Choose Now – Liberal or Conservative?

I understand why it is now – ideological lines are rigid, and anything members of “teh left” oppose members of “teh right” support, and vice versa. If Obama and the Democrats came out in favor of puppy kisses and free ice cream, the NRO would have a hundred op-ed pieces declaring puppy kisses to be the vanguard of the incipient liberal fascism. But how did it get this way? Why is not wanting 4.5 tons of toxic shit dumped into your lake considered “liberal?” Does anyone have a book that might explain things? [via Balloon Juice.]

Talking with respect to this ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, John Cole asks why your opinion on any public issue makes you choose between a liberal and a conservative tag. I have noticed this increasingly among Indian bloggers too who will slot you as rabid Hindutva goons if you say anything against the Congress. But it is definitely more intense with respect to United States politics.

I have several opinions that might put me in line with the conservatives especially when it comes to economic policy but the intense hate-riddled sentiment toward anything multicultural among the Republicans makes me run as far away as I can from them. I’m not going to take sides with a party whose most vociferous member look down upon me just because I’m an immigrant and a legal one at that. Their social policies run counter to even the most conservative positions in India. Although not all Republicans or conservatives think that way but at least the ones who are heralded as the future of the party do. There ae several liberal positions that I vehemently disagree with and suspect the intentions of most Democrats.

What do moderates like us do? Where do people who believe in a little bit of this and a little bit of that fit in? Based on what I have heard from many people both online and off, I’m not alone. But the media thrives on conflict so this silent majority is largely ignored.

“Choose Now – Liberal or Conservative?” [Short URL: http://www.ipatrix.com/?p=2965] was published Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009 at 11:33 am by Patrix, filed under Observations, and tagged as bias, political debate, politics. Both comments and linkbacks are closed.

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Ashwin
I agree with the points you raised which I why I always feel a multi-party system, as we have in India, is quite a useful concept. Even though it has its own disadvantages such as being diluted by too much regionalism, I would still prefer to have the choice rather than being alienated by some national party’s ideology (which is mainly what led to the creation of so many regional parties in India). As you point out, the two-party system is a “clean” and simple but not truly representative of the entire populace.
- http://www.ipatrix.com Patrix
  Exactly. Right now, as it stands you have to choose the lesser evil. Fiscally, I’m prone to agree with the Republicans but their crazy religious wingnuts scare me more. In spite of a multi-party democracy in India, we have started to see consolidation and the lack of a credible and viable Third Front makes it difficult.
http://lotusnova.blogspot.com Amit
Actually, conservatives love legal immigrants – it’s the illegal ones they have an issue with. (Based on my experience.)
As to why the divisions – because we all want to be part of a tribe and what Bush said (“either you’re with us or you’re against us”) applies universally to all, whether on the left or the right. Maybe we just love to fight as it gives us a reason to be, and we humans over-rate ourselves regarding our logical/rational thinking processes. If we acknowledged nuances (e.g. that some Republicans voted against the Iraq war, or a good number of Democrats voted for it), then our own position wouldn’t be that special, or it wouldn’t stand out (e.g. Republicans were for Iraq war, whereas Democrats were against it), so that’s why we need to focus on extremes, or in some cases, ignore the outliers. Makes life a lot simple when it’s viewed in black-and-white. :)
- http://www.ipatrix.com Patrix
  Logically speaking conservatives should love legal immigrants since it makes business sense. But lately, the xenophobic crazies have taken control of the agenda. If you pay attention, even Pat Buchanan, a MSNBC analyst no less is extremely hostile to any non-whites.
  You’re right. Nuanced views takes effort when pitting black against white sometimes literally is so damn easy.

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Choose Now – Liberal or Conservative?

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