I'm somewhat of a political junkie. I have a membership on a message board that I've visited for close to ten years. The board itself is dedicated to a video game called EQ, but the forum on the board is the politics forum, and none of us have actually played the game in years. But we're all familiar to one another, and it's a polite board that allows no personal attacks, so I continue to frequent it.
Last year, after the 20th new person to the board had started yet another new thread about the same topic we'd argued 500 times before, we decided to make a sticked post about our individual personal beliefs to cut down on the repetative nature of certain topics. What we found, through the process, was that most of us were much closer politically, if you took a look across a wide cross section of topics, then we ever could have imagined. And the reason we felt we were so very different is that many subjects just don't get discussed much...so we never knew we thought alike.
So...because I am fairly sure I will engage in the occasional political discussion (/ducks to avoid lighting) here, I figured I'd post that same meme here.
Do you believe in a higher authority/power?
I do believe in a higher power. I believe that the universe as we know it was created. However...I believe that our creator, once he created the framework of laws that bind this universe, worked within that construct to form our universe. I believe that our creator, being outside of time, is not limited by time...and thus things like evolving our species over millions of years and guiding things where he/she/it directs them, can be "all in a day's work" so to speak.
-If so, are you an member in one of the many organized religions?
I would identify myself as Christian, but only in that I believe that there was a man named Jesus of Nazareth, who was a personification of God on earth, and that he died as a sacrifice for mankind. I have series doubts as to the word for word literal translation of the bible, and thus am not sure exactly how much of it is bullshit to support the church, and how much is the word of God. I pretty much go by feel in this regard.
-If so, do you practice regularly?
I pray regularly, but I am not a regular church goer.
-If so, which organized religion are you a member of?
None really.
-Do you believe in relative or absolute morality?
I believe absolutely that morals are relative.
-What country do you live in?
USA
-Should religion and government be kept separate?
I believe it is impossible to separate the two truly unless you have a dictatorship and that person and all of their staff are atheists. By the very nature of a democratic system, you are allowing people of faith, as well as those who have none, to vote. Therefore religion can not be separate as people vote their conscience, and that conscience is influenced, or even ruled, by their belief or lack of belief.
As far as the separation of church and state in America, I believe we take it way too far. The original framers of our constitution show no indication that they intended it to mean that no agency that receives public funding can show even a hint of acknowledgement of religion. There is no way that the 1st amendment says that a high school football coach can't pray with his team...and any suggestion otherwise is just ridiculous in my opinion. We base the whole idea of the separation of church and state from Jefferson, who wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802 to answer a letter from them written in October 1801. It has nothing to do with what is in the constitution.
Those who champion this cause of completely removing any hint of religion from public life champion this letter as to proof of the founders intent...and then will outright dismiss voluminous writings by the founders on the idea of the right to bear arms because they aren't "part of the constitution."
True hypocrisy.
-What is your position on evolution?
I believe that the universe has always, and continues to evolve.
-Are you in favor of abortion (voluntary termination up to 22 weeks, 24 with medical referral)?
I am in favor of abortion and will remain so up until technology finds a way to remove a fetus from someone who doesn't want it, and gestate it elsewhere, while at the same time absolving either parent from any and all responsibility for it once it has been removed.
And just to be clear...I don't care if it is life or not. Life of the ones here, trumps life of the one that is coming.
I do not, however, favor RvW. It was legislation from the bench. It was wrong. And it should be struck down. Legislators should be forced to take a stand and legislate the matter. SCoTUS created law where none existed, letting legislators off the hook...and it was a bad decision.
-Should the state be allowed to discriminate based on gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, other?
Yes, but only to a very limited extent, and never for race.
For example...I have zero problem with excluding females from certain military positions. There are places where the disruption that having men and women together can be great enough in places where mission parameters are critical, to outweigh the injustice of the discrimination itself. I also feel that the disruption to the services, at least in America, of forcing the military to accept gays serving openly in the military, is so great that it would affect our readiness. Americans are just too backward minded about that subject yet, to handle it without seriously compromising the security of the country. I personally have zero problem with gays openly serving, but having spent close to 40 years in close association with members of the military, I know that the subject would be so disruptive as to cause breakdown of the services. You need to change more attitudes in civilian life before you try them in the service. In this day and age, we can't afford the disruption.
I also think it's perfectly alright for the government to force someone to forgo their veil and hijab for their photo ID.
-Do you believe intelligent design should be taught in schools?
Sure. Why not? As long as it doesn't replace current biology curriculum, and isn't taught as a hard science, I have no problem with it. Comparative religions courses should also be mandatory. Might be nice if kids getting out of high school knew what Islam and Buddhism were actually about.
-Do you believe civic or military service should be required?
Absolutely. I'd go so far as to suggest that you should have to earn the right to many of our current social services as well as the right to vote, with some sort of basic service to the community.
