Political Labels

Liberal or Conservative? Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Communist, Socialist? Labeling or pigeonholing people by their affiliations, opinions, or political heroes has been going on forever. It seems that we all want to put individuals into some nice little box and define them by it, usually as a means of disparaging them. This makes it easy to put all of the perceived negative characteristics of say, being a liberal, upon someone and dismiss them totally. Nice try.

The term that really pisses me off is moderate. I think most people that identify themselves as such are just trying to avoid conflict that results from affiliating with any group with an opinion. If they really have an opinion they are afraid to express it for fear of having to defend it. It's an easy out that I have no respect for.

As a general rule I have identified myself as a Conservative Republican since Ronald Reagan captured the imagination of the country. Unfortunately I have been disappointed since George H.W. Bush promised that conservatism but never delivered. Sure they all invoke his name and promise less government and the usual mantra but the reality is hard to dispute. None of them had the stones to really stand up to Congress and have been willing accomplices to the financial mess we are currently in.

So I hereby denounce my affiliations to all political parties and the labels they carry with them. The only caveat I will consider if you can find one that covers all of the following perspectives:

I am fiscally conservative but believe we all have a responsibility to the less fortunate in our society.

I am pro-life but do not think Roe v. Wade needs to be overturned. Abortion is a personal decision and most women, when given accurate information on both sides of the issue, will chose life for their babies. It should not be legislated on either side but also should not be funded by government.

I am a devout Christian but do not think my religion, or anyone's for that matter, should be sponsored or promoted by government. This religious freedom we enjoy in our country also extends to those citizens who wish to be free from religion. If you want your kids to have a good religious education then send them to a parochial school or get off your lazy butt and teach them yourself. And that goes for Muslims, Hindus, Jews, or Mormons. I don't care!

The government has, in my opinion, a very limited constitutional scope, which it has exceeded. National defense is the primary objective. Entitlement programs are not but they increase dramatically every year. Government has become the first option with politicians buying votes by promising more and more. Anytime someone has the audacity to mention shutting down a federal program the wailing begins. It should be obvious to anyone with a brain that something has to give or we will achieve that Third Word Country status we looked down our noses at for generations. We aren't that far away!

Personal responsibility is a foreign concept to all political groups, save the true Libertarians. And I am not talking about that idiot Bob Barr, either. Our grandparents new what it was because they had to take responsibility for what they did. They had pride and knew that nobody was going to bail them out. It was never the taxpayer's responsibility to pay for their mistakes as it seems to be today. Businesses failed and other businesses took their place if the market demanded what they offered. End of story!

So there you go.