If one were to look at my posts here, he would probably conclude that I’m a staunched liberal Democrat. - One would be wrong (it’s just that at the moment, Bush has succeeded at pissing me off considerably more than any democrat ever had). I actually don’t associate myself with any political party, and can’t quite understand those who do. I suspect it stems from my definition of “party association.” When I hear someone say, “I’m a Republican” or “I’m a Democrat”, I see that person taking a shortcut to elaborating his political, religious, social and philosophical views, usually without having done adequate research on where that party stands on all the specific issues or having defined his own personal opinions on the subject. It seems as though one is getting a “ready-made, no assembly required” package of strong opinions and beliefs, with the added bonus of the satiated sense of belonging to a well-formed, well-researched, and well-spoken (with some notable exceptions) body of like-minded individuals. Not surprisingly, almost all people I met that vote based on the party affiliation of the candidate, while sharing that candidate’s positions on issues, are unable to substantiate most of them (I guess, most of the party affiliates don’t bother opening the aforementioned package.)
I’m certain that there are a number of Republicans as well as Democrats that would accuse me of unjustly labeling them as lazy ignoramuses, for they have done their research, and pondered the issues at length. To those of them who are not politicians, have actually done that, and still find their views perfectly aligned with either one of the parties, to those eleven of them, – please accept my apologies.
As for me, I doubt that I’ll ever find a party whose goal is to seek the truth instead of trying to convince everyone around them that they’re the sole possessors of it. (To top it off, I’m a confessed flip-flopper - I tend to change my mind when I find out that I am wrong.)
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Objectivist,
Already sent a few comments regarding you eastern-european father in law,but I completely missed the first part of you most recent posts.Listen,whenever I hear the word "party",I can only call to mind,red flags,May 1st parades,endless party speeches,and my favorite:the heart felt poetry gloryfing the "leader".So,suffice it to say,I do not understand this American obsession with belonging to one party or another.Labels are just that,vague descriptions that barely provide accurate ideas of the actual content.But,I suppose in this country,the need to belong is essential.To be "ONE" with those who claim to see all,and understand everything,makes one's own inaptitude(sorry,i am being too harsh...!)so much more bereable.As for me,well.......I already belonged to THE PARTY..Safe to say,I paid my dues.
KEEP ON WRITING-your voice resonates
Ina S.
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