Gato 0 #1 March 16, 2008 Without resorting to sarcasm, can anyone tell me how I can know whether I'm conservative or liberal? I'm not interested in the bashing of either faction - I honestly want to know. Think of it this way: If you had a room full of 12-14 year olds ask you this question, and you wanted them to be able to make up their own minds, what would you say? Again, sarcastic and insulting responses are not appropriate.T.I.N.S. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #2 March 16, 2008 what makes you believe you are either conservative or liberal, and not something else entirely? edited to add clicky: Operation Politically Homeless Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gato 0 #3 March 16, 2008 Thanks for posting that, Speed. I'd never heard of that before. I took the quiz, but I'm not sure if I want to post the results. T.I.N.S. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amazon 7 #4 March 16, 2008 Oh come on.. I will ACCORDING TO YOUR ANSWERS, The political group that agrees with you most is... . CENTRIST 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. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #5 March 16, 2008 ACCORDING TO YOUR ANSWERS, The political group that agrees with you most is... . LIBERTARIAN 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 Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #6 March 16, 2008 It doesn't matter to me how you score, the POINT is that the one-dimensional model of a line between conservative and liberal, just doesn't cover political ideologies properly. The Nolan Chart is a little bit better because it scores beliefs along two dimensions. Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gato 0 #7 March 16, 2008 Libertarian. I couldn't agree with you more.T.I.N.S. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jcd11235 0 #8 March 16, 2008 Quotethe POINT is that the one-dimensional model of a line between conservative and liberal, just doesn't cover political ideologies properly. I agree with that statement, but the test seems to be very biased towards libertarianism in the manner in which questions are asked. The site obviously has that apparent bias, also.Math tutoring available. Only $6! per hour! First lesson: Factorials! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PLFXpert 0 #9 March 16, 2008 Mine also said Libertarian, though I'm sticking with "right-leaning Independent". I disagree with the Libertarian Party on immigration, the war in Iraq (now that we're there--I was part of the small percentage of Americans that did not support us going there. Still don't think we should have, but that's neither here nor there now. Now that we're there...), and tax reform to name a few of the larger issues. I like most of the Libertarians I know. I'm just not one of them. Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kschilk 0 #10 March 16, 2008 I can illustrate it for you. Let's say you have a house....it's raining and there's a hole in the roof. A Conservative.....will borrow money to replace the whole roof and then spend about $2.00 on a cheap bucket. He'll then place the bucket under the hole, pocket the rest of the money and leave it up to the next generation, to fix the problem. A Liberal....will hire expensive consultants to do various studies, on how to stop the rain.....then tell them to send the bill to his wealthier neighbor. A Libertarian....will try to sue the rain, for infringing on his rights, property damage and tresspassing....then sue himself, for impeding the rain's right to travel freely. An Independent....would ask for public donations to repair his roof, while blaming the Conservatives for creating the rain and the Liberals, for not preventing it. Non-Affiliated....would probably fix the roof, clean-up the mess, grab a beer and a sandwich and get back to watchin' the game."T'was ever thus." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nerdgirl 0 #11 March 16, 2008 QuoteThink of it this way: If you had a room full of 12-14 year olds ask you this question, and you wanted them to be able to make up their own minds, what would you say? Within the scenario you proposed: a room full of 12-14 yo’s I’d first re-fine it to ‘liberalism’ and ‘conservatism’ as political philosophies. I would describe conservatism as tending to be more traditional, supportive of long-standing institutions, and favoring slow, prudent change (if any change at all). Tending to be more cautious/less prone to risk (e.g., like conservative investment strategy), i.e., one who wants to ‘conserve’ what they have. Highly valuing personal liberties. I would describe liberalism as tending to be concerned equally with equality and civil, political, and personal liberties and more willing to challenge traditional assumptions or ways of doing things. I’d also note that at its origin the Republican Party most strongly resembled a liberalist political philosophy & a fairly radical one at that! VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darius11 12 #12 March 16, 2008 Quote ACCORDING TO YOUR ANSWERS, The political group that agrees with you most is... . LIBERTARIAN 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. The RED DOT on the Chart shows where you fit on the political map. I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #13 March 17, 2008 Quote If you had a room full of 12-14 year olds ask you this question, and you wanted them to be able to make up their own minds, what would you say? If I actually had such a room of youngsters, I'd ask them what they thought it meant, and explain that it's more than a binary or one dimension line. If you're looking for a meaningful definition, it's hard to do these days. The lines are blurred and both liberals and conservatives hold a lot of beliefs that they think everyone should have, but they personally ignore. