Are You Left Or Right?

[Chesterton]

I dont buy it. Plenty of countries are somewhere left of the USA without sliding into totalitarianism.

You don't buy what?

 

[durangodawood]

You don't buy what?

That left type policies necessarily lead to totalitarianism.

 

[Chesterton]

I consider myself left economically and socially. Although I do hold some views others (especially on the left) consider conservative and very politically incorrect. Even then.. I think I hold those views from a non-conservative lens.

Conservatism has always struck me as something relative. Especially when people talk about liberal and conservative brains. If someone is raised in a hyper liberal home and they turn out to lean right. The processes their brain uses to get there is different than a kid who was raised in a conservative home and questions little and consider themselves right leaning, and vice versa.

Dude, I can't believe you voted left. I've seen your posts for years and you are so not left. Try walking onto a college campus wearing a t-shirt that says "Women Are The More Neotenous Sex". As soon as they look up what the word neotenous means, you will be cancelled, beaten and then cancelled again.

 

[SimplyMe]

Neither, both -- what is clear is that there is no option for me in the poll.

 

[durangodawood]

Dude, I can't believe you voted left. I've seen your posts for years and you are so not left. Try walking onto a college campus wearing a t-shirt that says "Women Are The More Neotenous Sex". As soon as they look up what the word neotenous means, you will be cancelled, beaten and then cancelled again.

Theres more of consequence to consider in voting besides "culture wars" stuff.

 

[Chesterton]

Theres more of consequence to consider in voting besides "culture wars" stuff.

I'm a little familiar with the history and origins of the left. I disagree.

 

[durangodawood]

I'm a little familiar with the history and origins of the left. I disagree.

Mehguy seems to disagree, if youre reading him correctly.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

I don't want to equivocate on the question, but I tend to vote on the issues, and wherever that lands me, then "Hello!"
I suppose if we had a short discussion, it would be resolved among friends that I am to the right and voted as such in the poll.
When it comes to the poor, I tend to the left because I think the economy and greed in our culture are hurting the poor. I have been poor so I can identify with their problems. Most of our giving is directed to the poor. Prices are going up, but wages are not....etc. etc. etc... As I have said before... profitable companies could give a 10% wage increase across the board, and it would barely show on the balance sheet. Anyways. When it comes to abortion (the single most important issue to me), I am on the right. I believe in a smaller gov and staying out of our business. I am afraid that I am hard on the abortion issue because the proponents will never take us more seriously than we are. If America is judged, these are the issues: abortion, Gender confusion, and oppression of the poor. So I have to be serious about these. At the moment, freedom of religion remains.. but you can see the handwriting on the wall. As much as I feel some confidence in the direction of the current swing to the "right" in the election... I fear it will not last or even go too far. Eventually, and I am trying my best to believe against it, I think both democracy and capitalism will fail, and Western civilization will suffer from it. Democracy and capitalism may be our best, but they will fail because fallen humans operate them.
Anyways...
RIght.

 

[Chesterton]

Neither, both -- what is clear is that there is no option for me in the poll.

Wrong answer.

 

[Maria Billingsley]

The words "left" and "right" in the political context can spark much discussion as to what they mean, but for this simple poll I'll assume everyone basically knows what they mean. And yes, the wording of the poll is a bit vague, and that's intentional.

Ambidextrous.

 

[Chesterton]

Ambidextrous.

That comes in "handy" if you play sports.

 

[mark46]

lol, no weasel answers. I mean according to you, your understanding.

The words have no meaning unless you give examples.

To be clear MOST of American voters are consider left by the RIGHT wing of the Republican Party and RIGHT by the left wing on Democratic Party.

 

[Chesterton]

The words have no meaning unless you give examples.

To be clear MOST of American voters are consider left by the RIGHT wing of the Republican Party and RIGHT by the left wing on Democratic Party.

It's always a good idea to read the OP before you post in a thread.

 

[BCP1928]

lol, no weasel answers. I mean according to you, your understanding.

I repudiate both of those terms. They have been appropriated and shorn of all rational meaning by culture warriors. If you want a category to put me in you can call me Labor. And when the working class realizes how they have been lied to and screwed over by both the "left" and the now the "right" there will be millions of us and there will be a reckoning.

 

[NBB]

I don't like politics much, but the left in most countries is being anti biblical, and anti christian morally. I can't support that, and neither any christian should, also if you look what is happening to Canada, and UK, etc some things are getting scary there, with things like going to court for bible verses and silent praying etc.
So if i vote i do it right, even if its the 'less worse' option.

 

[MehGuy]

Dude, I can't believe you voted left. I've seen your posts for years and you are so not left. Try walking onto a college campus wearing a t-shirt that says "Women Are The More Neotenous Sex". As soon as they look up what the word neotenous means, you will be cancelled, beaten and then cancelled again.

I will repost a post I made a while ago explaining my custom title.

