CarriedTheCross & Politics

Religion and politics have always been my two loves.  Naturally, they are the two topics deemed taboo to talk about publicly.

In the American political arena, I loosely identify myself with the Democratic party, but my life does not rise and fall with the party.  I consider myself to be a true moderate.  I do not think the answer to every problem is to drift toward the center of potential answers; rather, on some issues I tend to line up with liberals and on others I tend to line up conservatives.

In foreign policy issues, I often find myself leaning toward philosophical ‘realism,’  which seems to be more popular conservatives.  The world is often a harsh and brutal place.  The United States, for better or worse, has emerged as the only superpower in contemporary world affairs.  Though we have a hand in shaping the rules of the game, they are largely set for us.  Because of this, we must abide by the rules themselves.  Diplomacy is of the utmost importance and international organizations are the ‘next step’ of political development (enter my liberal side), but in the mean time, there are very real dangers that must be addressed by whatever means necessary: diplomacy or aggression (and my conservative side).

Economically, I find myself split.  There are many areas of philosophy and politics that I can speak with some authority, and economics is not one of them (yet).  Thus, I am left with a very limited popular understanding of the economy.  I recognize that conservatives are correct that business must be protected because business is the indirect source of prosperity for the individual.  I recognize that liberals are correct that our government is charged with “promoting the general welfare,” and that to do that social programs are important.

Socially, different issues affect me differently.  I loosely consider myself to be pro-life (conservative) but am disgusted by the current incarnation of pro-life philosophy.  I am a supporter of same-sex marriage (liberal).  I think affirmative action is a poor answer to mistakes of the past (conservative).  I do not think that gun ownership is either a necessary or proper way of defending ones family and find the idea that it is ‘cultural’ to be repugnant (liberal).

Ultimately, I tend to favor liberal-to-moderate candidates.  Currently, I tend to favor Hillary Clinton among Democrats and John McCain among Republicans for the 2008 Presidential Election.