This blog allows students of Mr. Chazen's AP US Government classes to continue discussions, debates and conversations concerning issues and topics introduced in class.
Monday, August 18, 2014
BLOG #1_ WHAT ARE YOU?
Now that you have a better idea of your political ideology, write a blog about why you are whatever label you are. What issues do you think strongly define you as your label? What questions would you like to pose to the "other side"?
After doing the chart of Conservatives Vs. Liberals, I realized that I lean more on the Conservative side if things. One of the reasons being the War in Iraq. I believe that it was a good thing for us to go to Iraq because we needed to be sure their were no more WMDs and Iraq was a very big threat with those. We had to take action for our own protection. Another reason why I find myself a conservative is because of the immigration policy. I believe that legal immigration is great for America it is what founded us. But I don't believe that illegal immigrats deserve U.S. Government financial aid because they aren't legal citizens of the country and so they shouldn't get help from the government they are illegally staying in.
I may have to disagree on sending soldiers to Iraq and the immigration policy. When I heard about the arguments and debate from the news, I realized that the war in Iraq, although it was a preemptive measure to prevent conflict, ended up getting ourselves stuck in major conflicts in the Middle East and lead to large amounts of debt which we still haven't paid off yet. As for immigration, many of the families of illegal immigrants left due to problems and even violence in their countries. The immigrants in America do the jobs that we don’t want to do, and if the US could give the immigrants benefits and citizenship, we could employ a new workforce for our country. These are some of the topics that persuaded me to take a liberal viewpoint on matters in the US.
After completing the Liberal vs. Conservative chart I have come to realize I am more leaning toward the liberals. However, that does not mean I don't agree with some of the very serious issues on the conservative side. One of the big issues I agree with both sides on is abortion. For the liberals, I see where they are ok with a women deciding whether or not she wants the baby if she is "forced". However, I do believe that a baby is a baby as soon as it is conceived. So for that I am also conservative on the situation. Another issue I have strong opinions for Is welfare. I agree with the liberal side that we do need to help the poor, or the hurt if they are truly that. Because on the conservative side, I know people who use the system and play it. They claim they are hurt and are not. Lastly, an issue I think that distinguishes Liberals from Conservatives is the economy. Such as, the free market system. I feel as though if the businesses were let off to do with their business whatever they wanted then, so many businesses, pay, and employment would be unfair. I don't like the idea though of the government getting too involved because then they would gain too much power over American businesses. My questions for the Conservatives are one, How can you think that the death penalty is okay when so many people have been given it, and then they find out that person was not guilty? And also how can you oppose the current Social Security? Don't you realize that when we get older, if that goes away, some of our generation won't even be able to retire? -Ellie Workman
While I consider myself to be more socially Liberal and financially conservative, after taking the three surveys, I found that I also lean more towards the right. The biggest issues on the Conservative vs. Liberals chart for me were probably the Economy and Taxes sections. I lean more conservative on these issue because I personally support lower taxes and lower spending. With the Economy section I believe in the personal liberty of people and their ability to fail or succeed due to their actions. I don't think it's fair for all people to be equal (In an economic sense, not socially or anything) when some people have the capability of doing much better than "average" and some have the capability of doing, well, "less than average".
I have realized since starting this course that I lean very much towards the liberal side. I believe this is because of my point of view on marriage equality for LGBTQ citizens and because of my views on environmental policy and the secularization of the government. I believe that everyone has the right to marriage and nobody should be barred from the natural right to belong to the one you love (at least legally) (and yes, I know this is an old way of saying it, it's just the best way I could think of). Marriage is a right guaranteed by the constitution as it could fall under the jurisdiction of the right to pursuit of happiness. In regards to environmental policy, I believe that the environment is a beautiful thing and needs to be protected at all costs. President Theodore Roosevelt set up the first wildlife preservation sites in the United States so that someday, the Earth would still be there and be beautiful for their children and their childrens' children, and many generations far beyond them. The Earth is here to enjoy and explore, not destroy with big, fancy corporations and industrial plants and nuclear power plants. The Earth is a beautiful thing and the things it naturally provides for us: oxygen, fresh air and water, wildlife, natural gases, and sunlight are not things to be taken advantage of and then destroyed. The non-renewable resources need to be preserved if we, as a species, and the rest of population of the world want to keep living here. We need to be careful of what we use and we need to keep it protected, or it will surely fade out and we will be left with nothing.
Why would we provide large corporations who destroy the environment one tree at a time with the money to continue slowly killing us all? Why should some people be denied basic human rights such as to be married and to love who they love just because it makes others uncomfortable (would you yell at someone and punish them by taking away their right to eat pickles, just because you don't like pickles?)?
I understand your argument about the war in Iraq, however I feel as though you're contradicting yourself. You say you support Illegal Immigration due to the fact that many of the people there came to escape problems in their nation, such as violence. Therefore, if they came to the United States they could escape that and have the hope of a better life. While I personally agree with that, how can you not support the War in Iraq? The war in Iraq wasn't just a "preemptive measure" to insure national security. While that was one of the many reasons the U.S. led coalition invaded, another was to topple the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Hussein was accused, and found guilty of many things. These things included, but are not limited to; Harboring Al Qaeda insurgents, Supporting Al Qaeda, Violating fundemental human rights, commiting heinous attrocities to his own people, and defying U.N. demands.
I don't think it's fair to allow people from other countries to break U.S. laws specifically, and then criticize the U.S. for invading a country where things that are 100 times worse than in, say, Mexico, are occuring. While the consequences for Invading a nation are high (casualties, cost, etc.), allowing Immigrants to enter the nation illegally has costs as well.
I am on the edge but I think I lean more towards being a conservative. Although I agree with many liberal viewpoints like how the death penalty is 'cruel and unusual' punishment and should be abolished, for the most part I agree with conservatives. For one example, I support lower taxes and a smaller government; more laissez-faire policies. Lower taxes would encourage people to work for and save their own money. I also oppose long-term welfare. People should learn to depend on themselves and not the government. In addition the current Social Security system is in serious trouble. The government will no longer be able to maintain it if they continue with the current system. I do support a cap on Social Security payments to the wealthy but overall the system is still in terrible condition.
After doing the Conservative vs. Liberal chart, I learned that I was more of a conservative than liberal. One of the issues that I looked at was that of the affirmative action, in that people should be hired based on their ability. Now, I think that this is a good thing for our society today because there is much talk about how people get discriminated against because race, martial status,and Religion etc. I don't think this right because if you can do something to the same ability as someone else, then you should have the job, and well only cause more discrimination. Also, I believe that diversity in this act will help bring people together to see how people are different, and try to connect with them.
After doing the Conservative vs. Liberal chart, I realized that while I am generally in the middle, I tend to lean toward the Conservative side. I agree with the party's views on abortion. Abortion is killing a human being and although I understand not every pregnant woman is in a position to raise a child, adoption is an option. Also, the US should stay out of other countries' business and focus on issues at home. My question for the Liberal side is how can you expect to solve discrimination of minorities for employment and education by reverse-discrimination? You're still discriminating and demographics have shown that the current minority will soon become the new majority, so aren't you just promoting future discrimination of the minority?
Being liberal is fun, mainly because your counterparts in Washington aren’t trying to sue and impeach the president, and because you aren’t represented on the international stage by Donald Trump and Rush Limbaugh. However, at a certain point liberalism departs from pragmatism and enters ineffective idealism, where ideology trumps real action. Because of this I view myself as a pragmatic liberal, much of my ideology is shared with the far left, especially when it comes to social welfare, however on issues of the economy, the environment, and the United States’ place in the international liberal order, I tend to be much more conservative than my tree-hugging peace-loving compatriots. When it comes to social issues I sway firmly on the liberal side, especially on the issues of same-sex marriage, religion in government, abortion, healthcare, and gun control. When it comes to social welfare I feel that more money and resources should be invested into social programs to cut down on bureaucratic inefficiencies and ensure that money actually reaches people in need. However, on issues of social security and immigration I have mixed opinions. I feel that although immigrants here should be granted amnesty and more investment needs to go in not fighting drugs but fixing the deep-seated economic issues in Latin America, and promoting women’s health/rights in the region. On social security I think the individual should have more choice, but think that the current system needs minor fixes if anything. The economy however is a different story. Although I am not for a free-market system and believe in government involvement, I think that for the most part, the private sector is much better adapted to helping the nation and fixing issues in the status quo than the government. There should be laws in place to prevent the abuse of workers and preying on consumers, but the free-market can solve a lot of issues better than the government due to bureaucratic and monetary restraints placed upon the government. On taxes, I think the government should work on cutting tax loopholes and increasing taxes for the wealthy, mainly to fund more social programs. The environment is where I am at my most conservative. First when it comes to renewable energy I am firmly of the opinion that renewable energy is a bad, borderline terrible idea. Not only can renewable energy not fix oil dependence, (mainly because it can’t fuel electricity or modes of transportation) it hurts the environment more than oil and is utterly unreliable (solar power and wind I’m looking at you). On Global Warming I think that although carbon emissions are rapidly increasing warming rates that a lot of the conclusive data for and against Global Warming is paid for by the government (IPCC) and oil companies (API and Idso). Instead I think that Global Warming is more of a middle ground, yes it is an issue, and yes we should work on solving it, but it will not cause human extinction. I also support increased oil drilling, fracking and offshore, as I think it will bring a massive boost to the US economy. Finally, on the U.S.’s position in the international liberal order is above and beyond the international liberal order. The US not the UN is the primary peacekeeping force in the world, having a military force the size of the next 3 biggest militaries combined. Since the US has become the hegemon we have seen barely any conflict and certainly not anything on the scale of WW1 or WW2. The United States is key to promoting developing nations rights and preserving peace. The UN is hilariously ineffective because absolutely no one listens to its resolutions and its ability to act is crippled by China and Russia constantly vetoing any action. In conclusion—liberalism is good as long as ideology doesn’t overpower action. A government bogged down by bureaucracy and ideology is about as effective as no government at all.
I alternated between liberal and conservative on the three tests we took but I think ideology wise I think I agree more with a conservative viewpoint. I still agree with many liberal standpoints including abolishing the death penalty, as I believe no human life should be taken, and restricting the right to own a gun, as I believe there have been too many gun-related tragedies. However, I also have a conservative outlook on some issues. Looking at affirmative action, I think that people should be admitted to schools and hired for jobs based on their ability. Now saying this doesn't automatically mean that we will deprive minorities of opportunities because I believe that race does not necessarily play into the ability of a person. Although people claim that the United States is still a racist society, oftentimes I feel that it is still racist because we intentionally treat it that way.Furthermore, I believe that while temporary welfare, and in some cases long-term welfare, for the poor is a good thing, I also believe that it is important to provide opportunities for growth and self-sustenance and encourage low or poor-class people to become self-reliant. However, this does not at all mean that I am not sympathetic to poor people.
After taking multiple tests that determine what political viewpoint I have, I have noticed that I am in the middle, but leaning more towards the Liberal side. The reason why I am in the middle is because I agree with parts of the viewpoints on issues on both sides. For instance, abortion, I have a conservative view that human life, indeed, does begin at conception. However, I don't think women should not have the choice to a safe and legal abortion, especially if a women was raped and then got pregnant and wants an abortion. Next, the reason why I am leaning towards to the liberal side is because I support the part where the chart said "Support legal [and illegal] immigration and increasing the number of legal immigrants permitted to enter the U.S. each year". This is because without the illegal immigrants, our dirty jobs in America would not be filled and then we would have to pay "true" Americas a whole lot more to do the same job. They are willing to make a living with hard work and make better lives for their children and I think we should give them that opportunity.
My questions is that it said "more guns mean less crime". However doesn't more guns mean more bullets for people to use? And people who may not know how to use a gun properly can easily obtain and use guns accidentally or not and do more harm than good. So instead wouldn't there would be more crime with more guns?
Prior to assessing what side of the political spectrum I am on, I could assume that I would fall in the Liberal-Moderate side. This is mainly because that is where the adults in my family that I have the most contact with lie. I could have guessed this because I do not have an interest in politics, but am otherwise interested in hearing about other people’s beliefs. Except GBLT rights because they should not be discriminated against whether or not they can choose their sexual orientation. As well as, separation of church and state because politics should not be based on a singular moral code then forced on people with different morals. Lastly, abortion and why it should be permitted. As a person that has the ability to conceive children, I would first question who the majority of the decision makers were and if they themselves had the ability to conceive. Second, I would rather uphold my rights in deciding what is best for my future unborn child and myself than turn it over to the government. As I write this, I find myself hearing the policies of Conservative contradicting their want of less government. It makes no sense to me that at one point the ideology is that government should stay out of big business, but then has the right to enforce laws that dissolve women’s and Homosexuals rights to make decisions on how their life will turn out. The overall reward of politics as I have found in my six-teen years of life is that there is always room for debate.
After doing the conservative vs liberal chart I realized that I am very conservative, one of the issues that I believe strongly in is the death penalty. I believe that if you take someone else's life you deserve to have the same done to you because it is only fair. Another topic I believe in is abortion I think that you should not be able to take away a human life because you never know what that baby can turn out to be and you can always give it up for adoption if you are not ready to deal with raising a child. One question I have for liberals is What if your mom decided to have an abortion when she was pregnant with you?
I would firmly call myself conservative, based on the conservative vs. liberal chart as well as past tests, and knowing myself well as an individual. I was raised as someone who believes America as a land of freedom, and liberty, where man's opportunity and is not determined by large government, but rather by ones own willingness to work hard. I believe that the true American Dream is to fulfill such aspirations. Today I honestly think that our government is too involved in peoples' lives. For example, I'm Drew Bonnett, I'm an American and I should be able to do whatever I want as long as I am not harming others. If I work hard then I deserve to be rewarded by capitalism and not limited by a government who taxes the wealthy simply for the reason of redistribution. I believe in minimal taxes because I don't think social programs aren't entirely necessary and I also believe in maximum freedom. I would say I am somewhat of a libertarian when it comes to human rights, however. People should have freedoms when it comes to issues like same-sex marriage, marijuana use, possessing firearms, etc. Although I do live a life morally guided by religion, I do not think that others have to. As long as other people are not harming me by taking advantage of their freedoms, I don't care what they do. I honestly believe that men are by nature caring and kind and that Americans could all take advantage of our equal rights without confronting chaos possibly risked by giving men such freedoms.
before the whole charts thing to find out what we truly are, i though that i was a conservative. but after i finished the chart, i realized that is was a moderate liberal there are a few things that is tend to lean on the conservative side, but for the most part liberal is the way to go. for example, i agree on less spending on the national guard. that is because there are much more national issues that need to be solved. did you know that if we where to combine every other country's spending on their military, america would still out price that number by a mile. it's not like our military is weak, therefor; we need to work on national affairs such as government help. I'm not saying that we should go communist, but we need to shrink the gap that is between the poor and the top 1%. yes ,the poor do get SOME aid like food stamps, but the upper class get tax breaks that cannot be compared to food stamps. for example, we need to help the poor get a jobs so that it jumpstarts their life. also, families should get extra aid to help in raising one.
After completing the Liberal vs. Conservative chart, as I previously thought I lean more towards the side of the liberals. I believe in their policies and viewpoints on environmental awareness, separation of church and state, and individual rights, such as abortion and same- sex marriage. In my opinion, the environment is immensely more important than businesses who expel large amounts of harmful carbon dioxide, and without a healthy environment our quality of life is substantially decreased and could turn into severe problems for future generations. Next, there should be a separation of church and state because the church could become too heavy of a influence on the government and whichever religious group in power could restrict and alienate differing religious groups, which would directly violate religious freedom in America. Individual rights should be decisions made by that individual and should not be restricted by the government. Why should anyone dictate another persons personal choices like who they decide to marry? The liberal perspective promotes equality and basic civil rights.
I tend to agree with liberal viewpoints on most issues. For example, I believe that people have a basic right to health care. Without it, people in poor health cannot work, and their financial situations become a downward spiral. This is not something we should allow in a civilized society. I also support marriage rights for all adults because, frankly, why not? I don't think that allowing certain groups to marry will wreck the institution of marriage or anything. But on the conservative side, I agree that Social Security is unsustainable in its current state. The system is set up so that the current generation of workers supports the retirees. With birth rates dropping, this will eventually become too much of a strain on workers. Reform is necessary. On the topic of affirmative action, I do not support it because it discriminates without solving the root causes of racial inequality. From what I've read, much racial disparity is caused by gaps in education. Allowing everyone to receive sufficient education in elementary through high school is a better solution than discriminating in college and the workforce. I would like to ask conservatives why the death penalty should continue when there is always a risk of executing the wrong person.
I grew up in a conservative household. Ever since I was little, I knew my parents were republicans. As I got older, people began to ask me where I stood on the political spectrum. Instinctively, I would say I was conservative, but I couldn't quite back myself up. I've been asking my parents to further explain their beliefs. And just to make sure I wasn't being biased, I took the Conservatives vs. Liberals chart very honestly. I have found that I am more on the conservative side. I do believe in a less involved government. I am more for freedom than equality. With freedom, I do understand that there will be people who will not have great success. But I believe every American should have the opportunity to succeed to whatever degree they desire without being limited by the government. I don't agree in government ran healthcare. The government should help those who cannot afford health insurance, but they should not make everyone else be on the same plan. If someone wants higher quality health care, they should be able to have it. There are some issues that I agree with the Liberals. For instance, the death penalty. I believe the death penalty is wrong and inhumane. It doesn't make sense that we tell the criminal killing is wrong, and then go on to execute him. I also believe we should pass laws for same sex marriage. Although our country was founded on Christian Judeo principles, we still do have religious freedom. We cannot make everyone live by these Christian morals. I guess you could say, for most issues, I am more economically conservative and socially liberal.
After doing the Conservative/Liberal activities, I finally confirmed where I always thought I lie on the political spectrum: smack dab in the middle(however I also have a tendency to lean towards the liberal side of the spectrum). Issues I tend to be more conservative are things like: abortion and how a fetus has a right to live as we all have had this right, also I believe that guns should not be withhold from individuals as it is their right to protect themselves. While it is correct that an individual might misfire or mishandle the gun; the fault lies not with the gun but with the owner of that weapon. On the other side of the spectrum I believe that the death penalty is wrong because we are using the same thing a criminal would do: us doing it doesn't make it any different than them doing it. Fighting fire with fire simply doesn't work.
I would consider myself a moderate. The 2 quizzes that we completed the other day suggested that I am a liberal, however, the liberal vs. conservatives chart demonstrated that I would be a conservative. There are 2 issues on each side that I feel very strongly about, and that is why I have a hard time calling myself a "liberal" or "conservative." On the conservative side, I believe in the death penalty. I find that if you take someones life, the only fitting punishment is to have your life taken. I do not believe in any way, shape or form that the death penalty is cruel or inhumane. Also on the conservative side, I believe that "socialized medicine" is unfair and not necessary. I understand that some people cannot afford health care, however, some people can, and those people that pay a high price for good, quality health care, should receive good, quality health care. If the government intervenes in the health care area, all people will end up getting the same minimal health care. On the liberal side, I believe that the church and the state should remain separate. Every citizen is given the right to believe in whatever religion they choose to and the government should not have a say in that. It would be impossible for the government to please all people because of the multitudes of religions. I also support same-sex marriage, as the liberals do. I believe that all individuals have the right to marry and if marrying someone who is the same sex as them makes them happy, then I do not see why that is a problem for society. If I was forced to pick either moderate liberal or moderate conservative I would probably pick moderate liberal because even though I side with less of their overall ideas, the ones that I do side with, I feel very strongly about.
How do you know I am a liberal? I just told it to you, for it was not that much of a surprise that I tended to lean more towards the left than the right. The key issues here is government mandated welfare and health care. Do you realize that the USA before was one of the only first world countries that does not provide universal health care? How can you conservatives oppose doing so when in light of such a fact? In fact, if I remember correctly, it was first MITT ROMNEY who proposed the Affordable Care Act. Also, another issue I find extremely important is the role of immigrants inside the USA, myself being one. America is supposed to be the land of the free, a place where people want to live in, full of opportunity. A significant amount of America is built by immigrants, and if they want to stay to get the improved education, rights, and chance they should be able to utilize.
Also, I already listed my two things, so I'll keep this short and simple. Multilateralism is soooooo much better than unilateralism. There is literally nothing that unilateralism can solve that multilateralism can't solve better.
