My Political Philosophy

After one too many political discussions on Facebook, I decided several years ago to go back to my policy of NOT discussing politics.  For the most part, I've stuck to that policy.  I plead guilty to being actively involved, and in some cases the instigator of such discussions, but the end result is always the same: I do NOT enjoy those discussions. I know better than to argue with people who have extreme political views because nothing I say is ever going to change their minds. The one advantage to having political extremists is that they cause the political pendulum to swing back and forth a bit; in the long run, that's probably healthy for the U.S.

So for those who want to know where I stand on the political spectrum, the answer is Moderate. I believe in capitalism with reasonable regulations; I believe in a mixed economy. I believe in public education and social security. I believe welfare should be abolished. I believe health care should be available to all American citizens, but I don't care whether in the end it's run by the private sector, the government or a mix of both. Just as long as it gets done. I hear too many pundits blaming unemployment and lack of health insurance on lazy welfare recipients, etc. Sure, they are out there, but my own exposure has been to mostly decent, hard-working people who are unemployed due to no fault of their own. I believe people have the right to live their lives as they wish as long as it doesn't interfere with other people.

I find the polarizing talk shows and bigmouth one-sided pundits to be very discouraging and a threat to America's well-being. I admit to being a huge fan of Rush Limbaugh for a couple of years in the early 1990's. After awhile I started to realize that I was only hearing one side of an argument; the fact is there are always two sides to an argument. The truth lies somewhere in between. Hence my "moderate" status. I believe people who only listen to pundits on one end of the spectrum are doing themselves a huge disservice. I rather like the concept of "equal time," but with the proliferation of all media beyond traditional broadcasting, it's unlikely to be workable today.

There is no way that conservatives can be right all the time or liberals can be right all the time. Society, industry, technology, communication methods and transportation methods are always evolving. What may work in one era may not work in another era. While we must learn from history, we cannot set in stone that past methods will or won't work today or in the future. It is through true, honest DISCUSSION and not mudslinging and attacks that we will find compromise on these issues.

I am very proud to be an American. It may not be a perfect country, but it is better than any other country and there is no other place I'd rather live in.