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amazon 7 #14 March 17, 2008 QuoteI’d also note that at its origin the Republican Party most strongly resembled a liberalist political philosophy & a fairly radical one at that! That description of the Republican Party died long ago with the influx of the far right wing fundamentalists.... and the huge influx of southern racist democrats who fled from that party when Lyndon Johnson passed the civil rights legislation of the 1960's. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
misaltas 0 #15 March 17, 2008 QuoteI can illustrate it for you. Let's say you have a house....it's raining and there's a hole in the roof. A Conservative A Liberal A Libertarian An Independent Non-Affiliated A Green... will question why they ever had a roof, and starting with the hole will hammer and pry off the rest. Periodic rains will be welcomed with upstretched arms as nature's gift, and for bathing purposes.Ohne Liebe sind wir nichts Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SivaGanesha 2 #16 March 17, 2008 QuoteOperation Politically Homeless The problem with the quiz, as they present it at that link, is that there are no questions related to religion. I generally find that religion is the issue that separates the true libertarians from the posers. When I find someone who is willing to extend their notions of civil liberties to those who worship a different god/goddess/savior/etc--or no god/goddess at all--then I consider that person a true libertarian. Many republicans would pass as libertarians if you allowed them to slide by without asking the tough questions re their attitudes on religion."It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnealtx 0 #17 March 17, 2008 This wasn't news... QuoteACCORDING TO YOUR ANSWERS, The political group that agrees with you most is... . LIBERTARIAN 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 Mike I love you, Shannon and Jim. POPS 9708 , SCR 14706 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rehmwa 2 #18 March 17, 2008 Quote A Liberal....will hire expensive consultants to do various studies, on how to stop the rain.....then tell them to send the bill to his wealthier neighbor. the liberal will also think that making the hole bigger will fix that leak - and belittle anyone who says otherwise but that's neither here nor there ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rehmwa 2 #19 March 17, 2008 QuoteA Green... will question why they ever had a roof, and starting with the hole will hammer and pry off the rest. Periodic rains will be welcomed with upstretched arms as nature's gift, and for bathing purposes. the green will also insist that everyone else installs a hole in their roof so we can all be miserable equally - in fact some need to be MORE miserable. But equally "more" miserable ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydyvr 0 #20 March 17, 2008 Quote but that's neither here nor there Then just where the hell is it? . . =(_8^(1) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gato 0 #21 March 17, 2008 QuoteMany republicans would pass as libertarians if you allowed them to slide by without asking the tough questions re their attitudes on religion. This is what I don't get - are we more interested in the overall well-being of the country, or which particular god a candidate chooses? Do any of you honestly believe that a politician's moral compass is really affected by religion? I personally think you can have a sense of right and wrong without God telling you which is which. For instance, I don't need a Bible, Koran, or Buddhist text to tell me that killing another human is wrong. It just is. Conversely, we can find plenty of immoral, unfeeling, and cruel motherfuckers who were raised by good families with deep convictions to their faith. The religious thing is not, in my opinion, an important component of leadership. Religion is a tool some politicians use to divide us, just like being a conservative, liberal, or whatever. "A good ruler doesn't need to be a prophet; not even god-like. A good ruler must be sensitive to the ones he rules." -Leto Atreides IIT.I.N.S. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #22 March 17, 2008 religious attitudes aren't the only thing separating Republicans from Libertarians. Republicans love big government when it comes to the military, war, foreign entanglements & policing the world. Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kschilk 0 #23 March 17, 2008 I'm never comfortable with a leader that claims to be aligned with any religion.....since religion and freedom are opposites."T'was ever thus." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PLFXpert 0 #24 March 17, 2008 Quotesince religion and freedom are opposites. So "religious freedom" is like an oxymoron. Whoa.Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kschilk 0 #25 March 17, 2008 Yep. There's "freedom of religion", freedom to worship any religion but no such thing, as religious freedom...though some, like the Taliban and other extremists, are trying to exercise it."T'was ever thus." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