After completing the Conservative v. Liberal chart I affirmed that my belief and ideas hold more towards the Conservative side. My beliefs on the economy follow many conservative ideologies. I believe that a free market, a market of competition with the governments nose out of it, provides consumers with the best possible product and ensures continual growth. This is a market in which companies are focused on providing the best for us while giving us economic growth, jobs so companies can ensure growth, and higher standards of living. Further, I believe that lower taxes improves incentive to work. "Money is best spent by those who earn it"; the rich should not be taxed anymore because they've worked to build a better life for themselves. Socially, I also tend to lean right.I believe abortion is murder. A child, even not yet born, has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, outlined in the Declaration of Independence. Additionally, I believe that affirmative is the completely wrong way to deal with previous discrimination. Reverse-discrimination is wrong: discriminating to fix discrimination makes absolutely know sense. Also, it's important that we hire or admit people based on merit, not color. The question I pose to liberals is how they can justify affirmative action. I also believe in freedoms of gun control. People kill people, and most people who use guns to kill people get their guns illegally anyway, so making firearms illegal wouldn't stop it. Americans have the right to protect themselves, their property, and their family and one of the best instruments to ensure this is personal firearms. Finally, I want to address one thing I side with the liberals on: everyone should pay taxes towards public schools because it's a right for every american to have an education, and it's important that we support the schools in our community, even if one's child goes to a private school. This promotes smarter and mare able youth coming from communities. That is a duty of every american. I've said a lot and could say more (don't even get me started on welfare), but I think that's pretty good.
Before the start of this school year and class I had always defined myself as a Republican. I didn't have any knowledge of other parties or what they stood for, I was just told that I was a Republican. Liberal/Conservative was not a part of my vocabulary. After completing several "quizzes" and learning about liberals and conservatives, I now have a much better understanding of what I associate myself with politically. I now call myself a moderate conservative. I agree with conservative views most of the time. Ideas such as gun control, death penalty, abortion, immigration, affirmative action, and war on terror I strongly agree with. Part of the reason why I agree with those topics is because of the way I grew up. Both of my grandfathers were in the military which they took pride in and always taught me to respect soldiers/veterans. My one of grandfathers later became a St. Louis police officer/detective which played a role in growing up around guns and always learning about gun safety. Also, both of my parents have their license to carry a concealed weapon. As for abortion, I would say I agree with the conservative stand so strongly because it is just what I personally believe is right. I am Catholic, but just because the church teaches that it is wrong is not why I believe it. A fetus is a human life. I do not believe that the mother or anyone else can make the decision to give the baby life or death. Now, in some rare cases where the mother and child are both at risk of dying from the pregnancy, I may be more lenient. Yet, there are certain conservative standings that I do not agree with, such as same sex marriage and partially the role of religion in the government. As I said before, I am Catholic, but I do not agree with everything the church teaches. The church says that gay marriage is wrong and so do conservatives. I disagree. I also do not think that the Judao-Christian religion should be so involved in the government. There are so many different types of religion in the US and to incorporate religion into the government, to me, is a form of evangelizing. The first amendment states that all citizens have the freedom to worship the religion they choose. By having Judaism/Christianity be so influential in the government, the government is forcing others to believe that religion. However, I do not think all religious symbols should be removed from public and government places because it is a symbol of our history, yet they should not be continued to be put on/in new buildings or monuments.
From the conservative/liberal surveys and quizzes, I have determined that I am Liberal, though I do have some Conservative inclinations. I believe that equality, especially equality under the law, is incredibly important. Socially, this makes me a supporter of LBGT rights and a feminist, and economically in favor of making efforts to bridge the wealth gap and welfare programs. I also think that the United States has a tendency to barge into other countries' affairs thinking we can fix things without fully understanding the culture or situation that we are barging into, like the Iraqi war. Because this often ends badly for us and the country that we are "helping" or "protecting ourselves from", we should be less arrogant and work through the UN and negotiation to find more appropriate solutions than assuming that if we send troops places, we can fix things. Upon reflection, it is really a desire for various types of guaranteed equality and foreign policy that makes me a liberal.
Due partially to the conservative upbringing I've experienced at home as well as the liberal viewpoints of many of my friends, I am finally able to define myself as a libertarian, with liberal leanings. Firstly, one thing I do agree with is the death penalty. Although many might disagree, we as a society must be aware of the alternatives to the death penalty; primarily the sentence of life without parole. While this may seem more humane to most, we must realize the strain it will have economically, as well as psychologically, on both society and the perpetrator. Why waste resources housing a man with no more will to live, nothing else to look forward to but the four concrete walls surrounding him day in and day out? Besides that, the financial strain it takes to keep him or her alive can be put to much better use. Are the additional resources really worth keeping a person locked up, waiting until the day they die, after years and years in jail? I think not. Another ideal I hold close to my heart, and because of which I consider myself to lean liberally, is civil rights. America was built on the framework of religious freedom, and I'd like to think that in this day and age that freedom translates over to minorities and LGBTQ citizens, allowing them to live equally and avoid persecution. As such, I am an avid supporter of marriage equality, and full and equal rights for all, no matter of their race, religion, or sexual orientation. This, however, does not mean that I support affirmative action, at least not in the traditional sense. In the workplace, as it should be in all walk of life, your ability should carry you through, not any physical or emotional characteristic. There is one case in which I consider unique: college. College admissions should not look into race as a deciding factor, but should look at the situation of applicants, and base their admissions on what an applicant has done with what they've been given rather than by race to fill a "diversity" quota or just by pure accomplishments, which would effectively bring an end to upward mobility, another idea that I want to be represented in America. The US was built on the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and through those ideals I continue to form my political ideology, albeit to suit the rapidly changing world we live in today. I hope to combine the traditional ideals set forth at the creation of the country with the demands of today's modernized world, something I believe is the responsibility of both the government and the individual seeking a better life.
After doing the chart of Conservatives vs. Liberals, I found out that I am a moderate. It made sense. I never totally agreed with one side over the other, but if I had to pick, I would be a conservative. I mostly believe in what the conservatives think about abortion and taxes. Why should it be legal to destroy a human life? Like the conservatives think, I believe that a human life begins at conception. It is also what I grew up hearing as I am from an all catholic family and my parents are conservatives. Also, why should we have to give the government money that we will never see the benefits of? I mean, for the past few years, there has not been much going on in the government. They just can't agree. When the government starts working together, then maybe I would be comfortable with the tax amounts.
Based on the charts and quizzes we have done in class, I have found that I lean much more conservative than liberal. One of the conservative ideas that I agree with is that affirmative action negates the idea of equality that so many people have fought for in the United States. During his famous I Have a Dream speech, Martin Luther King Jr. said "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character". Today, discrimination against the majority is seen as fair, but it is still discrimination. When applying for college, for example, the quota that has to be met under affirmative action means a white male is being judged based on the color of his skin and his gender instead of solely basing his acceptance on work ethics, talent, and educational transcripts. Without affirmative action, men and women can be based on their merits alone. If the African American, Chinese, or Indian student is more qualified than the white, than they should be accepted. However, if the white student is more qualified, the same reward should be presented to him or her. I am also conservative in my views because I oppose to the redistribution of wealth. While I find it appropriate to aid people in need, I do not feel that it is the governments job to forcibly take the wealthy's hard earned money and give it to the poor- especially because it is easy for the poor to take advantage of. Instead of helping the poor, I think it ultimately cripples them into becoming dependent on the free care instead of using it to get back on their feet.
After doing the Conservatives Vs. Liberals quizzes, I figured out that I am moderately liberal. An issue that I feel strongly about is the death penalty. I think it is very harsh and I don't think any punishment should end up with somebody getting killed, even if they did end a human life themselves. Maybe the person that killed somebody was acting in self defense. I feel you can never know the truth without a witness there to see what actually happened. Or, in rare cases, somebody could get accused with murder without actually killing anybody. And even if it was 100% true that somebody took somebody else's life, without acting in self defense, I still would be opposed to the death penalty. The second topic I have a strong opinion on is same-sex marriage. I believe that if two people love each other, then the should be able to get married. People shouldn't be denied the right to marriage just because the person they want to marry is the same gender that they are. That just doesn't seem fair to me. Same-sex marriages don't harm other peoples lives in any way, its just two people getting married. Those are two of the main issues that I have the strongest opinions about.
It was determined that I am more of a liberal than a conservative based on the chart. Although there are many conservative viewpoints that I do agree with, such as less government, separation of church and religion, and lower taxes, I still am more of a liberal than a conservative. Some of the issues that strongly define my position is the argument over the death penalty. I think it is inhumane and wrong to sentence someone to death. I don't think it is up to us to decide whether somebody dies or not for a crime committed. I am still curious why some people still are in favor of the death penalty. How could you commit the same crime that the person being sentenced to death has committed? I also believe that same-sex marriage should be legal. Everybody is equal and should not be denied of basic rights. Everyone has different morals, and there are certain things that people consider wrong that other people would consider acceptable. Therefore, I feel like people have the right to choose whether or not they want to marry a person of the same sex. Overall, I am still more of a liberal although I agree with some of the conservative beliefs.
My parents have never been involved in politics, therefore I wasn't influenced to view a certain way as I was growing up. After taking the quizzes, I find myself to be moderate but leaning slightly towards being a liberal. For some issues, I agree with the conservative side such as hiring people based on their abilities and executing a murderer for a depraved crime. However, I agree with the idea of equality more than liberty, which is why I favor government intervention to help make things equal in society. I believe that poor people need assistance and that there should be less of a difference between the rich and poor. I also agree that there should be a separation of church and state because not everyone in the United States have the same religious view, so it would be unfair to abide to the views of one religion. I feel that for economic issues I am more conservative, but for social issues such as gay marriage, I am more liberal.
So after doing the liberal v. conservative chart, it was confirmed that I was firmly on the liberal side (surprise, surprise). For me, the strongest points that I will defend are to do with female rights and equality for all. Abortion to me is a huge point and I firmly believe that women should be given the choice to decide whether or not to have the baby. To me, the conservatives that say women should not even have the choice are taking away a basic right of free will. Another strong point for me is marriage equality. The LGBT community should be allowed to marry whomever they choose or another right is being taken away by the conservatives. So, for me these are the really big points that make me a liberal. Of course I agree with the other large points of the liberals –environment over big business, internationalism and the UN, and more government control- but these are the ones I will defend with everything I have (which anyone in my AP World class can tell you).
I found myself to be mostly conservative, which is how I viewed myself before taking this class. Some key issues that I lean conservative on are the Economy, Welfare, and taxes. I believe the government is too big when trying to regulate economy, thus making me a believer of the Laissez Faire politics. I also believe we need to cut money from many liberal programs, such as welfare and social security. Welfare is totally idiotic and unfair, as people who work hard to get good jobs are taxed more so their hard-earned money is redistributed to unemployed people too lazy to work. Instead, we should have programs that open up jobs for the unemployed instead of paying them for doing squat. However, I agree with drew in that I take a liberal side with personal freedoms, such as drug use, abortion, marriage rights, et.
Also, @ Matt Petersen Not everybody who is on welfare is too lazy to get a job. It's hard in these times with the bad economy to get a job, much less a good paying one. They may be unable to find one, or they just don't make enough to work how ever many jobs and take care of relatives/children and have a house and food on the table. Juggling a lot of spending with little money is very hard and sometimes just can't be accomplished. So, overall, what I'm saying is that they're not all too lazy to find a job. You don't know each individual person's circumstances and why they're getting welfare. Therefore, we should not cut spending on welfare, and it is not idiotic as it helps to hold people over and keep them alive while they try to keep their family going and find a good job so they can get off welfare.
Based on my opinions I lean towards the Conservative viewpoint. This is because of my views on the economy, gun control, taxes, and welfare. The economy should be a free market system keeping things competitive and forcing people to work harder everyday because that's the only way our country can grow and thrive. If everything stays the same and there is no competition then people don't work harder and we will fall behind other nations. Guns do not kill people. People kill people. If a gun is put on a table and is told to shoot it won't do it; a person has to operate it. Owning a gun and knowing how and when to use it just protects one from being shot by a criminal. Criminals will get a hold of weapons despite laws put in place by the government. Taxing the rich more than the poor is giving the rich less incentive to work hard and make money therefore no one will want to work hard for this country and we will fall dramatically behind. Everyone that is a citizen of this country should have to pay taxes and the same amount of taxes. Finally, welfare is too generously handed out. It needs to be proven, in order to receive welfare, that a person is looking for work and will only temporarily need the money to get back on their feet. Welfare should not be lived off of but used as a resource only as a last resort.
Despite being pretty liberal, I still agree with a ton of conservative viewpoints. I do believe that we need to withdraw from the Middle East fully instead of little half measures. I don't necessarily think we need to focus on our security as a country and strong arm those who oppose us (because diplomacy is always better than war), but we should focus less on military and more on domestic problems. We should focus more on the American dream and get our dragging economy back on track so we can make some money and repay our debt. Also firearm restrictions should not be placed on this country. Not only because it is in the Bill of Rights, but because no matter what happens, criminals will still find a way to get a firearm to harm or threaten another with. Without gun restrictions, a person can own a gun and defend their home and life with it. With gun restrictions, the criminal still has a gun, but a law abiding citizen is defenseless. If your house is getting robbed and you go at the criminal with a baseball bat and he has a 9mm pistol, he/she is going to win. Also, tons of citizens use firearms as a way of putting food on the table. It saves people thousands of dollars a year to hunt a couple (overpopulated) deer, and provides them with a delicious super-food.
From taking the Conservative vs. Liberal test, I know that I stand on the conservative side of most issues. For instance, I support the death penalty because I think it is a method of indirectly disciplining people in America and warning them of the consequences of heinous crimes. I also stand on the conservative side of international relations and the war on terror because I believe that we should help police other areas of the world that are not as stable as the western world. Ultimately, I am conservative in that I feel that our government should work to fix social problems within the country as well as global issues, though I do stand on the liberal side of some issues. On the topic of gay marriage, I take a liberal standpoint because I think that denying gays the right to marry is putting restrictions on their freedom. Another liberal standpoint I have is in my belief that government and religion should be separate; promoting a single religion over others is causing tension between religious and ethnic groups in the US, and since the country is becoming increasingly diverse, these liberal policies regarding religion are bound to be present in society eventually.
Reviewing the Conservative vs. liberal chart I lean more towards the conservative side. I was raised in a republican/conservative household and that has extremley influenced my political decisions, because that was the side I heard about. Although, my grandparents are democrat, I never agreed with their views on politics. Also, because I believe in less taxes and a more "lassiez faire" government, I consider myself a conservative, yet I also agree with some liberal views. I believe that it is every womans right to decide whether or not she wants an abortion or not and it is not the Governments to decide a huge decision like that. I also believe in gay marriage and believe that regardless of sex, anyone has the right to marry. Even though I have those thoughts, I still believe in more conservative thoughts and I believe I am also a bit of a moderate because I am indpendent and believe in some liberal views as well. I also believe that our country should be as protected as it can be and that government should stay out of the economy and let the individual make the decision and let the individual make their own choices in life.
At first, I figured I was a liberal mainly because of my view on gay rights and the spread of industrialization. After I filled out the chart, I still leaned towards the liberal side rather than the conservative side excluding the issues that I'm more neutral about. I definitely feel strongly about the issue of gay marriage. The way I see it is that no matter what their preference, people are people and all people deserve the right to be lawfully binded for life and reap the benefits. Keeping that right away from certain people is clearly discrimination. Some people may not agree with this and it seems to me that usually it's a matter of morals or religion. The problem with this thinking, however, is that not everyone shares the same morals and not everyone believes in the same things. Going into the environment, I think that industrial expansion is important. However, it shouldn't come at the cost of this planet that we have to live on. New job opportunities and increased production is great for the economy, but what's the point of an economy when we have no place to live because we destroyed the land we lived on with our preoccupation with big industry. I feel that we need to develop new, more "cleaner" methods of industrial growth so as to even out the effects. Also, if you look at the science community today, it is a fact that global warming is very real today. This is fogged over, however, by the people who want to ignore the needs of the environment for their own personal gain. Humans have a huge impact on the natural world and it's time we start being more responsible with that power. Because biodiversity does matter not just because all the world's different species are beautiful and amazing but because they all play a part in the ecosystem no matter how small they are. And eventually this will affect us. A question I would ask the opposing side is what do you believe is the extent of equal human rights in the U.S. and which rights are unalienable?
I totally agree with Danielle on the gay rights thing. It does seem always to boil down to religious morals and that bothers me because it bring church and state closer together, creating less secularism, and being as liberal as I am (my only conservative issue on the chart was gun control)the level of secularism in the country should be very high, according to what this country was first started on and the first amendment, if the people are voting on gay marriage and other gay rights because of religious reasons, they are, in effect, imposing their religious beliefs on the rest of us, and that's just not cool.
I also seemed to alternate on all the surveys, first as a libertarian and then twice more as a liberal. Despite identifying as a liberal prior to AP Gov, the multiple sources posed to me in this class has opened me up to accepting conservative views as understandable preferences. Primarily, I am a supporter of universal equal rights in the realms of race, gender and sexual orientation. I also side with liberals when it comes to situations pertaining to the economy, gun control and healthcare. Being from a country with free government healthcare, difficult to pertain firearms and a more substantial minimum wage, I speak from personal, albeit naïve experience that federal intervention would provide a safer and more prosperous environment. However I do believe more in self-reliance, deterring punishment and an overall harsher approach to the reality of life proposed by conservatives. This involves supporting the death penalty, opposing welfare and illegal immigration. All in all I think I still identify greater as a moderate with a tendency to lean towards the left. Contrarily, I believe my judgment at this moment is impaired due to a lack of understanding and inexperience in the way this country functions. Therefore, I seek to better my knowledge in the coming months of AP Gov and formulate a more accurate decision then.
Through the completion of the past quizzes we have taken and the readings and notes of political ideology, I have found to be leaning towards the liberal side. I believe in most of the points on the liberal side, especially regarding the use of guns and the separation between church and state. I don't think that owning a gun gives you security. I believe that it is the government's obligation to protect the citizens who live here; therefore, I believe that the use of a gun just brings up more issues than it solves. We see on the news all the time about young children who accidentally kill themselves because of guns that are carelessly lying around. Additionally, there are a bunch of crazy people out there and incidents such as the Sandy Hook shooting are irreversible tragedies. In regards to the separation between church and state, I believe that religion should be completely separate from what the government does. Not everyone is the same religion, moreover, some people don't even follow a religion, so by categorizing the entire country by a certain religion would be unfair.
I am a liberal with some conservative views so one quiz stated that I was a moderate liberal and the other gave me a score of -44, which is pretty liberal but not flaming. I think the views that make me liberal are the views that abortion should be legal and the separation of church and state should be a necessity. Now the abortion topic can get touchy and I'm not saying that anybody's believes are wrong but I think that if it would ruin the life of the person, whether it was because they were too young or not financially able or if it was life threatening to the mother, then they should be able to have the abortion. This should be something needs to be open to everyone because ultimately you are in charge of your body, not the government. I can see how this is seen as a bad thing to some people but if it doesn't effect you then I don't think you should make those decisions for others but enough on that subject. On to the separation of church and state. Religion isn't something that everyone practices so why in a country as diverse as ours, would we force a religion's beliefs on people? We all have our own beliefs and opinions, none of them are necessarily wrong so we should make it a law for people to have the "right" beliefs.
After completing the Liberal vs. Conservative charts and quizzes, I realized that I lean strongly toward the liberal side. Socially, I support LGBTQ rights and am also strongly pro-choice when it comes to abortion. In fact, I support women's reproductive rights in general. Regardless of when you believe life begins, women have the right to make decisions for themselves, and no governing authority is in the position to evaluate the situation surrounding the pregnancy and make the decision for the woman. Making birth control more widely and easily available is also a right women deserve, and, for those of you disinclined to believe the choice to abort is a right, increased availability of birth control is a way to decrease the need for abortion. I am also in favor of increasing taxes on the wealthy and trying to bridge the wealth gap. The cost of living has increased so much that the lower and middle classes cannot afford to pay more taxes, but the 1% does have the capability to pay additional taxes, and it could be argued that they have benefitted the most from recent tax policies.
After seeing my results on the Liberal vs. Conservatives chart, I realize I am pretty liberal on most issues. One of the biggest issues I don't agree with on the conservative side is gay rights. I believe that if it is part of your religion to not marry someone of the same sex, then by all means, you should abide by that. However, not everybody is of the same religion, and some people have no religion whatsoever. This means that they do not have the same principles as others might and it might be perfectly fine in their mind to marry whomever they want. I think they should not have another religion's views forced upon them especially when it would not affect Christians and such if gay couples did get married. Another viewpoint I do not agree with on the conservative side is abortion policies. I think that, just like gay rights, if you do not believe it is just to get an abortion, don't. But it is unfair to force your beliefs on others because it is not your baby and it is not your life being affected. I understand attempting to share views, but forcing them on other people in the form of laws is crossing the line. Women should be allowed to control their own bodies, and they might have other reasons for getting an abortion, like they can't afford medical bills, or they just can't support a baby. As a question for conservatives, how can you support teaching things from the Bible in school, but ignore every other religion in the world? The Bible is not the only holy text out there. Also, although the system is messed up, why would you be against Social Security? Retiring takes a massive amount of money and without Social Security in place, some people might not be able to retire for years after they were supposed to?
