My General Political Views
Last updated: Sunday, September 25, 2005, 2:25 AM EDT
I'm not really too political these days. I have my opinions, but
mostly I don't care much for political bickering, and I really hate
when good discussions degenerate into political pissing orgies.
I'm a Republican. I did go through a dittohead phase, but that's
long past. Now I'm merely conservative about social issues, moderate
on economic issues, and not too radical about anything.
Issues
Here are my views on some of the issues I feel strongest about:
Freedom of Speech: In my opinion, freedom of speech is
the single most important right we have, by far. It's more important
than freedom of religion; or the right to bear arms, or to bear
children, or to vote. Communication is the very thing that makes us
human. If we don't have a right to speak, we're just animals.
For me this is not about artistic expression. Yes, artistic
expression is an important right, but the crucial thing about freedom
of speech is the freedom to criticize, and freedom to oppose the
government, and freedom to say things other people don't want to
hear.
Incidentally, freedom of speech is the main reason I consider
myself a conservative. Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying liberals
reject freedom of speech, but it just seems to be a lower priority for
them. It's like freedom of speech is OK as long as you're not saying
insensitive things about people who aren't white male humans. Nor am
I claiming conservatives are perfect. I've been embarrassed by some
of the things conservatives have done. But at the end of the day, I
just think conservatives have more stomach for speech from the
opposing side.
Abortion: Very highly against it; I think it's
murder.
Military: These people risk their lives to protect my
life and freedom, and I take that very seriously. Normally, I believe
in equal opportunity for everyone, but when it comes to the armed
forces, I don't want anyone in there who could weaken it. So, if
women and gays negatively affect the morale of 90 percent of the armed
forces, then I don't want them there. Honestly, it's nothing
personal. But I'm not willing to use the military as a instrument of
societal improvement. When the time comes that society changes, and
the presence of women and gays doesn't negatively affect the military,
then I'll be ok with it.
Environmentalism: I don't think it's as bad as everyone
says it is, and in any case I think we misplace our emphasis. We
should focus on real problems we face today, like conservation and
pollution, instead of worrying about conjectural problems like global
warming so much. Ozone is a bigger problem on the ground than in the
stratosphere.
Communism: Very, very bad. It is the archenemy of freedom,
because it cannot exist on a large scale without the government
destroying personal freedom. (Even on a small scale, it only works
because the individuals willfully sacrifice their personal freedom.)
Most people seem to automatically condemn Fascism as evil, which it
is. The same automatic condemnation should happen for
communism.
Religion: I believe the idea of "total separation of
church and state" is completely wrong. I prefer the idea of a
"religion-blind government," that is, a government that treats
religious and secular organizations exactly the same. I belive the
establishment clause in the First Amendment constitutionally
guarantees this. If a secular organization is, for example, allowed
to use school facilities, then a religious organization should have
the same rights. If a religious organization is denied privledges
that secular organizations have, then you've made a law "respecting
the establishment of religion," in violation of the First
Amendment.
Voting: I think I should say a few words on voting. A lot
of people have this idea that they should always vote for the "best"
candidate, even if the "best" candidate has no chance of winning and
the "lesser of two evils" is in a tight race.
I say that this is not only incorrect thinking, it is utterly stupid.
In the above scenario, a vote for the "best" candidate is essentially
half a vote for the "worst" candidate. So when you vote, it is
important to vote defensively.
(Of course, the real solution to this is to have run-off elections,
but that's another story.)
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