"I do not believe masculinity or femininity is something that is 100% clear-cut. At the same time, I do not believe masculinity or femininity are just social constructs. Instead, they have biological underpinnings that are molded and influenced by culture. While they are not 100% clear-cut, I do not believe that makes them built on sand. I do believe there is a degree in which we can understand what masculinity and femininity actually are, more than people give it credit for. Nor does trying to understand what they are, and thinking they have biological underpinnings means one has sexist motives. On the contrary, as an egalitarian myself, I believe it is important to understand how things work. Even if the mechanisms behind it may be unsettling.

My model of masculinity and femininity is one of a parent/child model. It evolved to deal with reproductive realities. A woman can only give birth every 9 or so months while a man can impregnate as many women as he is able. Evolution is blind and works incrementally. Our evolved psychology is based on a lot of what I like to think of as psychology programs that are reused over and over. Psychology, I believe, is helped looked at as systems slightly modified and complied on top of each other. Masculinity and femininity being one such example. Not only are women more reproductively valuable than men they are also more vulnerable for long periods of time when they are pregnant. It is easier to piggyback a more ancient psychological program (the care and nurturing we have towards children) onto how we treat the different sexes.

Women are more neotenous on average compared to men. Smaller skeletal structure, higher pitched voice, less muscle mass and etc. Growing up in a socially conservative environment as a kid I came to the conclusion on my own that masculinity and femininity resembles a parent/child relationship. I didn't have an evolutionary framework as a kid, but when I learned about neoteny as an atheist and an adult it made so much sense to me. I was like... bingo.

I do not really want to get into a heated gender debate topic on here, but I also see a lot of the parent/child dynamics I hated as a kid during my socially conservative upbringing also in the "progressive" places I tried finding solace in as an adult."

Saying all this, I do understand why some people do not think I am left leaning but instead right leaning. I will list a few reasons why people may be confused by my conduct...

1. Despite sharing little political views with my conservative parents, they did provide me with a very loving upbringing. When I lost my faith and became an atheist, I had absolutely no fear that my parents would have an overreaction or disown me. Even my socially conservative church friends didn't treat me negatively when I came out as an atheist. While others might have less of a loving conservative upbringing, I didn't, and I cannot pretend that conservatives have different views than me because they are evil.

My father is pro-life, but I know the reason he is pro-life isn't because he wants to control women. He genuinely believes a fetus is a valid form of life that deserves to grow up and develop. If for some reason men were magically changed into being the ones who go pregnant, it wouldn't change his stance on abortion one bit. I can't, find myself able to be personally enraged by this opinion.

2. Reading my posts, it's clear I talk more negatively about the left than the right. I freely admit the left emotionally stirs me up more than the right, not because I am right but because I am left, and I hate how the modern left operates. I care more about the opinions of those closer to me. Kind of like how I notice some Christians hate other Christians more than they hate unbelievers. Not because they are unbelievers but because they care about their faith and want it to be displayed in the way they personally see as correct.

In fact, despite my father and I have very opposite political views one way we bound is by trash talking our own side. Sometimes we even get into heated arguments over it, lol.

3. As I said in my previous post, the reasons why some people are more left leaning, and some people are more right leaning will vary. On paper I share a lot of similarities with those on the left, but when the reasons are fleshed out, I find myself often very opposed to many on the left. A big one being gender equality. I am for gender equality, but the paths to achieve this are very different in my mind. I have a view that is more biological/evolutionary than social. This can have profound changes on how you view gender and what needs to be corrected. The biggest difference I think I have with feminists as a result is that I believe that we should still care for women's issues, but we need to do this with a more rational and less emotional mind. That men's strong reactions to women in pain compared to men in pain contributes greatly to the cycle of how the genders are treated in society (positive and negative). Feminists often encourage others to feel very strongly for women in pain, while I believe the opposite. That it's harmful and sometimes abhorrent.

4. *or maybe more of an elaboration on point 3* I have always been left leaning, even when I was too young to grasp the terminology. This being important in possibly explaining my differences with others on the left... I grew up in a conservative household with conservative values. I had to attempt to understand the psychology of others all by myself. I hated the idea of gender roles my conservative father was trying to instill in me. To combat these traditional gender roles my father was trying to make me believe, I had to come up with a model of masculinity/femininity all by myself. I came up with conclusions that really differ from messages I see from feminists.

 

[RileyG]

Moderate right

 

[RileyG]

Both. I am left and "correct."

According to WHOM?

 

[Fantine]

According to WHOM?

My opinions are shared by at least 73 million voters--and my reliance on reliable, well referenced information gives me confidence in my correctness

 

[RileyG]

My opinions are shared by at least 73 million voters--and my reliance on reliable, well referenced information gives me confidence in my correctness

So?

Numbers mean nothing.

Jesus only had 12 followers, and the crowds demanded he be put to death.

Was he wrong because a small minority of Jewish men followed him?

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. - Matthew 7:13-14