To be honest, the Conservatives vs. Liberals chart only confirmed what I already knew about myself: I am quite the liberal. My two biggest reasons for falling to the left of the spectrum are the topics of abortion and marriage equality. In regards to abortion, I feel so, so strongly that women truly know what's best for their bodies and lives. Politicians (especially those who are old, white, and male) have absolutely no right whatsoever to dictate what a woman can and can't do in regards to her own body. Being Pro-Choice doesn't mean that I support abortion, it just means that I support letting women rightfully choose what is best for them in their situations. Now, in regards to marriage equality, I find it so outrageous to deny two people who love each other happiness and the benefits that come with marriage. So what if the Bible says marriage is between a man and a women? The Bible also supports slavery, so we must all accept that times have evolved. And our government should be promoting love between two people, because isn't there enough hate?
As a kid I grew up in a post communist country where left wing means something very different than here. My mom always leaned towards the democrats and basically considered Reagan a little better than the devil and took me to a protest against the war in Iraq. This heavily influenced and still is influencing my political viewpoints. There are certain things I disagree with that the democrats support such as getting government very involved in everyone's lives and interfering in other countries even if their intentions are good. There is one thing that will hold me back from voting Republican and that is the fact that they are denying many American their rights to the pursuit of happiness by not allowing them marry or even acknowledge that it is not a choice but the way someone is born. I agree with change because I don't like living in a country where it is someone's right to own a 12 gauge shotgun but not to be able to marry someone they love.
The majority of my family is very conservative. My grandparents met at a young Republicans conference and my dad has always had an influence on me with his conservative viewpoints. My mom, on the other hand, is a moderate. I am also a moderate but I tend to lean slightly liberal despite the influence on my family. The charts and questionnaires we answered put me as slightly liberal but I also feel that I have lots of conservative values like welfare and immigration. Poor and low-income workers should not become dependent on welfare because there are some people who won’t get a job just because they are on welfare. People need to be self-reliant and be able to support themselves. We also cannot have illegal immigrants coming into the US because we will not be able to support them when we should be focused on helping our own citizens. One issue that I am conservative on is gun control. I don’t believe that guns cause problems. I believe that it is the criminals who are responsible for the problems and not the guns. Another conservative value is that I believe that we should have less government. I believe in laissez faire where the government should leave the economy alone. I also agree with many liberal ideas like abolishing the death penalty. There have been many instances where people have been executed and then later found to be innocent. I also believe that all individuals, regardless of their sex, have the right to marry. I don’t have a strong opinion on abortion because I believe that in some instances abortion is okay because women should have a right to choose what goes on in their bodies. I also believe strongly on the idea that we need to protect the environment. The environment is our future and we need to protect it for future generations. Doesn’t denying same-sex citizens the right to mary deny them their civil rights? Are we truly helping other governments when we become the policemen of the world? Is democracy always the best solution for countries?
After evaluating the Conservatives vs. Liberals chart, I've come to the conclusion that I am a moderate, leaning towards the liberal side when it comes to economics, but leaning towards the conservative side when it comes to personal and war issues. I think I stand there because I carry myself with a code of values, and I strongly believe in equality for all in terms of race, gender, financial status etc. I am a big advocate for helping the poor, and offering them an opportunity to better their situation. However, in relation to values and equality, I believe the death penalty is unjust, which leans more to the conservative side as supposed to my last point. I also believe the war on terror is propelled by the U.S. angering foreign countries, not to say the U.S. should just sit back and leave them vulnerable. To conclude, I am obviously bouncing back and fourth between the two sides, that is why I consider myself a moderate
These charts and quizzes have confirmed that I am liberal. The social/personal issues are big reasons why I lean more liberal than conservative. I firmly believe in marriage equality, gender equality, and a woman's right to an abortion, and I see restrictions on those things as a violation of natural human rights. One thing that I can lean more conservative towards is environmental policy. While I of course believe that the environment is important, I don't believe we need to stress environmental issues over more pressing matters like economic and social issues.
I've known myself to be mostly libertarian for years, and these activities only confirmed this. The government should stay out of marriage completely, but for the time being the gov't should issue marriage licenses to any human adult consenting couple. If people want to use drugs or sell their bodies let them its their choice because they only harm themselves. This is unlike abortion which i view as wrong, and i believe it should be illegal except in the case of rape, because scientifically life starts at conception. Therefor scientifically the unborn child is a human at the early stages of life. The one thing the constitution requires the federal gov't to do is protect the country and therefore defense spending should be the number one priority. A strong military deters aggression not only against the United States but also against our many allies. Don't punish responsible gun owners for the violent acts of the mentally unstable and stupid. Responsible ownership of firearms deters crime, this is a proven fact.
It isn't really a surprise that I am a liberal, given my socio-economic background and my immigrant status in. Key issues that are very important to liberals are first of all welfare to the poor. No matter how hard they try, they poor will never be able to get better conditions, unless someone helps them get there. Other groups do not have the incentives to do so right now, since that group isn't represented much in government and politics in general. Since private organizations don't have the capability to help the poor like the government does, the government has to be the entity that helps people in poverty get out of it. By providing basic needs to these people, they can work their way out of poverty and acquire better jobs, eventually being able to get off welfare and help themselves do whatever they want/need to do. Another key issue I believe is relevant is the governmental regulation of the economy. Without governmental regulation, big business like Carnegie Steel or Rockefeller Oil would have long surpassed ALL other businesses, not only in their respective areas, but in other areas as well, through expansion and simply buying out smaller businesses that try to open up, including many small businesses and family run stores.
The charts and whatnot have confirmed that I am a conservative. I think that I am this way because my parents are this way. I hear stories from my parents that too many people cheat the system and do the minimal amount of work and get the maximum amount of help/money for it. My big question is why should my parents work to the point that I never see them, and other people get to sit around and not have to work? I believe that everyone should have an equal chance at happiness, but you can't be spoon fed everything.
I believe that each American is given the opportunity to be successful in life yet some fail to seize this moment. I think hard work can get you just about anywhere and anything, and that's why I value freedom over equality. I think its unfair for one person to work hard to earn their high paying job only to be taxed so someone with a lower income can receive healthcare benefits and governments financial aid. I dont intend to sound arrogant because I know there are a lot of very poor and unfortunate people in our country, but I think the financial aid for these people should stand in private organizations, not the government. I am clearly biased on this topic because both my parents work in healthcare. My dad is a private doctor, and when patients come to him, he holds an oath saying he will treat them whether or not they can pay. So imagine paying for college to receive an education and finding a job yet you dont get paid for doing your job. Kind of sucks. Also, I think affirmative action is just reverse discrimination. No matter how you look at it, one person is being turned down for a job because of their skin color. Yes, a lot of horrific events took place in our history that were unfair and cruel, but isn't the whole point of learning about our history so we dont repeat it? While I am mostly a conservative for economics, I do lean more liberal in social/personal issues such as abortion. I think abortion should not be abused by two people being careless and irresponsible. However, I do believe that a woman has a right to her own body and shouldn't have to sacrifice her already existing life to raise an unplanned child. And because I value freedom, I feel that the government should not stand in the way of women's decisions.
After going through the Conservative Vs. Liberals chart, I found that I am a Conservative. One of the main reasons why I fell on this side of the spectrum was because I believe that Welfare is not going to benefit our nation. I believe that in order to help people struggling financially, the most effective thing to do is help them find jobs and encourage them to be more self-reliant. By giving people money from the government, it doesn't encourage people to get on their feet and make a better life for themselves. Another reason that I am a Conservative is because I believe that Congress should not have the right to take religion out of the state. In my opinion, the state should be fully connected to religion if desired. Another major reason that I am a Conservative is because I am apposed to abortion. I think although a baby is inside of a mother, they are still a living human being and just because they have not been born doesn't mean they aren't a human. One topic that I can not make a decision on as to what I believe is same sex marriage. I don't believe it is right and for couples like that to adopt kids would put those kids in a position that would impact there lives in ways that are inevitable. But, at the same time, I don't see how our nation could tell someone who to like or who not to like. It's the individuals preference and should also be their choice to make.
As a result of our 3 surveys, I have concluded that I am indeed Conservative. However I do agree with some liberal beliefs and policies such as abortion, and even same-sex marriage. One of the many perks of being an American is the freedom and choices we have. Not allowing american citizens to marry, or make their own decisions regarding abortion is a direct violation of our constitutional rights. However I do find myself agreeing far more with conservative policies and beliefs. I firmly believe business is the back-bone of this nation and collaboration between the the two is 100% neccesary. A strong national defense is crucial for maintaing peace within our nation. Plus it helps me sleep at night knowing that we have the strongest military in the galaxy. Gun control is stupid, PEOPLE kill PEOPLE, not GUNS. God bless america.
Having a Liberal outlook on life since I was able to comprehend what I read in the news or heard about on NPR, I was not at all surprised to find that all of my test results agreed with what I already knew to be true. Personally, I view politics as a vessel for getting things done, which elicits the idea of progressive change. I take pride in caring about environmental protection, looser restrictions on immigration, and separation of church and state. As a grouping, my political views all relate to the hope that we can create a safer, more loving world for future generations to experience. Separation of church and state really covers many of the issues I value the most. If we were to crack down on the presence of religion in government, LGBT rights would improve, as would abortion rights. While everyone has the freedom to follow whichever faith they choose, they do not have the right to force their ideals on others with differing values; we can’t call ourselves a melting pot if all we serve is Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul. I also firmly believe that a big part of life is getting to know the planet we live on, which simply cannot be done if we destroy it. Although this may slow certain methods of industrialization, it is more important to keep the future of our planet in the forefront of our minds. Finally, I believe in the power of welcoming immigrants with open arms. We speak so fondly of the American Dream but do not allow people with backgrounds we disapprove of experience it. More immigrants should be legally allowed into the United States each year, as this opportunity gives them the chance to completely alter the path of their life. Illegal immigrants should also be granted amnesty and have the ability to apply for federal financial aid in pursuing a college education. Why shun someone who is trying to become a productive member of society? In addition, if more immigrants were legally allowed to become citizens, illegal immigration would simmer down as the opportunity for a chance became more tangible. In a world where social media and instant information and gratification have an immense impact on the way we live, attempting to keep things the way they are is almost futile, suggesting that even though we crave the “next big thing” in our pockets, we will not apply these principles of rapid growth to the way we, as Americans, run our country. What would the future hold if we stopped trying new approaches to tackling the issues that plague modern society? What justifies the connection between religious values and government? What is so scary about allowing more immigration?
I have grown up listening to lots of political debates over the dinner table. Whether it was discussing gun control laws, the death penalty or even what the proper reaction to situations in Libya during Arab Spring, my father and my oldest brother have always had plenty of things to say in regards to politics. Naturally, I take after much of their political ideologies, especially those pertaining to Conservative beliefs. Here is the deal, I am not a "redneck loving, pick up truck driving, gun toting Conservative" just because of my family's beliefs. I believe in freedom whether or not every person ends up happy. As painful as it sounds America can not be a "level playing field." A level playing field implies competitors in a game but life will never be fair. There is no cookie cutter goody goody way for government to "help out" one group without inadvertently making life difficult for another group. But I digress. While many government programs that exist to benefit others start out with wonderful intentions, no citizen should be forced to commit money to any particular cause. I find that government mandated charity programs should have no place in America. I do not want to empower the people (they know who they are) who live extravagant life styles and don't seem to care about the less fortunate. Moreover, I believe that when citizens are living at the poverty level it is the people's responsibility to protect them. Now let's get even more basic than that. When I was in elementary school responsibility was defined as "taking charge of a situation without having to be asked." I think that as a country not everyone will be responsible enough to take care of the less fortunate. This is human nature and it cannot be blamed. On the other hand as soon as an authority figure enters the picture to mandate actions, the sincerity dissipates out of the charity. It becomes an annoyance rather than a responsibility. I am not a Conservative because I "hate the poor." Rather I am a Conservative because I believe that without as much intervention from higher authorities, Americans can prove to be responsible. Also I do not support the death penalty. Do not repay evil for evil is just a personal philosophy that I wish I followed every day except I fail at that.
I’m a liberal, a democrat, not yet a radical… but we’re getting there. After each and every test that we took, I was placed strongly on the left wing. I believe that equality should be the key to all governments, ergo the act of ensuring the free market does not get totally overturned/monopolized by the towering big businesses. I feel as if we’ve been so keen on the idea that these companies will create jobs and so on that we’ve allowed them to roam the free market without any attention. Our government revolves around one main thing, money; it dictates all its decision-making and foreign policy. Whoever has that money, has the power, but limiting the amount of money each big business can accumulate and giving some to the general populace is the first step towards equality and a less corrupt government. Moreover, I feel as if things like health care are really undermined by our society. The problem is we aren’t looking at an outward view, where many other countries have already established compulsory health care to some extent. Just as @George Liu had said before, we were one of the only countries that had lacked this benefit, and we’re just now adding it to our nation; a healthy workforce is a productive workforce. Now those are just some of the things I’m firmly liberal with, some other include Same-sex marriage, gun control, and the environment. However, even a “hardcore” liberal has some conservative values. Mainly it’s the efforts with unilateral and multilateral efforts with our foreign policy. Although I do prefer multilateral action, past efforts have not been able to stop many things. Mainly the United Nations, with its many differing opinions (Russia), its seemingly like we won’t be able to get actual actions in with so many countries just going for their own gain instead of the actual problems at hand. Which brings me to the point that society in nature is too swayed by the status quo in fear of angering its neighbors or allies. If we were to just focus on the important problems, we’d be able to finally able achieve something with our foreign policy. The question I have for the conservatives is how should we continue without economic intervention when the top 1% holds more than 39% of the United State’s total wealth?
I hate questions on US foreign policy because people only focus on the large issues instead of the small things the US government has done. For example, the US is getting criticism on not doing anything to combat ISIS even though they authorized Iraqi air strikes and aid drop to the Kurdish people hiding in the mountain, not only that but they have also enabled Kurdish forces to take over a dam crucial to the rebel insurgency in Iraq. People in the United states don't realize that there is more than one kind of power; that US soft power is a viable way to obtain peace. Speaking of the iraq war, Iraq didn't have WMD, anybody who said they did got reports back from the Iran contra.
I am currently valuing the economy over the environment because those "tree hugging hippies" (Chazen 2014) don't realize that the terminal results from a stagnating economy come a lot more quickly and dangerously than the collapse of the world's ecosystem. While those same "tree hugging hippies" (Chazen 2014) might argue about the inhumanities about oil drilling and the expansion of the crude oil industry, it is ultimately the best way to continue US hegemony in order that China and Russia don't become global superpowers. Also, US oil drilling is a heck of a lot safer than Chinese and Russian Safety measures, so if somebody is drilling it should be the US. Currently China and other BRICS nations (most of which employ anti-american rhetoic) are building a new development bank which effectively puts these growing economies back on the world market as stable and strong, right now the fight for economic superpower is stronger than ever before and it's important that the US realize that and employ whatever it can to maintain it's standing as topdog.
More foreign policy talk. Russia and China aren't jokes, we should stop treating them like they aren't one of the US' utmost concerns. The fact that China is flexing it's muscles and engaging in conflicts with Japan (which doesn't have a standing army thanks to the US) is enough hostility for the US to be concerned and start taking actions towards china on a global stage. And while this normally means the UN, the UN isn't exactly an effective fighting force since all of it's soldiers are volunteers. The UN is currently ineffective since Portugal is the only country that sends volunteers and the Portuguese military is a joke. The policies of the UN military is also laughable. Bringing rubber bullets into a war zone and not firing until fired upon would ultimately cause a lot of casualties on the side of the UN. Also, the UNSC allows for any bill to be veto'd with one vote, which means Putin has pretty much all the power here. IF the UN were to make changes which makes it act more the the African Union, then they might finally get something done. SO since I'm technically against the UN i guess that makes me conservative.
When it comes to social policy there's really not much of a debate. I don't get why two homosexuals making out in front of you let's you deny their right to marriage, is it like gross to you or something? People should get to do what they want as long as it doesn't encroach on the rights of others. This would be pretty funny to watch since it could mean the President doing drugs during a live speech.
So all in all I'm technically libertarian since I favor economics over environment and and socially liberal.
After completing the various surveys we were assigned, my political standings still remain pretty ambiguous. Before taking the surveys, I just assumed that my test results would count me as a liberal, but the exact opposite happened. The 10-question quiz identified me as a libertarian, the other test result identified me as the most conservative person in my class (score of 16), but according to the chart, I am a true moderate, having an equal number of items highlighted for each side. After my own thinking, I came to the conclusion that I essentially have the economic views of a conservative and the social views of a liberal. However I do agree with conservatives on some social issues such as the death penalty and affirmative action. My opinion on the death penalty is that it should be in place nationally for crimes that directly harm the well-being of another person such as murder, rape, or kidnapping. Those who commit these crimes should be subject to the death penalty because 1. they did something horrible to another person and 2. our tax dollars should not be funding the food and housing of a murder or rapist. It's valuable money being wasted on sustaining the lives of truly bad people that could be going towards schools, roads, or other worthy causes. I also do not think that the death penalty is anymore cruel or unusual than any other punishment. Many who oppose the death penalty believe that it is an infringement on certain inalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. If you are a prisoner, you're literally in captivity, so your right to liberty has been confiscated. Your right to the pursuit of happiness has been taken away as well unless your life's dream was to end up in prison and then have trouble getting back on your feet upon release. As a criminal, 2/3 of those rights are already taken, so why is the right to life being held on a pedestal above the other two? That said, I do not consider the death penalty to be cruel or unusual. Torture is, but painlessly fading away by that of a lethal injection certainly is not cruel or unusual. In regards to affirmative action, It just isn't fair and can potentially be counterproductive. If someone has better credentials to get into a college or get a job, then they deserve that position. If the person with those credentials simply happens to be white or black or what have you, it is purely a coincidence and should not be considered in the selection process of a student or employee. Also, if an admissions officer of employer chooses someone under qualified just to make the environment they work in more diverse, then the strength and productivity of the organization could be jeopardized. Any organization should choose the person who is best for the job and will fulfill their role within the organization most effectively, otherwise issues may arise within the school or company.
I have always been wary of agreeing with views of people just because they share my political identification. I think that everyone should honestly think about their political views and listen to reason and arguments from all sides of issues our country faces today.
I am solidly in the liberal area of the political spectrum. I hold conservative viewpoints as well, including my support for second amendment rights. Statistics show that while gun control does reduce the amount of firearm murders, it does not affect crime rates at all. I also believe that affirmative action is not a way to atone for slavery or discrimination, as it is, by definition, discrimination. Providing equal opportunities of education for all can help make up for minority gaps. On social issues I am in the left, including abortion (a personal choice for individuals not government) and marriage rights. I believe that religion has no place in the government, and the hypocrisy of wanting less government but more moral regulation is as bad as Mitt Romney's political flip-floppery.
On the fiscal side of things, I am also very liberal. In this land of supposed inequality, our wealth is distributed hilariously unequally. People can work hard all their lives and never be able to retire. When the top one percent are more wealthy then the bottom 40, there is clearly not a fair playing field. It is like starting 50 meters behind in the 100 sprint, no matter how hard you work, you will not catch up. This is especially true when you count inherited wealth. Of the people on the Forbes billionaire list (400 richest people in America), 71 inherited their wealth and 56 inherited a portion of it. I think we can resolve this without unfairly taxing the rich. We have in America an estate tax that is designed to prevent an economic class system. By increasing this, there is a way to redistribute wealth without taxing the rich, because the rich will be dead when then tax applies to them. This way, the playing field will be more level, and everyone's hard work will be truly rewarded. I believe that hard work, smarts and some luck should play a part in success, but the question is, do heirs of the successful deserve the wealth of their parents?
As for welfare, I think that we have room in our budget to help the poor. I think our rights also include basic services that we should try to ensure everyone gets.
I also dislike subsidies and corporate welfare. Either the government is involved in the economy, or it isn't. No bailing out companies without enforcing regulation.
My final question to conservatives is, would you trust big businesses with your rights if they became more powerful then the government? Do you trust private corporations to make unbiased and careful decisions regarding the economy and environment?