-Do you support the death penalty?
100%. I think it should be extended to cover prepubescent child rapists, serial pedophiles and serial rapists as well as murders. I also believe that the process should be sped up in cases where there is incontrovertible proof...things such as dna evidence and video record. In cases such as these, there should only be a single appeal, and then a rapid discharge of the sentence.
-Do you support the legalization of marijuana?
I support the legalization of all recreational drugs. Prohibition doesn't work, and we're losing trillions in tax revenue. The money and resources being spent to stop something the people obviously want, could be better spent on education and prevention.
-Do you support affirmative action?
Absolutely not. Reverse discrimination is still discrimination. Equal requirements...equal pay...equal recognition.
-Do you support euthanasia?
Yes...but under very very strictly controlled circumstances. You need to have iron clad documentation stating that it is your choice to be euthanized, witnessed by the court itself.
-Do you support cloning?
Yes. Absolutely. Although why we feel the need to clone animals for food in the US seems rather beyond me. As Trace Adkins said on Bill Mahr..."Did cows stop fuckin'?"
-Do you support embryonic stem cell research?
Yes. I think it's ridiculous to put any restrictions on it, but if enough people don't want public funds going towards research that uses fetal stem cells, than I don't have a problem with that as long as private research isn't banned. The fact is, it's probably going to be a private firm who discovers something useful anyways. There's more incentive for them, so they'll dump more money into it than the government could ever hope to. The public ban on additional stem cell lines is just political bullshit anyways. Nothing has been lost by this ban...it's just a great way to bitch about Bush.
-Do you believe in global warming?
I believe that global climate change is inevitable as it comes in cycles. I dispute that humans affect it much, or that we could even slow it down if we tried. I just don't think there's enough solid evidence here for that. If the argument was that we need to pollute less and get away from oil dependence, I could get behind it. But the whole idea of "carbon credits" and other ridiculous pretentious suggestions are nothing more than a talking point for a politicians looking for an angle.
-Do you support gun control?
Yes...to a limited extent. I have no problem with requiring training for safety and proficiency. I have no problem with background checks. I have no problem with reasonable waiting periods of up to a month. I do have a problem with limiting access beyond that. We have rigorous enough checks on military hardware to not warrant any further controls. I'd rather see more stringent application of current laws than additional erosion of our 2nd amendment rights. Right now you can, given the right time and money, purchase nearly any weapon you wish as long as it isn't classified, or nuclear...and that includes tanks and fighter aircraft, as well as any fully automatic weapon. The founders were very vocal in their intentions with the 2nd ammendment. There are volumes written about it, especially by Jefferson. You know...the same founder that everyone likes to quote the writings of when interpreting the first amendment.
-Do you support nationalized health care?
Not any of the current proposals, no. To expensive for too little benefit. I'd rather see a complete reform of the tort system coupled with some strict regulation of the insurance industry to provide more affordable health care.
Having watched our federal goverment completely screw health care for veterans, I have no desire to see them do the same for the rest of the public...and I think it would be foolhardy to trust them not to do so.
-Do you support wall building to discourage illegal immigration?
No. It seems kind of pointless, at least in it's current iteration. The only affective way to deal with illegal immigration is make the penalties for hiring illegals so stiff as to completely discourage the practice. You also need to completely remove the incentives to stay. Get rid of free the free ride that illegals are currently enjoying at the taxpayers expense. If they don't get free medical care, free education, free social services, and have almost no chance of being deported as long as they don't commit additional crimes, then there isn't much disincentive in the system.
Follow the example of Arizona and pull the business license of any company who hires them. Do the same for anyone who knowingly shelters them. If they can't get those things, and can't find work...they won't keep showing up in droves.
-Do you support term limits?
Absolutely. The idea at the time of the founding was to discourage a monarchy...which is exactly what happens without term limits.
-Do you support campaign finance limits?
Absolutely. We need to completely overhaul our campaign finance laws. I'm not against lobbyists, because they fulfill a necessary nitch in the political process, but their financial power needs to be completely blunted. The idea of juristic person-hood has been taking to ridiculous extremes. Corporate entities should have no guarantee of free speech. The individuals that are a part of the company have that right, so extending it to an artificial entity leads to abuse of the system. And if you remove the right of free speech of the corporation, you end corporate financing of elections and candidates. PACs need to be outlawed as well, and all money, soft or otherwise, needs to be fully disclosed. There also should be a personal limit not only on personal donations to individual candidates, but donations to the parties as well.
-Do you support welfare?
As a safety net, yes. As a way of life, absolutely not.
-Where do you consider yourself on the political spectrum typically (Left, Centrist, Right)?
I don't consider myself anywhere. My political beliefs go all over the map. However...on just about any political test, you can take on the internet, that isn't slanted to peg you on one or another extreme, I come up as being pretty much right in the center.
peace,
Aielman
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