I think that no sane individual is 100% at either end of the political spectrum.

It tends to be an issue-by-issue arrangement.

The problems start when extremist members of one group start trying to define the opposition's position FOR THEM....as we see in the left- or right-leaning media, who spend more time talking about what they think the other guys want than about what THEY want.

Prime example I've seen many times in many variations online:
"You believe abortion should be okay, so how can you think the death penalty isn't?"
Horrible generality trying to basically tell someone what they "really" think.

Opposing groups (in any realm, not just politics) generally feel the NEED for conflict, because if they didn't they'd have to sit down and LISTEN TO EACH OTHER, and probably find they're more alike than their argumentative selves would ever admit.

Language also comes into play, in our era of catchphrase and soundbite.
Sensationalists know connotations all too well, and use them against one another to sway the general public into a panic based around the possibility of "those guys" ever getting into a position of power.

Metaphors are also used ad nauseum, and generally even when they FAIL are held onto dogmatically.


...all this I learned in the process of transforming from an argument addict into a listener.



For myself, these are some issues I take one "side" or the other regarding, but each is too complex to boil down to just "conservative" or "liberal," in my opinion:

"Conservative" - I believe the federal government has become bloated in power and responsibility, and that the American citizenry has become conditioned to look to the federal government to solve our problems and find us jobs and help us all retire, with a disgusting sense of entitlement.

"Conservative" - I believe arming the citizenry can aid in crime reduction, as long as the constabulary remains at a higher level of armament in order to retain the visible position of holding higher authority to enforce laws than the average citizen.

"Conservative" - I believe municipal governments are not given nearly enough credit for the massive amount of person-to-person work they hold responsibility for, and that local government holds by its nature less aptitude for corruption than state and federal governments.

"Conservative" - I believe America has become so dependent on other nations, that our national pride is misplaced. We basically act like we don't need anyone, yet most of the products we use are manufactured overseas. Ironically, our unwillingness to pay a little more for domestic products is the result of our own capitalistic obsession with "getting our money's worth", no matter how dependent on China, Japan, etc. we become.

"Liberal" - I believe it immoral and illegal to deploy military personnel without the explicit permission of Congress in a formal declaration of war, and that without said declaration, any initiated or extended deployment is a crime amounting to high treason, for which the chief executive and the joint chiefs should be held responsible.

"Liberal" - I believe the U.S. has become a fat cat holding a big gun among the nations of the world, especially in our deployment of military bases throughout the world. If any other nation wished to build a base on our soil, we would call it an act of war, yet we expect our allies to tolerate our armed presence on THEIR soil without complaint. I believe these bases have and are draining the federal budget, require far too many of our troops which could be either discharged or assigned post at home, and contribute to international hatred of the U.S.

"Liberal" - I believe we, as a nation, due to the above sense of entitlement and fat-caterry, have completely disregarded our natural resources and their conservation, keeping our National Parks open strictly to be tourist attractions to gain revenue. As such, we continue to lay waste to our last untouched wilderness, and to turn our cities into giant trash heaps.

"Liberal" - I believe our nation was a bought and paid for decades ago by big business and the wealthy, and that any and all "political" decisions we of the un-wealthy can make are merely illusions to make us THINK we have a say in the matter of what happens to our country, especially in the matters of poverty, class and racial stratification, and class mobility.


A brief smattering, to be sure.