In response to your questions about guns and gun related tragedies. I think that gun control is definitely a possible reaction to all the horrible things that have been happening recently. It's really sad to see that people can no longer be trusted to own firearms whether designated for sport or for collector's items. However I do not think that putting more restrictions on gun policy will be very effective in reducing the number of shootings because that is the end goal right? We don't hate guns necessarily but we hate seeing the parents crying over children that were killed way too young. It breaks everyone's heart. The tragedy is not that the trigger on the gun was pulled. The tragedy is that someone's heart was evil enough to plan to kill elementary school students. In my opinion when we have people evil enough to enter schools and harm children, then creating laws to eliminate guns will not solve the most dangerous weapon in the world. An evil heart. I admit that I don't have a perfect solution for these problems. The only thing that I can think of right now is find a way to give the people evil enough to do these things mental help. What are your thoughts?
Oh right, I was supposed to ask 2 questions: 1. How do Conservatives plan on keeping the US as a global superpower if we can't cooperate internationally? 2. How do liberals plan on keeping countries which actively support human rights abuses such as China and Russia less powerful than the united states, if the US isn't allowed to exert it's hard power/ create new ways to earn revenue despite harms on the economy.
Nick Balestra (just in case it doesn't show my name)
With the help of the three surveys we took, I discovered I am pretty much right in the center. However, in many of the big topics in American politics today, I am leaning more Conservative. Although I agree with the Liberal's opinion on abortion (woman should chose whether or not she wants to have a child. Why force a child into this world that is not going to receive true love and affection?), and gun control (guns are human operated weapons therefore the human is responsible for the death of another human). Moreover, I agree with the Conservative standpoint on the heavily debated topics such as: the economy, health care, and religion. On an economic standpoint, I believe the economy is the driving force and backbone of our nation. And once you let a corrupt system such as the government start to influence it, the whole economy is ruined. Furthermore, I think Health Care, specifically Obamacare is a huge problem in this country. I believe people are becoming too reliant on the government for money when many of the people who receive free Healthcare are fully capable of getting a job and supporting their families. Last, I strongly believe in the separation of religion and government. The United States is made up people of all different nationalities and religions, for this was a principle this country was built on. And when you start forcing religion (most likely Catholic) into the government, people who practice other religions are forced to incorporate parts of other religions into their life, which is a violation of the first amendment: freedom of religion.
It was no surprise to me that after I took all of the Conservative/Liberal tests, that I scored as a "Liberal" each time. Because I have more than a tendency to view practically every issue from more of a liberal point of view, these two issues are just some of the many I am passionate about. Firstly, religion and same-sex marriage. While these two topics on the Conservatives vs. Liberals were in separate categories, I feel as though they blend together, is it is a Judeo-Christian idea that marriage is between one man and one woman. I do believe that people should be allowed to follow the practices of whatever religion, or no religion, as they please, and this is why I am 100% for the legalization of same-sex marriage. If say a person who against gay marriage because of their religion/moral values, were to deny these basic human rights to those who wish to marry, that is like somebody saying "I don't want to have cake, so nobody should be allowed to eat cake." Ultimately, I agree with many people on here such as Danielle, Katherine, Brontë, etc: denying other people the right to marry simply because an unrelated party does not want them to, is simply discrimination. Secondly, I strongly support that the United States involves themselves with the United Nations. While there is a slight chance that I may be biased on this topic, I can say that since the inception of the United Nations, we have not had a third world war. However that is not all. I disagree with the statements of those such as Andrew Schuchardt, Robbie Lasky, and a few others regarding this issue. When the United States did refuse to cooperate with the United Nations in the days following 9/11, all it resulted in was the numerous and unnecessary deaths of American citizens in Iraq, as there were, in fact, on weapons of mass destruction found in the area. Even when Colin Powell, a Republican man who worked with former President George W. Bush, was asked to lie to the United Nations about having concrete evidence about such weapons within Iraq, he could not get over the guilt of his actions to the point that as soon as we was finished delivering the information, he quit his job. This is only one example of many. Clearly, having an increased amount of involvement, real and honest involvement, with the United Nations, would only benefit the United States, and perhaps those billions and billions of dollars spent on a national defense that is only further worsening the situations in other countries, can be put towards a better cause that will actual propel this nation forward.
After taking the various quizzes, filling out the Liberal Vs. Conservative Chart, and doing further research outside of class, I have come to the realization that I definitely lean towards Conservatism. That being said, there are some issues where I will strongly for the liberal side. I struggle to commit entirely to one label or the other since I do feel strongly about certain issues from both perspectives, and can even respect and look at the issues I feel strongly about from the opposing viewpoint, which is why I now consider myself a Moderate-Conservative. As a Conservative, the biggest issues that I will argue at any time with anyone about are Abortion, Affirmative Action, the Death Penalty, Religion, and Welfare. Since I've listed quite a few issues I'll keep my explanations relatively short, however if anyone wants to argue I'm more than willing to elaborate. In regards to Abortion, my main issue is my religious belief that each life is sacred. While it is true that it takes time for a fetus to develop a heartbeat, and truly be considered "alive" I do not see how anyone can condemn an unborn child to death. The unborn children that are destroyed and murdered during each abortion are in fact unborn human beings. I cannot see the logic behind destroying the life of a being with so much potential. I'm certainly not comfortable taking the risk that the fetus just destroyed would turn into the human that eventually cures cancer. While I realize some circumstances in which a woman becomes pregnant are incredibly difficult, I think once you conceive and have a child growing inside you, that child is alive, and has the right to life the same as you do. Affirmative Action; though I understand some people are eager to erase racism, I personally think if we really want to move on and have equality we need to make the job opportunities equal. Giving a minority a job because they’re part of a minority is not moving past racism it is focusing on it and allowing it to continue. I also think that giving someone a position because their ancestors were discriminated against is a form of racism. In regards to the death penalty, I see no problem executing murderers. Those who are against it seem to think that it is cruel and unusual because the person who was just executed is occasionally later proven innocent, however that is not a problem regarding the death penalty. That is the fault of the lawyers, the evidence. That being said I think we should get rid of the death penalty, but not for the reasons liberals believe, I agree that prison is more a place of punishment than rehabilitation, although I do think we should do everything we can to help those who have not committed a crime in which they receive a life-long sentence, for those who have, I think they should spend their life in prison, no parole, and no early release for good behavior, if you are found to be worthy of the time, you should serve the time. In terms of Religion, I completely agree that the Government should not interfere, in regards to religious freedom. If people want to pray to God before school starts, they should be allowed, however no one should be forced, it should simply be an option. In regards to a national moral code, I'm all for Judeo-Christian morals, not only because that's what my belief system falls under, I simply think they are a solid set of morals that many non-Christians would agree with. Finally, I definitely support welfare programs, just not long term welfare. I believe welfare is a tool to allow people who have come into unfortunate circumstances, to get much needed aid. Before welfare is given, it should be determined that the person who would receive has every intention of trying to improve their life situation, if not it should be taken away or not given at all. The only questions I would ask a Liberal are how they justify these beliefs. I would love to talk about the opposing viewpoints, whether in a debate or a normal, level-headed conversation about opposing ideas being discussed with open minds.
Who controls the present controls the past, and who controls the past controls the future. A simple truth in the everlasting battle of politics that we make each day. I'm a radical in the sense that I feel that progressive change needs to come soon. Yet I label myself with moderate-liberal following the guidelines of my test results as a person that wants more government but knows that the current government is what's available. I'd just like a world of peace & equality. A government for the people, a society of the people, and a country by the people is what the land of liberty is known as. I find the quote "land of liberty" to be a facade to the reality. A place where half of the people can't see outside of their own lives and with the "power" bonded by a government of the privileged. People shouldn't be spoiled into needed their livelihood from the government, nor left to fend for themselves. They should have a hand to help them pave their own way and not be let to submit into a world void of responsibility. Each day more immigrants are coming and less emigrants are leaving, the United States government is deadlocked in debt, blood fills the streets as the old have their fill of fine meats, and nothing is being done as the tide gets closer to the edge. Or rather the pace is too slow to get away. Something has to be done, unrest and confusion plague the minds of the youth and elder alike. The strength of the individual fades with the old age, and a new power rises along with the wage. Who is to blame and who will be the one to make change? The patriots' fears have come to rise up before us. What really matters? Is it the new policy on who is free to enter liberty, or on who has the right to bear the guns of the patriots, maybe something on how to cut back on the carbon emissions going into the environment? Who knows?
George. Multilateralism is the weakest and most inefficient form of international governance. The only examples we have are the UN and ASEAN both of which fail on a daily basis to serve as a much more than an international forum for discussion. Strong power projection, especially military projection, from the United States prevents conflict and promotes peace. Empirics are on the side of unilateralism, as well as a much larger literature base. Multilateralism becomes too bogged down in rules and regulations to truly be effective.
Before taking these series of assessments to evaluate whether I am liberal or conservative, I always assumed I was liberal because of some stereotypical ideologies that liberals hold. For example, I love trees and firmly believe that for every tree cut down, two more should be planted. And yes, animals are important and should be saved. However after completing the charts, I have confirmed that I am liberal--but mostly on personal matters. When it comes to economics, I tend to lean right towards the conservative beliefs. As a child I was always taught through religious lessons that murder is an unforgivable sin and that no one has the right to take another human life. But no one has the right to force a woman into sex against her will and justify by blaming her clothing or how intoxicated she was. Like Cheng-Hau Kee mentioned, the United States was built on all sorts of freedoms. These freedoms of speech, life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness cannot and should not be limited to middle-aged, elite males. These should be extended to every citizen of the United States, regardless of gender, race,etc. A woman's choice of clothing is her own personal choice; we as religious or societal groups cannot label them as what we see fit. Not only should women have the right to control how their bodies are treated, men should have the respect and self-control to look away and resist if a woman says "no." Unfortunately, some women still do get impregnated against their wills and since being raped was clearly not their choice, deciding whether to abort their child should be in their hands. Furthermore, I support the separation of church and state because religious expression really has no place in government. One of our rightful freedoms is the freedom of religion, right? Well, everyone in the United States does not simply fall in the Judeo-Christian category. The only way to keep other religious minorities contended is by not picking one religious ideology over another. Building off of that, conservatives against marriage equality of LGBT usually base their reasonings off of religious texts such as the Bible. Being gay is not necessarily a choice and is definitely not a disease. People of gay orientation deserve to get married if they want to. Getting married is not a privilege. It is a fundamental right, deserved by everyone regardless of sexual orientation. However I do lean right with the issues of affirmative action. Belonging to a minority group in America, this may seem counterintuitive. But being a first generation immigrant to the United States, I have also been raised with the idea that the United States is supposed to promote equality. Going off of that belief, I strongly think that one candidate for a job should not be preferred to promote "diversity." It should solely be based on the capabilities of the candidates and their potential for bettering their environment. I agree with Megan Todd, reverse-discrimination is not a solution. Secondly, I have an idea of how frustrating the immigration process is for those who work through the system legally. My father applied for immigration of USA in 1996-two years before I was even born. After 12 years of tedious paperwork and a scary interview later, we were finally given the golden ticket in 2008. After people break the law and "slip" on their visit visas, they should not end up with the same rights as those who valued the rules and regulations. I am in no way saying that immigration collectively should be discouraged because one of the foundations of this country was people were fleeing to more freedom. Immigration is good--as long as the methods are not breaking the laws. My question then for the conservatives is: If the United States promotes freedom of religion, how is is okay to allow prayer in public schools? For a young child who is more likely to be influenced by his/her peers and teachers, how is teaching Christian ways just when at home his parents might believe in Allah or no God at all?
After reviewing these charts I strongly believe that both sides, liberal and conservative have good reasons for their stance on these topics. I agree with many other conservatives that government should be less involved with standards of living but not to the point that it is unfair and even more strenuous for an individual the reach that same success. I believe that one should be able to use there knowledge to achieve a high standard of living, but not unless it provides economic growth instead of poverty. Those that experience poverty should also be given certain amount of welfare to fill their needs until they are able to get a supporting job. Thousands of people abuse the opportunity of welfare and it is not fair to other hardworking people regardless of background. I also strongly believe in some liberal thoughts on church and state and same - sex marriage. I am a Christian but I think it is unconstitutional to allow people's beliefs effect others and their rights as citizens. This is America. Live proud and Free
So after all the activities and surveys that we have done in and outside of class I am still kind of in the same place I was when we started. I have no idea what I am. Some of the surveys showed me leaning more conservative but then the next day I would be in the liberal category. This being said I am hesitant to classify myself as a moderate because I feel strongly about the issues we have discussed, but my stance on the issue was dependent on the issue itself as opposed to either of the political orientations. For instance I believe that abortion is wrong however I don't believe that the government should enforce a biblical moral code. My question for conservatives is why do you find immigration so wrong? Why do you have anymore of a right to live in America than they do? My question for liberals is how is affirmative action helping us? Now instead of discriminating against minorities we are pitying them? Jobs should go to the most qualified person for the job regardless of their race.
After taking the three political quizzes, I had the realization that I was a pretty strong liberal. The first reason for this being that I strongly believe that LGBT rights are a vital part of our society. This country already suffered through enough concerning equal rights for all and we are repeating the same mistakes. Another reason for this is abortion rights. I personally don't believe that the government can tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body. One of the big issues with this too is that many people say it goes against many religions to do this. I do not agree with this because I think that there should be a separation between church and state in order to make sure that the government isn't being based off of personal beliefs. A question I have for conservatives is why do you feel the need to strip people of their rights to freedom if you are advocating that freedom is essential part of this country?
My loaded question in response to your comments on gay marriage. Marriage has prevailed in every single culture, even the ones without the so called "Judeo-Christian" background. Basically I have always seen Marriage as man and woman because the words of the wedding ceremony clearly state that marriage is for a man and a woman. If it is not a man and a woman then it is not marriage. That does not mean that this relationship is not love. By all means! America of all places should know that marriage does not necessarily constitute a relationship built on love. We would hope it does but we have to face the reality. Marriage is a title. The rights that come along with it can be spread to other titles that include homosexual relationships in their definition. I hope that my thoughts are clear. In no way am I calling into question the legitimacy of your claims. I just am sharing my own thoughts on the matter. What do you guys think?
I found myself to be moderate, but leaning more towards the conservative side of the political spectrum. For the death penalty, I believe that the punishment does indeed fit the crime. Killing a person is a horrible crime, but killing the murderer to prevent future deaths is better for society. If the person was proven beyond reasonable doubt to be a murderer, they should deserve to face the same fate as their victim. On the economic side of things, I believe that universal health code is unfair. Sure, the less wealthy people can be supported with free, albeit lower quality, healthcare from the government, but that does not mean that people of higher classes should have to receive the same health plan if they can afford better. I also believe that gun control is both absurd and, even if it was not a restriction of freedoms, it would be extremely hard to enforce. As many people have said, it is people who kill people, not guns. Guns don't decide by themselves to suddenly unleash several rounds on people, it is the people who decide to do so. However, as a moderate, I do believe in some liberal views, such as same-sex marriage. If America really is a land based on freedom, and not solely based on Christian principles, then everyone should not have to follow Christian beliefs. People should have a natural right to love the person they love, and the rest of society should not be able to restrict that right. I also have strong opinion on abortion, believing that women should not be told how to deal with their own bodies. If fetuses were the human beings some consider them to be, they would be alive in the world outside the womb and interacting with it. Fetuses may have the potential to mature to become human babies, but they are simply growing embryos at the moment that are not quite born. Based on these beliefs, I see myself as someone who agrees with conservative economic beliefs but liberal social beliefs, so I see myself as a moderate. A question for liberals is: Why would affirmative action be fair in society? Sure, minorities were prejudiced against in the racist past, but affirmative action is racism in its own way because it is racism directed towards whites. You don't fight racism with racism.
After taking all these quizzes and surveys about Conservatives vs. Liberals, I think that I am after all a conservative, although I may agree with some topics on the liberal side. For example, Same-Sex Marriage. I think that anyone can marry anybody that THEY love. It's not going to hurt us what so ever. Plus, everybody, regardless of their gender, have the right to marry and its against the constitution to not give the individual the freedom of choosing who they want to marry. On the other hand I think abortion should be illegal. Even if a woman is impregnated against her will/ raped, she has no right of "terminating" the pregnancy because she does not have the ability to raise the child. It's like killing a life(the baby). Despite the fact that it wasn't her fault or whatever, there is always adoption or some help out there so it's not like she it's going to be helpless. Welfare and taxes are also two things that make me lean more to the conservative side, because I think that people should be able to depend on themselves and not the government. The government is paying way too much money to help some people when they say they need help but they don't necessarily need it. I think that the government should implement more job opportunities so that the people who don't have jobs/needy can then have their own jobs and make their own money to take care of themselves. Same with taxes. I think that the government should lower the taxes and that everybody should pay the SAME amount. If taxes are lowered, people can save some of the money they get (from their pay checks) and invest, because higher taxes discourage investment. Also, I believe that people who work hard to earn their money should have the right to keep it (most of it).
Daleya, while your thoughts on both issues have merit, I can't help but feel like the two opinions contradict, and I'm going to have to disagree with you here. You say that you are pro-life, and that women are not totally helpless because there is "help out there". You then go on to say that you oppose welfare. For women facing an unintended pregnancy, isn't welfare some of the "help" you speak of? Hypothetically speaking for example's sake, let's say abortion is illegal and welfare is abolished. A woman falls pregnant and she does not have the money to support the child AND her loved ones are unwilling to support her in the tough decision of giving the child up for adoption. So now this woman is pretty much stuck in that she can't afford to raise the child and she has no access to government benefits that can and will improve the quality of her child's life. What exactly do you propose under this circumstance? What alternatives does this woman have?
Well Sarah, by help I meant adoption, like I was going for killing the baby isn't the only solution, but another solution would be adoption. So by help I was think solution=adoption
For someone whose late afternoon tea talks often included being a pertinent listener to spurs of anger as triggered by modern political decisions most often relating to Central and Easter European post-communist politics, even to me it came as a surprise that I would favor both rudimentary principles of liberals and conservatives. Though not unaware, I have, contrary to my upbringing or rather paradoxically so, thought that stronger governmental intervention over free enterprise should be an essential responsibility in enabling and maintaining healthy and responsive economy. The government, however, should never go so far as to level the playing field such that equality breeds lack of a privatized sector. My belief about healthcare is strictly aligned with support for universal healthcare reforms. While not dismantled under the Affordable Healthcare Act, insurance companies are used to channel the greatest possible number of clients in an effort to provide affordable healthcare for even those who have otherwise not though it possible. The strongest points of conservative opposition, due to which I personally identify myself as a liberal include foreign policy, abortion and LGBT rights. There is no question in my mind that women should not be subjugated to having a child if it falls as a burden on them. Similarly, all members of society, regardless of sexual-orientation, gender, and race should not be constricted by any other persons’ private dogmas in terms of legal attainment. While a supporter of some minority rights, I am generally opposed to the idea and practice of affirmative action. People should be evaluated strictly on the basis of achievement, rather than gaining advantage from being born into a family which you are. I am also an avid supporter of the death penalty. It appears to be a more promising notion both economically and financially than a life sentence without the chance of parole.
I definitely am on the liberal side of things for most issues. On fiscal and economic issues, I do have trouble on which way I lean. On the one hand, while there may be private organizations to help the poor, there should be government programs that are stable and secure. On the other hand, should taxpayers be supporting people who use those programs as a crutch and never get back on their feet? It's hard to decide whether a few bad apples should stand in the way of helping good people who are going through a hard time. I try not to choose a side on economic policies as there will always be positive and negative consequences to any decisions. I like to see facts, numbers, and studies in order to sway me, unlike some people... *cough* republicans *cough*. I find it funny conservatives believe that individuals should be the ones making decisions, yet when the issue of gay marriage comes up, all of a sudden the government shouldn't be granting that personal responsibility. If I had to pose a question to a conservative, I would ask why they are all talk about personal freedoms and having government stay out of the way, but in reality, want government to enforce their religious beliefs.
So @andrew is going to try to argue that us unilateralism can solve more political issues than multilateralism even though the US can't pass bills through its own congress? Can you explain how US can solve any issues at all when they cant get bills passed in their own congress? Furthermore, multilateralism directly bypasses this issue due to foreign affairs bypass congress. Besides ,multilateralism has fostered some really powerful political and economic entities such as ASEAN EU and BRICS. All 3 of which were projected to be major on the political stage by the end of the decade
Even if Multilateralism is bogged down by rules and regulations, the ultimate impact of multilateral decisions is very beneficial, as everyone reaches a consensus on what to do, thus there's a less likely-hood of angering other countries. Unilateral action however, undermines the charter of the UN and risks alienating our allies. One last thing, unilateralism is really selfish, usually promoting the interest of one state, but not of the world as a whole. In order to achieve common goals, multilateralism is the way to go.
@George Liu The main problem with Multilaterism is the angering of other countries though. The whole reason that nothing is getting done is because multiple countries do not have the same agenda towards other foreign policy. So even if we try multilaterism, it's unachievable as there are many countries that are deciding again out interests.
