated. Politics is just a poorly played sham giving the illusion that the people have some kind of control.

There is no left/right in a Corporatacracy; only roles people choose to play, tribes they want to join so they feel accepted and validated.

Classic yet very effective mind control.








[edit on 30-9-2009 by whaaa]

my views would be classed as liberal/libertarian, but i think the paradigm is false.

neither
i'm in the back of beyond