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After doing the chart of Conservatives Vs. Liberals, I realized that I lean more on the Conservative side if things. One of the reasons being the War in Iraq. I believe that it was a good thing for us to go to Iraq because we needed to be sure their were no more WMDs and Iraq was a very big threat with those. We had to take action for our own protection. Another reason why I find myself a conservative is because of the immigration policy. I believe that legal immigration is great for America it is what founded us. But I don't believe that illegal immigrats deserve U.S. Government financial aid because they aren't legal citizens of the country and so they shouldn't get help from the government they are illegally staying in.
I may have to disagree on sending soldiers to Iraq and the immigration policy. When I heard about the arguments and debate from the news, I realized that the war in Iraq, although it was a preemptive measure to prevent conflict, ended up getting ourselves stuck in major conflicts in the Middle East and lead to large amounts of debt which we still haven't paid off yet. As for immigration, many of the families of illegal immigrants left due to problems and even violence in their countries. The immigrants in America do the jobs that we don’t want to do, and if the US could give the immigrants benefits and citizenship, we could employ a new workforce for our country. These are some of the topics that persuaded me to take a liberal viewpoint on matters in the US.
After completing the Liberal vs. Conservative chart I have come to realize I am more leaning toward the liberals. However, that does not mean I don't agree with some of the very serious issues on the conservative side. One of the big issues I agree with both sides on is abortion. For the liberals, I see where they are ok with a women deciding whether or not she wants the baby if she is "forced". However, I do believe that a baby is a baby as soon as it is conceived. So for that I am also conservative on the situation. Another issue I have strong opinions for Is welfare. I agree with the liberal side that we do need to help the poor, or the hurt if they are truly that. Because on the conservative side, I know people who use the system and play it. They claim they are hurt and are not. Lastly, an issue I think that distinguishes Liberals from Conservatives is the economy. Such as, the free market system. I feel as though if the businesses were let off to do with their business whatever they wanted then, so many businesses, pay, and employment would be unfair. I don't like the idea though of the government getting too involved because then they would gain too much power over American businesses. My questions for the Conservatives are one, How can you think that the death penalty is okay when so many people have been given it, and then they find out that person was not guilty? And also how can you oppose the current Social Security? Don't you realize that when we get older, if that goes away, some of our generation won't even be able to retire?
-Ellie Workman
While I consider myself to be more socially Liberal and financially conservative, after taking the three surveys, I found that I also lean more towards the right. The biggest issues on the Conservative vs. Liberals chart for me were probably the Economy and Taxes sections. I lean more conservative on these issue because I personally support lower taxes and lower spending. With the Economy section I believe in the personal liberty of people and their ability to fail or succeed due to their actions. I don't think it's fair for all people to be equal (In an economic sense, not socially or anything) when some people have the capability of doing much better than "average" and some have the capability of doing, well, "less than average".
I have realized since starting this course that I lean very much towards the liberal side. I believe this is because of my point of view on marriage equality for LGBTQ citizens and because of my views on environmental policy and the secularization of the government. I believe that everyone has the right to marriage and nobody should be barred from the natural right to belong to the one you love (at least legally) (and yes, I know this is an old way of saying it, it's just the best way I could think of). Marriage is a right guaranteed by the constitution as it could fall under the jurisdiction of the right to pursuit of happiness. In regards to environmental policy, I believe that the environment is a beautiful thing and needs to be protected at all costs. President Theodore Roosevelt set up the first wildlife preservation sites in the United States so that someday, the Earth would still be there and be beautiful for their children and their childrens' children, and many generations far beyond them. The Earth is here to enjoy and explore, not destroy with big, fancy corporations and industrial plants and nuclear power plants. The Earth is a beautiful thing and the things it naturally provides for us: oxygen, fresh air and water, wildlife, natural gases, and sunlight are not things to be taken advantage of and then destroyed. The non-renewable resources need to be preserved if we, as a species, and the rest of population of the world want to keep living here. We need to be careful of what we use and we need to keep it protected, or it will surely fade out and we will be left with nothing.
Why would we provide large corporations who destroy the environment one tree at a time with the money to continue slowly killing us all? Why should some people be denied basic human rights such as to be married and to love who they love just because it makes others uncomfortable (would you yell at someone and punish them by taking away their right to eat pickles, just because you don't like pickles?)?
Also, @John Crowley,
I understand your argument about the war in Iraq, however I feel as though you're contradicting yourself. You say you support Illegal Immigration due to the fact that many of the people there came to escape problems in their nation, such as violence. Therefore, if they came to the United States they could escape that and have the hope of a better life. While I personally agree with that, how can you not support the War in Iraq? The war in Iraq wasn't just a "preemptive measure" to insure national security. While that was one of the many reasons the U.S. led coalition invaded, another was to topple the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Hussein was accused, and found guilty of many things. These things included, but are not limited to; Harboring Al Qaeda insurgents, Supporting Al Qaeda, Violating fundemental human rights, commiting heinous attrocities to his own people, and defying U.N. demands.
I don't think it's fair to allow people from other countries to break U.S. laws specifically, and then criticize the U.S. for invading a country where things that are 100 times worse than in, say, Mexico, are occuring. While the consequences for Invading a nation are high (casualties, cost, etc.), allowing Immigrants to enter the nation illegally has costs as well.
I am on the edge but I think I lean more towards being a conservative. Although I agree with many liberal viewpoints like how the death penalty is 'cruel and unusual' punishment and should be abolished, for the most part I agree with conservatives. For one example, I support lower taxes and a smaller government; more laissez-faire policies. Lower taxes would encourage people to work for and save their own money. I also oppose long-term welfare. People should learn to depend on themselves and not the government. In addition the current Social Security system is in serious trouble. The government will no longer be able to maintain it if they continue with the current system. I do support a cap on Social Security payments to the wealthy but overall the system is still in terrible condition.
After doing the Conservative vs. Liberal chart, I learned that I was more of a conservative than liberal. One of the issues that I looked at was that of the affirmative action, in that people should be hired based on their ability. Now, I think that this is a good thing for our society today because there is much talk about how people get discriminated against because race, martial status,and Religion etc. I don't think this right because if you can do something to the same ability as someone else, then you should have the job, and well only cause more discrimination. Also, I believe that diversity in this act will help bring people together to see how people are different, and try to connect with them.
After doing the Conservative vs. Liberal chart, I realized that while I am generally in the middle, I tend to lean toward the Conservative side. I agree with the party's views on abortion. Abortion is killing a human being and although I understand not every pregnant woman is in a position to raise a child, adoption is an option. Also, the US should stay out of other countries' business and focus on issues at home. My question for the Liberal side is how can you expect to solve discrimination of minorities for employment and education by reverse-discrimination? You're still discriminating and demographics have shown that the current minority will soon become the new majority, so aren't you just promoting future discrimination of the minority?
Being liberal is fun, mainly because your counterparts in Washington aren’t trying to sue and impeach the president, and because you aren’t represented on the international stage by Donald Trump and Rush Limbaugh. However, at a certain point liberalism departs from pragmatism and enters ineffective idealism, where ideology trumps real action. Because of this I view myself as a pragmatic liberal, much of my ideology is shared with the far left, especially when it comes to social welfare, however on issues of the economy, the environment, and the United States’ place in the international liberal order, I tend to be much more conservative than my tree-hugging peace-loving compatriots.
When it comes to social issues I sway firmly on the liberal side, especially on the issues of same-sex marriage, religion in government, abortion, healthcare, and gun control. When it comes to social welfare I feel that more money and resources should be invested into social programs to cut down on bureaucratic inefficiencies and ensure that money actually reaches people in need. However, on issues of social security and immigration I have mixed opinions. I feel that although immigrants here should be granted amnesty and more investment needs to go in not fighting drugs but fixing the deep-seated economic issues in Latin America, and promoting women’s health/rights in the region. On social security I think the individual should have more choice, but think that the current system needs minor fixes if anything.
The economy however is a different story. Although I am not for a free-market system and believe in government involvement, I think that for the most part, the private sector is much better adapted to helping the nation and fixing issues in the status quo than the government. There should be laws in place to prevent the abuse of workers and preying on consumers, but the free-market can solve a lot of issues better than the government due to bureaucratic and monetary restraints placed upon the government. On taxes, I think the government should work on cutting tax loopholes and increasing taxes for the wealthy, mainly to fund more social programs.
The environment is where I am at my most conservative. First when it comes to renewable energy I am firmly of the opinion that renewable energy is a bad, borderline terrible idea. Not only can renewable energy not fix oil dependence, (mainly because it can’t fuel electricity or modes of transportation) it hurts the environment more than oil and is utterly unreliable (solar power and wind I’m looking at you). On Global Warming I think that although carbon emissions are rapidly increasing warming rates that a lot of the conclusive data for and against Global Warming is paid for by the government (IPCC) and oil companies (API and Idso). Instead I think that Global Warming is more of a middle ground, yes it is an issue, and yes we should work on solving it, but it will not cause human extinction. I also support increased oil drilling, fracking and offshore, as I think it will bring a massive boost to the US economy.
Finally, on the U.S.’s position in the international liberal order is above and beyond the international liberal order. The US not the UN is the primary peacekeeping force in the world, having a military force the size of the next 3 biggest militaries combined. Since the US has become the hegemon we have seen barely any conflict and certainly not anything on the scale of WW1 or WW2. The United States is key to promoting developing nations rights and preserving peace. The UN is hilariously ineffective because absolutely no one listens to its resolutions and its ability to act is crippled by China and Russia constantly vetoing any action.
In conclusion—liberalism is good as long as ideology doesn’t overpower action. A government bogged down by bureaucracy and ideology is about as effective as no government at all.
I alternated between liberal and conservative on the three tests we took but I think ideology wise I think I agree more with a conservative viewpoint. I still agree with many liberal standpoints including abolishing the death penalty, as I believe no human life should be taken, and restricting the right to own a gun, as I believe there have been too many gun-related tragedies. However, I also have a conservative outlook on some issues. Looking at affirmative action, I think that people should be admitted to schools and hired for jobs based on their ability. Now saying this doesn't automatically mean that we will deprive minorities of opportunities because I believe that race does not necessarily play into the ability of a person. Although people claim that the United States is still a racist society, oftentimes I feel that it is still racist because we intentionally treat it that way.Furthermore, I believe that while temporary welfare, and in some cases long-term welfare, for the poor is a good thing, I also believe that it is important to provide opportunities for growth and self-sustenance and encourage low or poor-class people to become self-reliant. However, this does not at all mean that I am not sympathetic to poor people.
After taking multiple tests that determine what political viewpoint I have, I have noticed that I am in the middle, but leaning more towards the Liberal side. The reason why I am in the middle is because I agree with parts of the viewpoints on issues on both sides. For instance, abortion, I have a conservative view that human life, indeed, does begin at conception. However, I don't think women should not have the choice to a safe and legal abortion, especially if a women was raped and then got pregnant and wants an abortion. Next, the reason why I am leaning towards to the liberal side is because I support the part where the chart said "Support legal [and illegal] immigration and increasing the number of legal immigrants permitted to enter the U.S. each year". This is because without the illegal immigrants, our dirty jobs in America would not be filled and then we would have to pay "true" Americas a whole lot more to do the same job. They are willing to make a living with hard work and make better lives for their children and I think we should give them that opportunity.
My questions is that it said "more guns mean less crime". However doesn't more guns mean more bullets for people to use? And people who may not know how to use a gun properly can easily obtain and use guns accidentally or not and do more harm than good. So instead wouldn't there would be more crime with more guns?
Prior to assessing what side of the political spectrum I am on, I could assume that I would fall in the Liberal-Moderate side. This is mainly because that is where the adults in my family that I have the most contact with lie. I could have guessed this because I do not have an interest in politics, but am otherwise interested in hearing about other people’s beliefs. Except GBLT rights because they should not be discriminated against whether or not they can choose their sexual orientation. As well as, separation of church and state because politics should not be based on a singular moral code then forced on people with different morals. Lastly, abortion and why it should be permitted. As a person that has the ability to conceive children, I would first question who the majority of the decision makers were and if they themselves had the ability to conceive. Second, I would rather uphold my rights in deciding what is best for my future unborn child and myself than turn it over to the government. As I write this, I find myself hearing the policies of Conservative contradicting their want of less government. It makes no sense to me that at one point the ideology is that government should stay out of big business, but then has the right to enforce laws that dissolve women’s and Homosexuals rights to make decisions on how their life will turn out. The overall reward of politics as I have found in my six-teen years of life is that there is always room for debate.
After doing the conservative vs liberal chart I realized that I am very conservative, one of the issues that I believe strongly in is the death penalty. I believe that if you take someone else's life you deserve to have the same done to you because it is only fair. Another topic I believe in is abortion I think that you should not be able to take away a human life because you never know what that baby can turn out to be and you can always give it up for adoption if you are not ready to deal with raising a child. One question I have for liberals is What if your mom decided to have an abortion when she was pregnant with you?
I would firmly call myself conservative, based on the conservative vs. liberal chart as well as past tests, and knowing myself well as an individual. I was raised as someone who believes America as a land of freedom, and liberty, where man's opportunity and is not determined by large government, but rather by ones own willingness to work hard. I believe that the true American Dream is to fulfill such aspirations. Today I honestly think that our government is too involved in peoples' lives. For example, I'm Drew Bonnett, I'm an American and I should be able to do whatever I want as long as I am not harming others. If I work hard then I deserve to be rewarded by capitalism and not limited by a government who taxes the wealthy simply for the reason of redistribution. I believe in minimal taxes because I don't think social programs aren't entirely necessary and I also believe in maximum freedom. I would say I am somewhat of a libertarian when it comes to human rights, however. People should have freedoms when it comes to issues like same-sex marriage, marijuana use, possessing firearms, etc. Although I do live a life morally guided by religion, I do not think that others have to. As long as other people are not harming me by taking advantage of their freedoms, I don't care what they do. I honestly believe that men are by nature caring and kind and that Americans could all take advantage of our equal rights without confronting chaos possibly risked by giving men such freedoms.
before the whole charts thing to find out what we truly are, i though that i was a conservative. but after i finished the chart, i realized that is was a moderate liberal there are a few things that is tend to lean on the conservative side, but for the most part liberal is the way to go. for example, i agree on less spending on the national guard. that is because there are much more national issues that need to be solved. did you know that if we where to combine every other country's spending on their military, america would still out price that number by a mile. it's not like our military is weak, therefor; we need to work on national affairs such as government help. I'm not saying that we should go communist, but we need to shrink the gap that is between the poor and the top 1%. yes ,the poor do get SOME aid like food stamps, but the upper class get tax breaks that cannot be compared to food stamps. for example, we need to help the poor get a jobs so that it jumpstarts their life. also, families should get extra aid to help in raising one.
After completing the Liberal vs. Conservative chart, as I previously thought I lean more towards the side of the liberals. I believe in their policies and viewpoints on environmental awareness, separation of church and state, and individual rights, such as abortion and same- sex marriage. In my opinion, the environment is immensely more important than businesses who expel large amounts of harmful carbon dioxide, and without a healthy environment our quality of life is substantially decreased and could turn into severe problems for future generations. Next, there should be a separation of church and state because the church could become too heavy of a influence on the government and whichever religious group in power could restrict and alienate differing religious groups, which would directly violate religious freedom in America. Individual rights should be decisions made by that individual and should not be restricted by the government. Why should anyone dictate another persons personal choices like who they decide to marry? The liberal perspective promotes equality and basic civil rights.
I tend to agree with liberal viewpoints on most issues. For example, I believe that people have a basic right to health care. Without it, people in poor health cannot work, and their financial situations become a downward spiral. This is not something we should allow in a civilized society. I also support marriage rights for all adults because, frankly, why not? I don't think that allowing certain groups to marry will wreck the institution of marriage or anything.
But on the conservative side, I agree that Social Security is unsustainable in its current state. The system is set up so that the current generation of workers supports the retirees. With birth rates dropping, this will eventually become too much of a strain on workers. Reform is necessary. On the topic of affirmative action, I do not support it because it discriminates without solving the root causes of racial inequality. From what I've read, much racial disparity is caused by gaps in education. Allowing everyone to receive sufficient education in elementary through high school is a better solution than discriminating in college and the workforce.
I would like to ask conservatives why the death penalty should continue when there is always a risk of executing the wrong person.
I grew up in a conservative household. Ever since I was little, I knew my parents were republicans. As I got older, people began to ask me where I stood on the political spectrum. Instinctively, I would say I was conservative, but I couldn't quite back myself up. I've been asking my parents to further explain their beliefs. And just to make sure I wasn't being biased, I took the Conservatives vs. Liberals chart very honestly. I have found that I am more on the conservative side. I do believe in a less involved government. I am more for freedom than equality. With freedom, I do understand that there will be people who will not have great success. But I believe every American should have the opportunity to succeed to whatever degree they desire without being limited by the government. I don't agree in government ran healthcare. The government should help those who cannot afford health insurance, but they should not make everyone else be on the same plan. If someone wants higher quality health care, they should be able to have it. There are some issues that I agree with the Liberals. For instance, the death penalty. I believe the death penalty is wrong and inhumane. It doesn't make sense that we tell the criminal killing is wrong, and then go on to execute him. I also believe we should pass laws for same sex marriage. Although our country was founded on Christian Judeo principles, we still do have religious freedom. We cannot make everyone live by these Christian morals. I guess you could say, for most issues, I am more economically conservative and socially liberal.
After doing the Conservative/Liberal activities, I finally confirmed where I always thought I lie on the political spectrum: smack dab in the middle(however I also have a tendency to lean towards the liberal side of the spectrum). Issues I tend to be more conservative are things like: abortion and how a fetus has a right to live as we all have had this right, also I believe that guns should not be withhold from individuals as it is their right to protect themselves. While it is correct that an individual might misfire or mishandle the gun; the fault lies not with the gun but with the owner of that weapon. On the other side of the spectrum I believe that the death penalty is wrong because we are using the same thing a criminal would do: us doing it doesn't make it any different than them doing it. Fighting fire with fire simply doesn't work.
I would consider myself a moderate. The 2 quizzes that we completed the other day suggested that I am a liberal, however, the liberal vs. conservatives chart demonstrated that I would be a conservative. There are 2 issues on each side that I feel very strongly about, and that is why I have a hard time calling myself a "liberal" or "conservative." On the conservative side, I believe in the death penalty. I find that if you take someones life, the only fitting punishment is to have your life taken. I do not believe in any way, shape or form that the death penalty is cruel or inhumane. Also on the conservative side, I believe that "socialized medicine" is unfair and not necessary. I understand that some people cannot afford health care, however, some people can, and those people that pay a high price for good, quality health care, should receive good, quality health care. If the government intervenes in the health care area, all people will end up getting the same minimal health care. On the liberal side, I believe that the church and the state should remain separate. Every citizen is given the right to believe in whatever religion they choose to and the government should not have a say in that. It would be impossible for the government to please all people because of the multitudes of religions. I also support same-sex marriage, as the liberals do. I believe that all individuals have the right to marry and if marrying someone who is the same sex as them makes them happy, then I do not see why that is a problem for society. If I was forced to pick either moderate liberal or moderate conservative I would probably pick moderate liberal because even though I side with less of their overall ideas, the ones that I do side with, I feel very strongly about.
How do you know I am a liberal? I just told it to you, for it was not that much of a surprise that I tended to lean more towards the left than the right. The key issues here is government mandated welfare and health care. Do you realize that the USA before was one of the only first world countries that does not provide universal health care? How can you conservatives oppose doing so when in light of such a fact? In fact, if I remember correctly, it was first MITT ROMNEY who proposed the Affordable Care Act. Also, another issue I find extremely important is the role of immigrants inside the USA, myself being one. America is supposed to be the land of the free, a place where people want to live in, full of opportunity. A significant amount of America is built by immigrants, and if they want to stay to get the improved education, rights, and chance they should be able to utilize.
Also, I already listed my two things, so I'll keep this short and simple. Multilateralism is soooooo much better than unilateralism. There is literally nothing that unilateralism can solve that multilateralism can't solve better.
After completing the Conservative v. Liberal chart I affirmed that my belief and ideas hold more towards the Conservative side. My beliefs on the economy follow many conservative ideologies. I believe that a free market, a market of competition with the governments nose out of it, provides consumers with the best possible product and ensures continual growth. This is a market in which companies are focused on providing the best for us while giving us economic growth, jobs so companies can ensure growth, and higher standards of living. Further, I believe that lower taxes improves incentive to work. "Money is best spent by those who earn it"; the rich should not be taxed anymore because they've worked to build a better life for themselves. Socially, I also tend to lean right.I believe abortion is murder. A child, even not yet born, has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, outlined in the Declaration of Independence. Additionally, I believe that affirmative is the completely wrong way to deal with previous discrimination. Reverse-discrimination is wrong: discriminating to fix discrimination makes absolutely know sense. Also, it's important that we hire or admit people based on merit, not color. The question I pose to liberals is how they can justify affirmative action. I also believe in freedoms of gun control. People kill people, and most people who use guns to kill people get their guns illegally anyway, so making firearms illegal wouldn't stop it. Americans have the right to protect themselves, their property, and their family and one of the best instruments to ensure this is personal firearms. Finally, I want to address one thing I side with the liberals on: everyone should pay taxes towards public schools because it's a right for every american to have an education, and it's important that we support the schools in our community, even if one's child goes to a private school. This promotes smarter and mare able youth coming from communities. That is a duty of every american.
I've said a lot and could say more (don't even get me started on welfare), but I think that's pretty good.
Before the start of this school year and class I had always defined myself as a Republican. I didn't have any knowledge of other parties or what they stood for, I was just told that I was a Republican. Liberal/Conservative was not a part of my vocabulary.
After completing several "quizzes" and learning about liberals and conservatives, I now have a much better understanding of what I associate myself with politically. I now call myself a moderate conservative. I agree with conservative views most of the time. Ideas such as gun control, death penalty, abortion, immigration, affirmative action, and war on terror I strongly agree with.
Part of the reason why I agree with those topics is because of the way I grew up. Both of my grandfathers were in the military which they took pride in and always taught me to respect soldiers/veterans. My one of grandfathers later became a St. Louis police officer/detective which played a role in growing up around guns and always learning about gun safety. Also, both of my parents have their license to carry a concealed weapon. As for abortion, I would say I agree with the conservative stand so strongly because it is just what I personally believe is right. I am Catholic, but just because the church teaches that it is wrong is not why I believe it. A fetus is a human life. I do not believe that the mother or anyone else can make the decision to give the baby life or death. Now, in some rare cases where the mother and child are both at risk of dying from the pregnancy, I may be more lenient.
Yet, there are certain conservative standings that I do not agree with, such as same sex marriage and partially the role of religion in the government. As I said before, I am Catholic, but I do not agree with everything the church teaches. The church says that gay marriage is wrong and so do conservatives. I disagree. I also do not think that the Judao-Christian religion should be so involved in the government. There are so many different types of religion in the US and to incorporate religion into the government, to me, is a form of evangelizing. The first amendment states that all citizens have the freedom to worship the religion they choose. By having Judaism/Christianity be so influential in the government, the government is forcing others to believe that religion. However, I do not think all religious symbols should be removed from public and government places because it is a symbol of our history, yet they should not be continued to be put on/in new buildings or monuments.
From the conservative/liberal surveys and quizzes, I have determined that I am Liberal, though I do have some Conservative inclinations. I believe that equality, especially equality under the law, is incredibly important. Socially, this makes me a supporter of LBGT rights and a feminist, and economically in favor of making efforts to bridge the wealth gap and welfare programs. I also think that the United States has a tendency to barge into other countries' affairs thinking we can fix things without fully understanding the culture or situation that we are barging into, like the Iraqi war. Because this often ends badly for us and the country that we are "helping" or "protecting ourselves from", we should be less arrogant and work through the UN and negotiation to find more appropriate solutions than assuming that if we send troops places, we can fix things. Upon reflection, it is really a desire for various types of guaranteed equality and foreign policy that makes me a liberal.
Due partially to the conservative upbringing I've experienced at home as well as the liberal viewpoints of many of my friends, I am finally able to define myself as a libertarian, with liberal leanings. Firstly, one thing I do agree with is the death penalty. Although many might disagree, we as a society must be aware of the alternatives to the death penalty; primarily the sentence of life without parole. While this may seem more humane to most, we must realize the strain it will have economically, as well as psychologically, on both society and the perpetrator. Why waste resources housing a man with no more will to live, nothing else to look forward to but the four concrete walls surrounding him day in and day out? Besides that, the financial strain it takes to keep him or her alive can be put to much better use. Are the additional resources really worth keeping a person locked up, waiting until the day they die, after years and years in jail? I think not.
Another ideal I hold close to my heart, and because of which I consider myself to lean liberally, is civil rights. America was built on the framework of religious freedom, and I'd like to think that in this day and age that freedom translates over to minorities and LGBTQ citizens, allowing them to live equally and avoid persecution. As such, I am an avid supporter of marriage equality, and full and equal rights for all, no matter of their race, religion, or sexual orientation. This, however, does not mean that I support affirmative action, at least not in the traditional sense. In the workplace, as it should be in all walk of life, your ability should carry you through, not any physical or emotional characteristic. There is one case in which I consider unique: college. College admissions should not look into race as a deciding factor, but should look at the situation of applicants, and base their admissions on what an applicant has done with what they've been given rather than by race to fill a "diversity" quota or just by pure accomplishments, which would effectively bring an end to upward mobility, another idea that I want to be represented in America.
The US was built on the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and through those ideals I continue to form my political ideology, albeit to suit the rapidly changing world we live in today. I hope to combine the traditional ideals set forth at the creation of the country with the demands of today's modernized world, something I believe is the responsibility of both the government and the individual seeking a better life.
After doing the chart of Conservatives vs. Liberals, I found out that I am a moderate. It made sense. I never totally agreed with one side over the other, but if I had to pick, I would be a conservative. I mostly believe in what the conservatives think about abortion and taxes. Why should it be legal to destroy a human life? Like the conservatives think, I believe that a human life begins at conception. It is also what I grew up hearing as I am from an all catholic family and my parents are conservatives. Also, why should we have to give the government money that we will never see the benefits of? I mean, for the past few years, there has not been much going on in the government. They just can't agree. When the government starts working together, then maybe I would be comfortable with the tax amounts.
Based on the charts and quizzes we have done in class, I have found that I lean much more conservative than liberal. One of the conservative ideas that I agree with is that affirmative action negates the idea of equality that so many people have fought for in the United States. During his famous I Have a Dream speech, Martin Luther King Jr. said "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character". Today, discrimination against the majority is seen as fair, but it is still discrimination. When applying for college, for example, the quota that has to be met under affirmative action means a white male is being judged based on the color of his skin and his gender instead of solely basing his acceptance on work ethics, talent, and educational transcripts. Without affirmative action, men and women can be based on their merits alone. If the African American, Chinese, or Indian student is more qualified than the white, than they should be accepted. However, if the white student is more qualified, the same reward should be presented to him or her. I am also conservative in my views because I oppose to the redistribution of wealth. While I find it appropriate to aid people in need, I do not feel that it is the governments job to forcibly take the wealthy's hard earned money and give it to the poor- especially because it is easy for the poor to take advantage of. Instead of helping the poor, I think it ultimately cripples them into becoming dependent on the free care instead of using it to get back on their feet.
After doing the Conservatives Vs. Liberals quizzes, I figured out that I am moderately liberal. An issue that I feel strongly about is the death penalty. I think it is very harsh and I don't think any punishment should end up with somebody getting killed, even if they did end a human life themselves. Maybe the person that killed somebody was acting in self defense. I feel you can never know the truth without a witness there to see what actually happened. Or, in rare cases, somebody could get accused with murder without actually killing anybody. And even if it was 100% true that somebody took somebody else's life, without acting in self defense, I still would be opposed to the death penalty. The second topic I have a strong opinion on is same-sex marriage. I believe that if two people love each other, then the should be able to get married. People shouldn't be denied the right to marriage just because the person they want to marry is the same gender that they are. That just doesn't seem fair to me. Same-sex marriages don't harm other peoples lives in any way, its just two people getting married. Those are two of the main issues that I have the strongest opinions about.
- Jordan Neisler
It was determined that I am more of a liberal than a conservative based on the chart. Although there are many conservative viewpoints that I do agree with, such as less government, separation of church and religion, and lower taxes, I still am more of a liberal than a conservative. Some of the issues that strongly define my position is the argument over the death penalty. I think it is inhumane and wrong to sentence someone to death. I don't think it is up to us to decide whether somebody dies or not for a crime committed. I am still curious why some people still are in favor of the death penalty. How could you commit the same crime that the person being sentenced to death has committed? I also believe that same-sex marriage should be legal. Everybody is equal and should not be denied of basic rights. Everyone has different morals, and there are certain things that people consider wrong that other people would consider acceptable. Therefore, I feel like people have the right to choose whether or not they want to marry a person of the same sex. Overall, I am still more of a liberal although I agree with some of the conservative beliefs.
My parents have never been involved in politics, therefore I wasn't influenced to view a certain way as I was growing up. After taking the quizzes, I find myself to be moderate but leaning slightly towards being a liberal. For some issues, I agree with the conservative side such as hiring people based on their abilities and executing a murderer for a depraved crime. However, I agree with the idea of equality more than liberty, which is why I favor government intervention to help make things equal in society. I believe that poor people need assistance and that there should be less of a difference between the rich and poor. I also agree that there should be a separation of church and state because not everyone in the United States have the same religious view, so it would be unfair to abide to the views of one religion. I feel that for economic issues I am more conservative, but for social issues such as gay marriage, I am more liberal.
So after doing the liberal v. conservative chart, it was confirmed that I was firmly on the liberal side (surprise, surprise). For me, the strongest points that I will defend are to do with female rights and equality for all. Abortion to me is a huge point and I firmly believe that women should be given the choice to decide whether or not to have the baby. To me, the conservatives that say women should not even have the choice are taking away a basic right of free will. Another strong point for me is marriage equality. The LGBT community should be allowed to marry whomever they choose or another right is being taken away by the conservatives. So, for me these are the really big points that make me a liberal. Of course I agree with the other large points of the liberals –environment over big business, internationalism and the UN, and more government control- but these are the ones I will defend with everything I have (which anyone in my AP World class can tell you).
I found myself to be mostly conservative, which is how I viewed myself before taking this class. Some key issues that I lean conservative on are the Economy, Welfare, and taxes. I believe the government is too big when trying to regulate economy, thus making me a believer of the Laissez Faire politics. I also believe we need to cut money from many liberal programs, such as welfare and social security. Welfare is totally idiotic and unfair, as people who work hard to get good jobs are taxed more so their hard-earned money is redistributed to unemployed people too lazy to work. Instead, we should have programs that open up jobs for the unemployed instead of paying them for doing squat. However, I agree with drew in that I take a liberal side with personal freedoms, such as drug use, abortion, marriage rights, et.
Also, @ Matt Petersen
Not everybody who is on welfare is too lazy to get a job. It's hard in these times with the bad economy to get a job, much less a good paying one. They may be unable to find one, or they just don't make enough to work how ever many jobs and take care of relatives/children and have a house and food on the table. Juggling a lot of spending with little money is very hard and sometimes just can't be accomplished. So, overall, what I'm saying is that they're not all too lazy to find a job. You don't know each individual person's circumstances and why they're getting welfare. Therefore, we should not cut spending on welfare, and it is not idiotic as it helps to hold people over and keep them alive while they try to keep their family going and find a good job so they can get off welfare.
Based on my opinions I lean towards the Conservative viewpoint. This is because of my views on the economy, gun control, taxes, and welfare. The economy should be a free market system keeping things competitive and forcing people to work harder everyday because that's the only way our country can grow and thrive. If everything stays the same and there is no competition then people don't work harder and we will fall behind other nations. Guns do not kill people. People kill people. If a gun is put on a table and is told to shoot it won't do it; a person has to operate it. Owning a gun and knowing how and when to use it just protects one from being shot by a criminal. Criminals will get a hold of weapons despite laws put in place by the government. Taxing the rich more than the poor is giving the rich less incentive to work hard and make money therefore no one will want to work hard for this country and we will fall dramatically behind. Everyone that is a citizen of this country should have to pay taxes and the same amount of taxes. Finally, welfare is too generously handed out. It needs to be proven, in order to receive welfare, that a person is looking for work and will only temporarily need the money to get back on their feet. Welfare should not be lived off of but used as a resource only as a last resort.
Despite being pretty liberal, I still agree with a ton of conservative viewpoints. I do believe that we need to withdraw from the Middle East fully instead of little half measures. I don't necessarily think we need to focus on our security as a country and strong arm those who oppose us (because diplomacy is always better than war), but we should focus less on military and more on domestic problems. We should focus more on the American dream and get our dragging economy back on track so we can make some money and repay our debt. Also firearm restrictions should not be placed on this country. Not only because it is in the Bill of Rights, but because no matter what happens, criminals will still find a way to get a firearm to harm or threaten another with. Without gun restrictions, a person can own a gun and defend their home and life with it. With gun restrictions, the criminal still has a gun, but a law abiding citizen is defenseless. If your house is getting robbed and you go at the criminal with a baseball bat and he has a 9mm pistol, he/she is going to win. Also, tons of citizens use firearms as a way of putting food on the table. It saves people thousands of dollars a year to hunt a couple (overpopulated) deer, and provides them with a delicious super-food.
From taking the Conservative vs. Liberal test, I know that I stand on the conservative side of most issues. For instance, I support the death penalty because I think it is a method of indirectly disciplining people in America and warning them of the consequences of heinous crimes. I also stand on the conservative side of international relations and the war on terror because I believe that we should help police other areas of the world that are not as stable as the western world. Ultimately, I am conservative in that I feel that our government should work to fix social problems within the country as well as global issues, though I do stand on the liberal side of some issues. On the topic of gay marriage, I take a liberal standpoint because I think that denying gays the right to marry is putting restrictions on their freedom. Another liberal standpoint I have is in my belief that government and religion should be separate; promoting a single religion over others is causing tension between religious and ethnic groups in the US, and since the country is becoming increasingly diverse, these liberal policies regarding religion are bound to be present in society eventually.
Reviewing the Conservative vs. liberal chart I lean more towards the conservative side. I was raised in a republican/conservative household and that has extremley influenced my political decisions, because that was the side I heard about. Although, my grandparents are democrat, I never agreed with their views on politics. Also, because I believe in less taxes and a more "lassiez faire" government, I consider myself a conservative, yet I also agree with some liberal views. I believe that it is every womans right to decide whether or not she wants an abortion or not and it is not the Governments to decide a huge decision like that. I also believe in gay marriage and believe that regardless of sex, anyone has the right to marry. Even though I have those thoughts, I still believe in more conservative thoughts and I believe I am also a bit of a moderate because I am indpendent and believe in some liberal views as well. I also believe that our country should be as protected as it can be and that government should stay out of the economy and let the individual make the decision and let the individual make their own choices in life.
At first, I figured I was a liberal mainly because of my view on gay rights and the spread of industrialization. After I filled out the chart, I still leaned towards the liberal side rather than the conservative side excluding the issues that I'm more neutral about. I definitely feel strongly about the issue of gay marriage. The way I see it is that no matter what their preference, people are people and all people deserve the right to be lawfully binded for life and reap the benefits. Keeping that right away from certain people is clearly discrimination. Some people may not agree with this and it seems to me that usually it's a matter of morals or religion. The problem with this thinking, however, is that not everyone shares the same morals and not everyone believes in the same things. Going into the environment, I think that industrial expansion is important. However, it shouldn't come at the cost of this planet that we have to live on. New job opportunities and increased production is great for the economy, but what's the point of an economy when we have no place to live because we destroyed the land we lived on with our preoccupation with big industry. I feel that we need to develop new, more "cleaner" methods of industrial growth so as to even out the effects. Also, if you look at the science community today, it is a fact that global warming is very real today. This is fogged over, however, by the people who want to ignore the needs of the environment for their own personal gain. Humans have a huge impact on the natural world and it's time we start being more responsible with that power. Because biodiversity does matter not just because all the world's different species are beautiful and amazing but because they all play a part in the ecosystem no matter how small they are. And eventually this will affect us. A question I would ask the opposing side is what do you believe is the extent of equal human rights in the U.S. and which rights are unalienable?
I totally agree with Danielle on the gay rights thing. It does seem always to boil down to religious morals and that bothers me because it bring church and state closer together, creating less secularism, and being as liberal as I am (my only conservative issue on the chart was gun control)the level of secularism in the country should be very high, according to what this country was first started on and the first amendment, if the people are voting on gay marriage and other gay rights because of religious reasons, they are, in effect, imposing their religious beliefs on the rest of us, and that's just not cool.
I also seemed to alternate on all the surveys, first as a libertarian and then twice more as a liberal. Despite identifying as a liberal prior to AP Gov, the multiple sources posed to me in this class has opened me up to accepting conservative views as understandable preferences. Primarily, I am a supporter of universal equal rights in the realms of race, gender and sexual orientation. I also side with liberals when it comes to situations pertaining to the economy, gun control and healthcare. Being from a country with free government healthcare, difficult to pertain firearms and a more substantial minimum wage, I speak from personal, albeit naïve experience that federal intervention would provide a safer and more prosperous environment. However I do believe more in self-reliance, deterring punishment and an overall harsher approach to the reality of life proposed by conservatives. This involves supporting the death penalty, opposing welfare and illegal immigration. All in all I think I still identify greater as a moderate with a tendency to lean towards the left. Contrarily, I believe my judgment at this moment is impaired due to a lack of understanding and inexperience in the way this country functions. Therefore, I seek to better my knowledge in the coming months of AP Gov and formulate a more accurate decision then.
Through the completion of the past quizzes we have taken and the readings and notes of political ideology, I have found to be leaning towards the liberal side. I believe in most of the points on the liberal side, especially regarding the use of guns and the separation between church and state. I don't think that owning a gun gives you security. I believe that it is the government's obligation to protect the citizens who live here; therefore, I believe that the use of a gun just brings up more issues than it solves. We see on the news all the time about young children who accidentally kill themselves because of guns that are carelessly lying around. Additionally, there are a bunch of crazy people out there and incidents such as the Sandy Hook shooting are irreversible tragedies. In regards to the separation between church and state, I believe that religion should be completely separate from what the government does. Not everyone is the same religion, moreover, some people don't even follow a religion, so by categorizing the entire country by a certain religion would be unfair.
I am a liberal with some conservative views so one quiz stated that I was a moderate liberal and the other gave me a score of -44, which is pretty liberal but not flaming. I think the views that make me liberal are the views that abortion should be legal and the separation of church and state should be a necessity. Now the abortion topic can get touchy and I'm not saying that anybody's believes are wrong but I think that if it would ruin the life of the person, whether it was because they were too young or not financially able or if it was life threatening to the mother, then they should be able to have the abortion. This should be something needs to be open to everyone because ultimately you are in charge of your body, not the government. I can see how this is seen as a bad thing to some people but if it doesn't effect you then I don't think you should make those decisions for others but enough on that subject. On to the separation of church and state. Religion isn't something that everyone practices so why in a country as diverse as ours, would we force a religion's beliefs on people? We all have our own beliefs and opinions, none of them are necessarily wrong so we should make it a law for people to have the "right" beliefs.
After completing the Liberal vs. Conservative charts and quizzes, I realized that I lean strongly toward the liberal side. Socially, I support LGBTQ rights and am also strongly pro-choice when it comes to abortion. In fact, I support women's reproductive rights in general. Regardless of when you believe life begins, women have the right to make decisions for themselves, and no governing authority is in the position to evaluate the situation surrounding the pregnancy and make the decision for the woman. Making birth control more widely and easily available is also a right women deserve, and, for those of you disinclined to believe the choice to abort is a right, increased availability of birth control is a way to decrease the need for abortion. I am also in favor of increasing taxes on the wealthy and trying to bridge the wealth gap. The cost of living has increased so much that the lower and middle classes cannot afford to pay more taxes, but the 1% does have the capability to pay additional taxes, and it could be argued that they have benefitted the most from recent tax policies.
After seeing my results on the Liberal vs. Conservatives chart, I realize I am pretty liberal on most issues. One of the biggest issues I don't agree with on the conservative side is gay rights. I believe that if it is part of your religion to not marry someone of the same sex, then by all means, you should abide by that. However, not everybody is of the same religion, and some people have no religion whatsoever. This means that they do not have the same principles as others might and it might be perfectly fine in their mind to marry whomever they want. I think they should not have another religion's views forced upon them especially when it would not affect Christians and such if gay couples did get married. Another viewpoint I do not agree with on the conservative side is abortion policies. I think that, just like gay rights, if you do not believe it is just to get an abortion, don't. But it is unfair to force your beliefs on others because it is not your baby and it is not your life being affected. I understand attempting to share views, but forcing them on other people in the form of laws is crossing the line. Women should be allowed to control their own bodies, and they might have other reasons for getting an abortion, like they can't afford medical bills, or they just can't support a baby. As a question for conservatives, how can you support teaching things from the Bible in school, but ignore every other religion in the world? The Bible is not the only holy text out there. Also, although the system is messed up, why would you be against Social Security? Retiring takes a massive amount of money and without Social Security in place, some people might not be able to retire for years after they were supposed to?
To be honest, the Conservatives vs. Liberals chart only confirmed what I already knew about myself: I am quite the liberal. My two biggest reasons for falling to the left of the spectrum are the topics of abortion and marriage equality. In regards to abortion, I feel so, so strongly that women truly know what's best for their bodies and lives. Politicians (especially those who are old, white, and male) have absolutely no right whatsoever to dictate what a woman can and can't do in regards to her own body. Being Pro-Choice doesn't mean that I support abortion, it just means that I support letting women rightfully choose what is best for them in their situations. Now, in regards to marriage equality, I find it so outrageous to deny two people who love each other happiness and the benefits that come with marriage. So what if the Bible says marriage is between a man and a women? The Bible also supports slavery, so we must all accept that times have evolved. And our government should be promoting love between two people, because isn't there enough hate?
As a kid I grew up in a post communist country where left wing means something very different than here. My mom always leaned towards the democrats and basically considered Reagan a little better than the devil and took me to a protest against the war in Iraq. This heavily influenced and still is influencing my political viewpoints. There are certain things I disagree with that the democrats support such as getting government very involved in everyone's lives and interfering in other countries even if their intentions are good. There is one thing that will hold me back from voting Republican and that is the fact that they are denying many American their rights to the pursuit of happiness by not allowing them marry or even acknowledge that it is not a choice but the way someone is born. I agree with change because I don't like living in a country where it is someone's right to own a 12 gauge shotgun but not to be able to marry someone they love.
The majority of my family is very conservative. My grandparents met at a young Republicans conference and my dad has always had an influence on me with his conservative viewpoints. My mom, on the other hand, is a moderate. I am also a moderate but I tend to lean slightly liberal despite the influence on my family.
The charts and questionnaires we answered put me as slightly liberal but I also feel that I have lots of conservative values like welfare and immigration. Poor and low-income workers should not become dependent on welfare because there are some people who won’t get a job just because they are on welfare. People need to be self-reliant and be able to support themselves. We also cannot have illegal immigrants coming into the US because we will not be able to support them when we should be focused on helping our own citizens. One issue that I am conservative on is gun control. I don’t believe that guns cause problems. I believe that it is the criminals who are responsible for the problems and not the guns. Another conservative value is that I believe that we should have less government. I believe in laissez faire where the government should leave the economy alone.
I also agree with many liberal ideas like abolishing the death penalty. There have been many instances where people have been executed and then later found to be innocent. I also believe that all individuals, regardless of their sex, have the right to marry. I don’t have a strong opinion on abortion because I believe that in some instances abortion is okay because women should have a right to choose what goes on in their bodies. I also believe strongly on the idea that we need to protect the environment. The environment is our future and we need to protect it for future generations.
Doesn’t denying same-sex citizens the right to mary deny them their civil rights? Are we truly helping other governments when we become the policemen of the world? Is democracy always the best solution for countries?
After evaluating the Conservatives vs. Liberals chart, I've come to the conclusion that I am a moderate, leaning towards the liberal side when it comes to economics, but leaning towards the conservative side when it comes to personal and war issues. I think I stand there because I carry myself with a code of values, and I strongly believe in equality for all in terms of race, gender, financial status etc. I am a big advocate for helping the poor, and offering them an opportunity to better their situation. However, in relation to values and equality, I believe the death penalty is unjust, which leans more to the conservative side as supposed to my last point. I also believe the war on terror is propelled by the U.S. angering foreign countries, not to say the U.S. should just sit back and leave them vulnerable. To conclude, I am obviously bouncing back and fourth between the two sides, that is why I consider myself a moderate
These charts and quizzes have confirmed that I am liberal. The social/personal issues are big reasons why I lean more liberal than conservative. I firmly believe in marriage equality, gender equality, and a woman's right to an abortion, and I see restrictions on those things as a violation of natural human rights. One thing that I can lean more conservative towards is environmental policy. While I of course believe that the environment is important, I don't believe we need to stress environmental issues over more pressing matters like economic and social issues.
I've known myself to be mostly libertarian for years, and these activities only confirmed this. The government should stay out of marriage completely, but for the time being the gov't should issue marriage licenses to any human adult consenting couple. If people want to use drugs or sell their bodies let them its their choice because they only harm themselves. This is unlike abortion which i view as wrong, and i believe it should be illegal except in the case of rape, because scientifically life starts at conception. Therefor scientifically the unborn child is a human at the early stages of life. The one thing the constitution requires the federal gov't to do is protect the country and therefore defense spending should be the number one priority. A strong military deters aggression not only against the United States but also against our many allies. Don't punish responsible gun owners for the violent acts of the mentally unstable and stupid. Responsible ownership of firearms deters crime, this is a proven fact.
It isn't really a surprise that I am a liberal, given my socio-economic background and my immigrant status in. Key issues that are very important to liberals are first of all welfare to the poor. No matter how hard they try, they poor will never be able to get better conditions, unless someone helps them get there. Other groups do not have the incentives to do so right now, since that group isn't represented much in government and politics in general. Since private organizations don't have the capability to help the poor like the government does, the government has to be the entity that helps people in poverty get out of it. By providing basic needs to these people, they can work their way out of poverty and acquire better jobs, eventually being able to get off welfare and help themselves do whatever they want/need to do. Another key issue I believe is relevant is the governmental regulation of the economy. Without governmental regulation, big business like Carnegie Steel or Rockefeller Oil would have long surpassed ALL other businesses, not only in their respective areas, but in other areas as well, through expansion and simply buying out smaller businesses that try to open up, including many small businesses and family run stores.
The charts and whatnot have confirmed that I am a conservative. I think that I am this way because my parents are this way. I hear stories from my parents that too many people cheat the system and do the minimal amount of work and get the maximum amount of help/money for it. My big question is why should my parents work to the point that I never see them, and other people get to sit around and not have to work? I believe that everyone should have an equal chance at happiness, but you can't be spoon fed everything.
I believe that each American is given the opportunity to be successful in life yet some fail to seize this moment. I think hard work can get you just about anywhere and anything, and that's why I value freedom over equality. I think its unfair for one person to work hard to earn their high paying job only to be taxed so someone with a lower income can receive healthcare benefits and governments financial aid. I dont intend to sound arrogant because I know there are a lot of very poor and unfortunate people in our country, but I think the financial aid for these people should stand in private organizations, not the government. I am clearly biased on this topic because both my parents work in healthcare. My dad is a private doctor, and when patients come to him, he holds an oath saying he will treat them whether or not they can pay. So imagine paying for college to receive an education and finding a job yet you dont get paid for doing your job. Kind of sucks. Also, I think affirmative action is just reverse discrimination. No matter how you look at it, one person is being turned down for a job because of their skin color. Yes, a lot of horrific events took place in our history that were unfair and cruel, but isn't the whole point of learning about our history so we dont repeat it? While I am mostly a conservative for economics, I do lean more liberal in social/personal issues such as abortion. I think abortion should not be abused by two people being careless and irresponsible. However, I do believe that a woman has a right to her own body and shouldn't have to sacrifice her already existing life to raise an unplanned child. And because I value freedom, I feel that the government should not stand in the way of women's decisions.
After going through the Conservative Vs. Liberals chart, I found that I am a Conservative. One of the main reasons why I fell on this side of the spectrum was because I believe that Welfare is not going to benefit our nation. I believe that in order to help people struggling financially, the most effective thing to do is help them find jobs and encourage them to be more self-reliant. By giving people money from the government, it doesn't encourage people to get on their feet and make a better life for themselves. Another reason that I am a Conservative is because I believe that Congress should not have the right to take religion out of the state. In my opinion, the state should be fully connected to religion if desired. Another major reason that I am a Conservative is because I am apposed to abortion. I think although a baby is inside of a mother, they are still a living human being and just because they have not been born doesn't mean they aren't a human. One topic that I can not make a decision on as to what I believe is same sex marriage. I don't believe it is right and for couples like that to adopt kids would put those kids in a position that would impact there lives in ways that are inevitable. But, at the same time, I don't see how our nation could tell someone who to like or who not to like. It's the individuals preference and should also be their choice to make.
As a result of our 3 surveys, I have concluded that I am indeed Conservative. However I do agree with some liberal beliefs and policies such as abortion, and even same-sex marriage. One of the many perks of being an American is the freedom and choices we have. Not allowing american citizens to marry, or make their own decisions regarding abortion is a direct violation of our constitutional rights. However I do find myself agreeing far more with conservative policies and beliefs. I firmly believe business is the back-bone of this nation and collaboration between the the two is 100% neccesary. A strong national defense is crucial for maintaing peace within our nation. Plus it helps me sleep at night knowing that we have the strongest military in the galaxy. Gun control is stupid, PEOPLE kill PEOPLE, not GUNS. God bless america.
Having a Liberal outlook on life since I was able to comprehend what I read in the news or heard about on NPR, I was not at all surprised to find that all of my test results agreed with what I already knew to be true. Personally, I view politics as a vessel for getting things done, which elicits the idea of progressive change.
I take pride in caring about environmental protection, looser restrictions on immigration, and separation of church and state. As a grouping, my political views all relate to the hope that we can create a safer, more loving world for future generations to experience.
Separation of church and state really covers many of the issues I value the most. If we were to crack down on the presence of religion in government, LGBT rights would improve, as would abortion rights. While everyone has the freedom to follow whichever faith they choose, they do not have the right to force their ideals on others with differing values; we can’t call ourselves a melting pot if all we serve is Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul.
I also firmly believe that a big part of life is getting to know the planet we live on, which simply cannot be done if we destroy it. Although this may slow certain methods of industrialization, it is more important to keep the future of our planet in the forefront of our minds.
Finally, I believe in the power of welcoming immigrants with open arms. We speak so fondly of the American Dream but do not allow people with backgrounds we disapprove of experience it. More immigrants should be legally allowed into the United States each year, as this opportunity gives them the chance to completely alter the path of their life. Illegal immigrants should also be granted amnesty and have the ability to apply for federal financial aid in pursuing a college education. Why shun someone who is trying to become a productive member of society? In addition, if more immigrants were legally allowed to become citizens, illegal immigration would simmer down as the opportunity for a chance became more tangible.
In a world where social media and instant information and gratification have an immense impact on the way we live, attempting to keep things the way they are is almost futile, suggesting that even though we crave the “next big thing” in our pockets, we will not apply these principles of rapid growth to the way we, as Americans, run our country. What would the future hold if we stopped trying new approaches to tackling the issues that plague modern society? What justifies the connection between religious values and government? What is so scary about allowing more immigration?
I have grown up listening to lots of political debates over the dinner table. Whether it was discussing gun control laws, the death penalty or even what the proper reaction to situations in Libya during Arab Spring, my father and my oldest brother have always had plenty of things to say in regards to politics. Naturally, I take after much of their political ideologies, especially those pertaining to Conservative beliefs. Here is the deal, I am not a "redneck loving, pick up truck driving, gun toting Conservative" just because of my family's beliefs. I believe in freedom whether or not every person ends up happy. As painful as it sounds America can not be a "level playing field." A level playing field implies competitors in a game but life will never be fair. There is no cookie cutter goody goody way for government to "help out" one group without inadvertently making life difficult for another group. But I digress. While many government programs that exist to benefit others start out with wonderful intentions, no citizen should be forced to commit money to any particular cause. I find that government mandated charity programs should have no place in America. I do not want to empower the people (they know who they are) who live extravagant life styles and don't seem to care about the less fortunate. Moreover, I believe that when citizens are living at the poverty level it is the people's responsibility to protect them. Now let's get even more basic than that. When I was in elementary school responsibility was defined as "taking charge of a situation without having to be asked." I think that as a country not everyone will be responsible enough to take care of the less fortunate. This is human nature and it cannot be blamed. On the other hand as soon as an authority figure enters the picture to mandate actions, the sincerity dissipates out of the charity. It becomes an annoyance rather than a responsibility. I am not a Conservative because I "hate the poor." Rather I am a Conservative because I believe that without as much intervention from higher authorities, Americans can prove to be responsible. Also I do not support the death penalty. Do not repay evil for evil is just a personal philosophy that I wish I followed every day except I fail at that.
I’m a liberal, a democrat, not yet a radical… but we’re getting there. After each and every test that we took, I was placed strongly on the left wing. I believe that equality should be the key to all governments, ergo the act of ensuring the free market does not get totally overturned/monopolized by the towering big businesses. I feel as if we’ve been so keen on the idea that these companies will create jobs and so on that we’ve allowed them to roam the free market without any attention. Our government revolves around one main thing, money; it dictates all its decision-making and foreign policy. Whoever has that money, has the power, but limiting the amount of money each big business can accumulate and giving some to the general populace is the first step towards equality and a less corrupt government. Moreover, I feel as if things like health care are really undermined by our society. The problem is we aren’t looking at an outward view, where many other countries have already established compulsory health care to some extent. Just as @George Liu had said before, we were one of the only countries that had lacked this benefit, and we’re just now adding it to our nation; a healthy workforce is a productive workforce. Now those are just some of the things I’m firmly liberal with, some other include Same-sex marriage, gun control, and the environment. However, even a “hardcore” liberal has some conservative values. Mainly it’s the efforts with unilateral and multilateral efforts with our foreign policy. Although I do prefer multilateral action, past efforts have not been able to stop many things. Mainly the United Nations, with its many differing opinions (Russia), its seemingly like we won’t be able to get actual actions in with so many countries just going for their own gain instead of the actual problems at hand. Which brings me to the point that society in nature is too swayed by the status quo in fear of angering its neighbors or allies. If we were to just focus on the important problems, we’d be able to finally able achieve something with our foreign policy. The question I have for the conservatives is how should we continue without economic intervention when the top 1% holds more than 39% of the United State’s total wealth?
I hate questions on US foreign policy because people only focus on the large issues instead of the small things the US government has done. For example, the US is getting criticism on not doing anything to combat ISIS even though they authorized Iraqi air strikes and aid drop to the Kurdish people hiding in the mountain, not only that but they have also enabled Kurdish forces to take over a dam crucial to the rebel insurgency in Iraq. People in the United states don't realize that there is more than one kind of power; that US soft power is a viable way to obtain peace. Speaking of the iraq war, Iraq didn't have WMD, anybody who said they did got reports back from the Iran contra.
I am currently valuing the economy over the environment because those "tree hugging hippies" (Chazen 2014) don't realize that the terminal results from a stagnating economy come a lot more quickly and dangerously than the collapse of the world's ecosystem. While those same "tree hugging hippies" (Chazen 2014) might argue about the inhumanities about oil drilling and the expansion of the crude oil industry, it is ultimately the best way to continue US hegemony in order that China and Russia don't become global superpowers. Also, US oil drilling is a heck of a lot safer than Chinese and Russian Safety measures, so if somebody is drilling it should be the US. Currently China and other BRICS nations (most of which employ anti-american rhetoic) are building a new development bank which effectively puts these growing economies back on the world market as stable and strong, right now the fight for economic superpower is stronger than ever before and it's important that the US realize that and employ whatever it can to maintain it's standing as topdog.
More foreign policy talk. Russia and China aren't jokes, we should stop treating them like they aren't one of the US' utmost concerns. The fact that China is flexing it's muscles and engaging in conflicts with Japan (which doesn't have a standing army thanks to the US) is enough hostility for the US to be concerned and start taking actions towards china on a global stage. And while this normally means the UN, the UN isn't exactly an effective fighting force since all of it's soldiers are volunteers. The UN is currently ineffective since Portugal is the only country that sends volunteers and the Portuguese military is a joke. The policies of the UN military is also laughable. Bringing rubber bullets into a war zone and not firing until fired upon would ultimately cause a lot of casualties on the side of the UN. Also, the UNSC allows for any bill to be veto'd with one vote, which means Putin has pretty much all the power here. IF the UN were to make changes which makes it act more the the African Union, then they might finally get something done. SO since I'm technically against the UN i guess that makes me conservative.
When it comes to social policy there's really not much of a debate. I don't get why two homosexuals making out in front of you let's you deny their right to marriage, is it like gross to you or something? People should get to do what they want as long as it doesn't encroach on the rights of others. This would be pretty funny to watch since it could mean the President doing drugs during a live speech.
So all in all I'm technically libertarian since I favor economics over environment and and socially liberal.
After completing the various surveys we were assigned, my political standings still remain pretty ambiguous. Before taking the surveys, I just assumed that my test results would count me as a liberal, but the exact opposite happened. The 10-question quiz identified me as a libertarian, the other test result identified me as the most conservative person in my class (score of 16), but according to the chart, I am a true moderate, having an equal number of items highlighted for each side. After my own thinking, I came to the conclusion that I essentially have the economic views of a conservative and the social views of a liberal. However I do agree with conservatives on some social issues such as the death penalty and affirmative action. My opinion on the death penalty is that it should be in place nationally for crimes that directly harm the well-being of another person such as murder, rape, or kidnapping. Those who commit these crimes should be subject to the death penalty because 1. they did something horrible to another person and 2. our tax dollars should not be funding the food and housing of a murder or rapist. It's valuable money being wasted on sustaining the lives of truly bad people that could be going towards schools, roads, or other worthy causes. I also do not think that the death penalty is anymore cruel or unusual than any other punishment. Many who oppose the death penalty believe that it is an infringement on certain inalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. If you are a prisoner, you're literally in captivity, so your right to liberty has been confiscated. Your right to the pursuit of happiness has been taken away as well unless your life's dream was to end up in prison and then have trouble getting back on your feet upon release. As a criminal, 2/3 of those rights are already taken, so why is the right to life being held on a pedestal above the other two? That said, I do not consider the death penalty to be cruel or unusual. Torture is, but painlessly fading away by that of a lethal injection certainly is not cruel or unusual. In regards to affirmative action, It just isn't fair and can potentially be counterproductive. If someone has better credentials to get into a college or get a job, then they deserve that position. If the person with those credentials simply happens to be white or black or what have you, it is purely a coincidence and should not be considered in the selection process of a student or employee. Also, if an admissions officer of employer chooses someone under qualified just to make the environment they work in more diverse, then the strength and productivity of the organization could be jeopardized. Any organization should choose the person who is best for the job and will fulfill their role within the organization most effectively, otherwise issues may arise within the school or company.
I have always been wary of agreeing with views of people just because they share my political identification. I think that everyone should honestly think about their political views and listen to reason and arguments from all sides of issues our country faces today.
I am solidly in the liberal area of the political spectrum. I hold conservative viewpoints as well, including my support for second amendment rights. Statistics show that while gun control does reduce the amount of firearm murders, it does not affect crime rates at all. I also believe that affirmative action is not a way to atone for slavery or discrimination, as it is, by definition, discrimination. Providing equal opportunities of education for all can help make up for minority gaps. On social issues I am in the left, including abortion (a personal choice for individuals not government) and marriage rights. I believe that religion has no place in the government, and the hypocrisy of wanting less government but more moral regulation is as bad as Mitt Romney's political flip-floppery.
On the fiscal side of things, I am also very liberal. In this land of supposed inequality, our wealth is distributed hilariously unequally. People can work hard all their lives and never be able to retire. When the top one percent are more wealthy then the bottom 40, there is clearly not a fair playing field. It is like starting 50 meters behind in the 100 sprint, no matter how hard you work, you will not catch up. This is especially true when you count inherited wealth. Of the people on the Forbes billionaire list (400 richest people in America), 71 inherited their wealth and 56 inherited a portion of it. I think we can resolve this without unfairly taxing the rich. We have in America an estate tax that is designed to prevent an economic class system. By increasing this, there is a way to redistribute wealth without taxing the rich, because the rich will be dead when then tax applies to them. This way, the playing field will be more level, and everyone's hard work will be truly rewarded. I believe that hard work, smarts and some luck should play a part in success, but the question is, do heirs of the successful deserve the wealth of their parents?
As for welfare, I think that we have room in our budget to help the poor. I think our rights also include basic services that we should try to ensure everyone gets.
I also dislike subsidies and corporate welfare. Either the government is involved in the economy, or it isn't. No bailing out companies without enforcing regulation.
My final question to conservatives is, would you trust big businesses with your rights if they became more powerful then the government? Do you trust private corporations to make unbiased and careful decisions regarding the economy and environment?
@ Melany Yeung
In response to your questions about guns and gun related tragedies. I think that gun control is definitely a possible reaction to all the horrible things that have been happening recently. It's really sad to see that people can no longer be trusted to own firearms whether designated for sport or for collector's items. However I do not think that putting more restrictions on gun policy will be very effective in reducing the number of shootings because that is the end goal right? We don't hate guns necessarily but we hate seeing the parents crying over children that were killed way too young. It breaks everyone's heart. The tragedy is not that the trigger on the gun was pulled. The tragedy is that someone's heart was evil enough to plan to kill elementary school students. In my opinion when we have people evil enough to enter schools and harm children, then creating laws to eliminate guns will not solve the most dangerous weapon in the world. An evil heart. I admit that I don't have a perfect solution for these problems. The only thing that I can think of right now is find a way to give the people evil enough to do these things mental help. What are your thoughts?
Oh right, I was supposed to ask 2 questions: 1. How do Conservatives plan on keeping the US as a global superpower if we can't cooperate internationally? 2. How do liberals plan on keeping countries which actively support human rights abuses such as China and Russia less powerful than the united states, if the US isn't allowed to exert it's hard power/ create new ways to earn revenue despite harms on the economy.
Nick Balestra (just in case it doesn't show my name)
With the help of the three surveys we took, I discovered I am pretty much right in the center. However, in many of the big topics in American politics today, I am leaning more Conservative. Although I agree with the Liberal's opinion on abortion (woman should chose whether or not she wants to have a child. Why force a child into this world that is not going to receive true love and affection?), and gun control (guns are human operated weapons therefore the human is responsible for the death of another human). Moreover, I agree with the Conservative standpoint on the heavily debated topics such as: the economy, health care, and religion. On an economic standpoint, I believe the economy is the driving force and backbone of our nation. And once you let a corrupt system such as the government start to influence it, the whole economy is ruined. Furthermore, I think Health Care, specifically Obamacare is a huge problem in this country. I believe people are becoming too reliant on the government for money when many of the people who receive free Healthcare are fully capable of getting a job and supporting their families. Last, I strongly believe in the separation of religion and government. The United States is made up people of all different nationalities and religions, for this was a principle this country was built on. And when you start forcing religion (most likely Catholic) into the government, people who practice other religions are forced to incorporate parts of other religions into their life, which is a violation of the first amendment: freedom of religion.
It was no surprise to me that after I took all of the Conservative/Liberal tests, that I scored as a "Liberal" each time. Because I have more than a tendency to view practically every issue from more of a liberal point of view, these two issues are just some of the many I am passionate about.
Firstly, religion and same-sex marriage. While these two topics on the Conservatives vs. Liberals were in separate categories, I feel as though they blend together, is it is a Judeo-Christian idea that marriage is between one man and one woman. I do believe that people should be allowed to follow the practices of whatever religion, or no religion, as they please, and this is why I am 100% for the legalization of same-sex marriage. If say a person who against gay marriage because of their religion/moral values, were to deny these basic human rights to those who wish to marry, that is like somebody saying "I don't want to have cake, so nobody should be allowed to eat cake." Ultimately, I agree with many people on here such as Danielle, Katherine, Brontë, etc: denying other people the right to marry simply because an unrelated party does not want them to, is simply discrimination.
Secondly, I strongly support that the United States involves themselves with the United Nations. While there is a slight chance that I may be biased on this topic, I can say that since the inception of the United Nations, we have not had a third world war. However that is not all. I disagree with the statements of those such as Andrew Schuchardt, Robbie Lasky, and a few others regarding this issue. When the United States did refuse to cooperate with the United Nations in the days following 9/11, all it resulted in was the numerous and unnecessary deaths of American citizens in Iraq, as there were, in fact, on weapons of mass destruction found in the area. Even when Colin Powell, a Republican man who worked with former President George W. Bush, was asked to lie to the United Nations about having concrete evidence about such weapons within Iraq, he could not get over the guilt of his actions to the point that as soon as we was finished delivering the information, he quit his job. This is only one example of many. Clearly, having an increased amount of involvement, real and honest involvement, with the United Nations, would only benefit the United States, and perhaps those billions and billions of dollars spent on a national defense that is only further worsening the situations in other countries, can be put towards a better cause that will actual propel this nation forward.
After taking the various quizzes, filling out the Liberal Vs. Conservative Chart, and doing further research outside of class, I have come to the realization that I definitely lean towards Conservatism. That being said, there are some issues where I will strongly for the liberal side. I struggle to commit entirely to one label or the other since I do feel strongly about certain issues from both perspectives, and can even respect and look at the issues I feel strongly about from the opposing viewpoint, which is why I now consider myself a Moderate-Conservative. As a Conservative, the biggest issues that I will argue at any time with anyone about are Abortion, Affirmative Action, the Death Penalty, Religion, and Welfare. Since I've listed quite a few issues I'll keep my explanations relatively short, however if anyone wants to argue I'm more than willing to elaborate. In regards to Abortion, my main issue is my religious belief that each life is sacred. While it is true that it takes time for a fetus to develop a heartbeat, and truly be considered "alive" I do not see how anyone can condemn an unborn child to death. The unborn children that are destroyed and murdered during each abortion are in fact unborn human beings. I cannot see the logic behind destroying the life of a being with so much potential. I'm certainly not comfortable taking the risk that the fetus just destroyed would turn into the human that eventually cures cancer. While I realize some circumstances in which a woman becomes pregnant are incredibly difficult, I think once you conceive and have a child growing inside you, that child is alive, and has the right to life the same as you do. Affirmative Action; though I understand some people are eager to erase racism, I personally think if we really want to move on and have equality we need to make the job opportunities equal. Giving a minority a job because they’re part of a minority is not moving past racism it is focusing on it and allowing it to continue. I also think that giving someone a position because their ancestors were discriminated against is a form of racism. In regards to the death penalty, I see no problem executing murderers. Those who are against it seem to think that it is cruel and unusual because the person who was just executed is occasionally later proven innocent, however that is not a problem regarding the death penalty. That is the fault of the lawyers, the evidence. That being said I think we should get rid of the death penalty, but not for the reasons liberals believe, I agree that prison is more a place of punishment than rehabilitation, although I do think we should do everything we can to help those who have not committed a crime in which they receive a life-long sentence, for those who have, I think they should spend their life in prison, no parole, and no early release for good behavior, if you are found to be worthy of the time, you should serve the time. In terms of Religion, I completely agree that the Government should not interfere, in regards to religious freedom. If people want to pray to God before school starts, they should be allowed, however no one should be forced, it should simply be an option. In regards to a national moral code, I'm all for Judeo-Christian morals, not only because that's what my belief system falls under, I simply think they are a solid set of morals that many non-Christians would agree with. Finally, I definitely support welfare programs, just not long term welfare. I believe welfare is a tool to allow people who have come into unfortunate circumstances, to get much needed aid. Before welfare is given, it should be determined that the person who would receive has every intention of trying to improve their life situation, if not it should be taken away or not given at all. The only questions I would ask a Liberal are how they justify these beliefs. I would love to talk about the opposing viewpoints, whether in a debate or a normal, level-headed conversation about opposing ideas being discussed with open minds.
Who controls the present controls the past, and who controls the past controls the future. A simple truth in the everlasting battle of politics that we make each day. I'm a radical in the sense that I feel that progressive change needs to come soon. Yet I label myself with moderate-liberal following the guidelines of my test results as a person that wants more government but knows that the current government is what's available. I'd just like a world of peace & equality. A government for the people, a society of the people, and a country by the people is what the land of liberty is known as. I find the quote "land of liberty" to be a facade to the reality. A place where half of the people can't see outside of their own lives and with the "power" bonded by a government of the privileged. People shouldn't be spoiled into needed their livelihood from the government, nor left to fend for themselves. They should have a hand to help them pave their own way and not be let to submit into a world void of responsibility. Each day more immigrants are coming and less emigrants are leaving, the United States government is deadlocked in debt, blood fills the streets as the old have their fill of fine meats, and nothing is being done as the tide gets closer to the edge. Or rather the pace is too slow to get away. Something has to be done, unrest and confusion plague the minds of the youth and elder alike. The strength of the individual fades with the old age, and a new power rises along with the wage. Who is to blame and who will be the one to make change? The patriots' fears have come to rise up before us. What really matters? Is it the new policy on who is free to enter liberty, or on who has the right to bear the guns of the patriots, maybe something on how to cut back on the carbon emissions going into the environment? Who knows?
George. Multilateralism is the weakest and most inefficient form of international governance. The only examples we have are the UN and ASEAN both of which fail on a daily basis to serve as a much more than an international forum for discussion. Strong power projection, especially military projection, from the United States prevents conflict and promotes peace. Empirics are on the side of unilateralism, as well as a much larger literature base. Multilateralism becomes too bogged down in rules and regulations to truly be effective.
Before taking these series of assessments to evaluate whether I am liberal or conservative, I always assumed I was liberal because of some stereotypical ideologies that liberals hold. For example, I love trees and firmly believe that for every tree cut down, two more should be planted. And yes, animals are important and should be saved. However after completing the charts, I have confirmed that I am liberal--but mostly on personal matters. When it comes to economics, I tend to lean right towards the conservative beliefs. As a child I was always taught through religious lessons that murder is an unforgivable sin and that no one has the right to take another human life. But no one has the right to force a woman into sex against her will and justify by blaming her clothing or how intoxicated she was. Like Cheng-Hau Kee mentioned, the United States was built on all sorts of freedoms. These freedoms of speech, life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness cannot and should not be limited to middle-aged, elite males. These should be extended to every citizen of the United States, regardless of gender, race,etc. A woman's choice of clothing is her own personal choice; we as religious or societal groups cannot label them as what we see fit. Not only should women have the right to control how their bodies are treated, men should have the respect and self-control to look away and resist if a woman says "no." Unfortunately, some women still do get impregnated against their wills and since being raped was clearly not their choice, deciding whether to abort their child should be in their hands.
Furthermore, I support the separation of church and state because religious expression really has no place in government. One of our rightful freedoms is the freedom of religion, right? Well, everyone in the United States does not simply fall in the Judeo-Christian category. The only way to keep other religious minorities contended is by not picking one religious ideology over another. Building off of that, conservatives against marriage equality of LGBT usually base their reasonings off of religious texts such as the Bible. Being gay is not necessarily a choice and is definitely not a disease. People of gay orientation deserve to get married if they want to. Getting married is not a privilege. It is a fundamental right, deserved by everyone regardless of sexual orientation.
However I do lean right with the issues of affirmative action. Belonging to a minority group in America, this may seem counterintuitive. But being a first generation immigrant to the United States, I have also been raised with the idea that the United States is supposed to promote equality. Going off of that belief, I strongly think that one candidate for a job should not be preferred to promote "diversity." It should solely be based on the capabilities of the candidates and their potential for bettering their environment. I agree with Megan Todd, reverse-discrimination is not a solution. Secondly, I have an idea of how frustrating the immigration process is for those who work through the system legally. My father applied for immigration of USA in 1996-two years before I was even born. After 12 years of tedious paperwork and a scary interview later, we were finally given the golden ticket in 2008. After people break the law and "slip" on their visit visas, they should not end up with the same rights as those who valued the rules and regulations. I am in no way saying that immigration collectively should be discouraged because one of the foundations of this country was people were fleeing to more freedom. Immigration is good--as long as the methods are not breaking the laws. My question then for the conservatives is: If the United States promotes freedom of religion, how is is okay to allow prayer in public schools? For a young child who is more likely to be influenced by his/her peers and teachers, how is teaching Christian ways just when at home his parents might believe in Allah or no God at all?
After reviewing these charts I strongly believe that both sides, liberal and conservative have good reasons for their stance on these topics. I agree with many other conservatives that government should be less involved with standards of living but not to the point that it is unfair and even more strenuous for an individual the reach that same success. I believe that one should be able to use there knowledge to achieve a high standard of living, but not unless it provides economic growth instead of poverty. Those that experience poverty should also be given certain amount of welfare to fill their needs until they are able to get a supporting job. Thousands of people abuse the opportunity of welfare and it is not fair to other hardworking people regardless of background. I also strongly believe in some liberal thoughts on church and state and same - sex marriage. I am a Christian but I think it is unconstitutional to allow people's beliefs effect others and their rights as citizens. This is America. Live proud and Free
So after all the activities and surveys that we have done in and outside of class I am still kind of in the same place I was when we started. I have no idea what I am. Some of the surveys showed me leaning more conservative but then the next day I would be in the liberal category. This being said I am hesitant to classify myself as a moderate because I feel strongly about the issues we have discussed, but my stance on the issue was dependent on the issue itself as opposed to either of the political orientations. For instance I believe that abortion is wrong however I don't believe that the government should enforce a biblical moral code. My question for conservatives is why do you find immigration so wrong? Why do you have anymore of a right to live in America than they do? My question for liberals is how is affirmative action helping us? Now instead of discriminating against minorities we are pitying them? Jobs should go to the most qualified person for the job regardless of their race.
After taking the three political quizzes, I had the realization that I was a pretty strong liberal. The first reason for this being that I strongly believe that LGBT rights are a vital part of our society. This country already suffered through enough concerning equal rights for all and we are repeating the same mistakes. Another reason for this is abortion rights. I personally don't believe that the government can tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body. One of the big issues with this too is that many people say it goes against many religions to do this. I do not agree with this because I think that there should be a separation between church and state in order to make sure that the government isn't being based off of personal beliefs. A question I have for conservatives is why do you feel the need to strip people of their rights to freedom if you are advocating that freedom is essential part of this country?
@Katharine Eftink
My loaded question in response to your comments on gay marriage. Marriage has prevailed in every single culture, even the ones without the so called "Judeo-Christian" background. Basically I have always seen Marriage as man and woman because the words of the wedding ceremony clearly state that marriage is for a man and a woman. If it is not a man and a woman then it is not marriage. That does not mean that this relationship is not love. By all means! America of all places should know that marriage does not necessarily constitute a relationship built on love. We would hope it does but we have to face the reality. Marriage is a title. The rights that come along with it can be spread to other titles that include homosexual relationships in their definition. I hope that my thoughts are clear. In no way am I calling into question the legitimacy of your claims. I just am sharing my own thoughts on the matter. What do you guys think?
I found myself to be moderate, but leaning more towards the conservative side of the political spectrum. For the death penalty, I believe that the punishment does indeed fit the crime. Killing a person is a horrible crime, but killing the murderer to prevent future deaths is better for society. If the person was proven beyond reasonable doubt to be a murderer, they should deserve to face the same fate as their victim. On the economic side of things, I believe that universal health code is unfair. Sure, the less wealthy people can be supported with free, albeit lower quality, healthcare from the government, but that does not mean that people of higher classes should have to receive the same health plan if they can afford better. I also believe that gun control is both absurd and, even if it was not a restriction of freedoms, it would be extremely hard to enforce. As many people have said, it is people who kill people, not guns. Guns don't decide by themselves to suddenly unleash several rounds on people, it is the people who decide to do so.
However, as a moderate, I do believe in some liberal views, such as same-sex marriage. If America really is a land based on freedom, and not solely based on Christian principles, then everyone should not have to follow Christian beliefs. People should have a natural right to love the person they love, and the rest of society should not be able to restrict that right. I also have strong opinion on abortion, believing that women should not be told how to deal with their own bodies. If fetuses were the human beings some consider them to be, they would be alive in the world outside the womb and interacting with it. Fetuses may have the potential to mature to become human babies, but they are simply growing embryos at the moment that are not quite born. Based on these beliefs, I see myself as someone who agrees with conservative economic beliefs but liberal social beliefs, so I see myself as a moderate.
A question for liberals is: Why would affirmative action be fair in society? Sure, minorities were prejudiced against in the racist past, but affirmative action is racism in its own way because it is racism directed towards whites. You don't fight racism with racism.
After taking all these quizzes and surveys about Conservatives vs. Liberals, I think that I am after all a conservative, although I may agree with some topics on the liberal side. For example, Same-Sex Marriage. I think that anyone can marry anybody that THEY love. It's not going to hurt us what so ever. Plus, everybody, regardless of their gender, have the right to marry and its against the constitution to not give the individual the freedom of choosing who they want to marry. On the other hand I think abortion should be illegal. Even if a woman is impregnated against her will/ raped, she has no right of "terminating" the pregnancy because she does not have the ability to raise the child. It's like killing a life(the baby). Despite the fact that it wasn't her fault or whatever, there is always adoption or some help out there so it's not like she it's going to be helpless. Welfare and taxes are also two things that make me lean more to the conservative side, because I think that people should be able to depend on themselves and not the government. The government is paying way too much money to help some people when they say they need help but they don't necessarily need it. I think that the government should implement more job opportunities so that the people who don't have jobs/needy can then have their own jobs and make their own money to take care of themselves. Same with taxes. I think that the government should lower the taxes and that everybody should pay the SAME amount. If taxes are lowered, people can save some of the money they get (from their pay checks) and invest, because higher taxes discourage investment. Also, I believe that people who work hard to earn their money should have the right to keep it (most of it).
Daleya, while your thoughts on both issues have merit, I can't help but feel like the two opinions contradict, and I'm going to have to disagree with you here. You say that you are pro-life, and that women are not totally helpless because there is "help out there". You then go on to say that you oppose welfare. For women facing an unintended pregnancy, isn't welfare some of the "help" you speak of? Hypothetically speaking for example's sake, let's say abortion is illegal and welfare is abolished. A woman falls pregnant and she does not have the money to support the child AND her loved ones are unwilling to support her in the tough decision of giving the child up for adoption. So now this woman is pretty much stuck in that she can't afford to raise the child and she has no access to government benefits that can and will improve the quality of her child's life. What exactly do you propose under this circumstance? What alternatives does this woman have?
Well Sarah, by help I meant adoption, like I was going for killing the baby isn't the only solution, but another solution would be adoption. So by help I was think solution=adoption
Thinking*
For someone whose late afternoon tea talks often included being a pertinent listener to spurs of anger as triggered by modern political decisions most often relating to Central and Easter European post-communist politics, even to me it came as a surprise that I would favor both rudimentary principles of liberals and conservatives. Though not unaware, I have, contrary to my upbringing or rather paradoxically so, thought that stronger governmental intervention over free enterprise should be an essential responsibility in enabling and maintaining healthy and responsive economy. The government, however, should never go so far as to level the playing field such that equality breeds lack of a privatized sector. My belief about healthcare is strictly aligned with support for universal healthcare reforms. While not dismantled under the Affordable Healthcare Act, insurance companies are used to channel the greatest possible number of clients in an effort to provide affordable healthcare for even those who have otherwise not though it possible. The strongest points of conservative opposition, due to which I personally identify myself as a liberal include foreign policy, abortion and LGBT rights. There is no question in my mind that women should not be subjugated to having a child if it falls as a burden on them. Similarly, all members of society, regardless of sexual-orientation, gender, and race should not be constricted by any other persons’ private dogmas in terms of legal attainment. While a supporter of some minority rights, I am generally opposed to the idea and practice of affirmative action. People should be evaluated strictly on the basis of achievement, rather than gaining advantage from being born into a family which you are. I am also an avid supporter of the death penalty. It appears to be a more promising notion both economically and financially than a life sentence without the chance of parole.
I definitely am on the liberal side of things for most issues. On fiscal and economic issues, I do have trouble on which way I lean. On the one hand, while there may be private organizations to help the poor, there should be government programs that are stable and secure. On the other hand, should taxpayers be supporting people who use those programs as a crutch and never get back on their feet? It's hard to decide whether a few bad apples should stand in the way of helping good people who are going through a hard time. I try not to choose a side on economic policies as there will always be positive and negative consequences to any decisions. I like to see facts, numbers, and studies in order to sway me, unlike some people... *cough* republicans *cough*. I find it funny conservatives believe that individuals should be the ones making decisions, yet when the issue of gay marriage comes up, all of a sudden the government shouldn't be granting that personal responsibility. If I had to pose a question to a conservative, I would ask why they are all talk about personal freedoms and having government stay out of the way, but in reality, want government to enforce their religious beliefs.
So @andrew is going to try to argue that us unilateralism can solve more political issues than multilateralism even though the US can't pass bills through its own congress? Can you explain how US can solve any issues at all when they cant get bills passed in their own congress? Furthermore, multilateralism directly bypasses this issue due to foreign affairs bypass congress. Besides ,multilateralism has fostered some really powerful political and economic entities such as ASEAN EU and BRICS. All 3 of which were projected to be major on the political stage by the end of the decade
Even if Multilateralism is bogged down by rules and regulations, the ultimate impact of multilateral decisions is very beneficial, as everyone reaches a consensus on what to do, thus there's a less likely-hood of angering other countries. Unilateral action however, undermines the charter of the UN and risks alienating our allies. One last thing, unilateralism is really selfish, usually promoting the interest of one state, but not of the world as a whole. In order to achieve common goals, multilateralism is the way to go.
@George Liu The main problem with Multilaterism is the angering of other countries though. The whole reason that nothing is getting done is because multiple countries do not have the same agenda towards other foreign policy. So even if we try multilaterism, it's unachievable as there are many countries that are deciding again out interests.
***moderate liberal
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