A Little to the Left

Most of my family is very conservative. Actually, that's not true. Most of my family is simply apolitical; the more outspoken ones are very conservative. I am not. I'm really not sure what I am. I don't particularly identify with any major political party; I see flaws in all of them.

Conservatism, by and large, doesn't work for me. And truthfully, it has very little to do with the politics of conservatism; my distaste is largely due to an inordinate number of ignorant individuals, their inconsistencies with their own ideology, and crass, blowhard politicians. Really, conservative values aren't all that troublesome - it's largely the conservatives themselves.

The main thing I cannot stand are the so-called "values voters." These are the people who know next to nothing about candidate issues, platforms, opinions; they vote almost solely based on issues like gay marriage, abortion rights, and so on. The extremists, if they had their way, would even want prayer in school, English as our official language, an even heavier emphasis on Christian theology... basically a huge upheaval of church-state separation. Maybe not a theocracy, but I'd be willing to bet a healthy number would support that too. (Also, this is only tangentially related, but can people please stop trying to defend the "under God" phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance? It is not part of our heritage, it is not any sort of ringing government endorsement of the Judeo-Christian God - it was a political middle finger to the USSR, implemented in the Cold War to demonize our "godless" enemy. If it means a lot to you, fine, but please stop pretending it's some hundreds-years-old tradition that "godless" liberals want to take away. It's been around since 1954 - my parents are older than that phrase.)

This makes no sense to me. First of all, one of the central pillars of conservatism is the presence of a limited government. "Get government off our backs," "As regulations rise, freedom dies"... that sort of stuff. Explain to me how forcing school prayer, or barring gay marriage, or any other "value" vote is not a gross overreach of government power. Before any conservative readers disagree, just ask yourself how you'd feel if these were a little different: ie, what if straight marriage was being banned, or Muslim prayers were required, or if our national religion were Pastafarianism?  That you support the cause does not justify its presence in government.

This is why I can respect libertarianism. (For a while I even identified myself as libertarian, but then I found it too self-serving/-aggrandizing.) Libertarians have a kind of extreme view of what we consider "limited" government - they believe that the government should have basically no involvement - but they are at least consistent about it, and such a system does not infringe upon individual rights. Popular "values voter" conservatism, however, would mostly prefer to marginalize those who disagree and unfairly exalt certain individuals over others. I believe first and foremost in the values of fairness and equality; and when certain groups or certain individuals legally can't do things I can, or I can't do things they can, something is amiss. This is the whole problem with anti-gay sentiment: it's discrimination. No two ways about it, no other way to slice it - if one person is legally forbidden from doing something another person is allowed to do, for some arbitrary reason that has nothing to do with law itself (such as being a criminal, or mentally unfit, or for some legit reason cannot exercise certain rights), that is discrimination.

That's the main thing. And trust me, I know there are plenty of conservatives out there who are perfectly reasonable, accepting, and fair with all types of people. I don't mean to paint them all in such nasty color - I just want to isolate that particular group as a completely unacceptable political option for me.

Another big issue for me is that conservatism at its core also seems to be extraordinarily xenophobic. Anyone who could be labeled an "outsider," or at least outside the norm, seems to be of "lower stock," if not completely disregarded. Again, this is not true of everybody, but that "It's Us v Them, and They are Perverts!" attitude seems a little too prevalent for my taste. It's too isolationist.

The other two issues I have with conservatism can be categorized under "economy" and "nationalism." The whole nationalism thing really ties into my equality issue: there is no reason to think we are better than anybody else. We are all equal and deserving of care and respect. (Fine, I'll admit that certain people - sometimes huge groups of people, even - do or say things which tarnish that opinion, but it is a good ideal nonetheless.) Being born in one particular country does not make you a better person.

Now, the economy... remember that whole "I used to identify myself as libertarian" thing a few graphs back? This is pretty much what undid it. I am all for fiscal responsibility. I hate wasteful spending and I get annoyed by taxes as much as anyone else... but I understand the need for it (except the wasteful spending part, obviously - that's just ignorance - but you know what I mean). And if there's a choice between cutting funds on military spending and cutting funds on education (of any sort), you better believe I'm going after the military. Libertarianism in this regard would be a beautiful thing... in an ideal world. Libertarians believe that many things could be funded with the generosity of successful people, that we would essentially financially provide for and regulate ourselves. A nice thought, no doubt, but that's a pipe dream. In the real world, people lie, they cheat, they extort; in the real world, we need government regulation, we need taxes. If politicians were honest and straightforward, if the public was thoughtful and engaged, if we had a cultural moral compass which guided all of us, there would be no problem... but we don't live in that world. So we need rules, we need strict regulation. We need these things, otherwise we would all suffer.

I'll put you an example. One of my jobs is an entry-level position at a hospital. Management was freaking out almost all year because at any moment there could be a surprise health and safety review from a federally mandated commission. Do you think this hospital would be a better place without that regulation? Do you honestly believe that on their own most employees would follow such stringent rules? Some maybe. Personally, I don't give people that much credit; they need someone to come in every once in a while and peek over their shoulder. Not all the time, but it's important nonetheless. And could you imagine a lack of regulation in health care? We have a deeply flawed system, but stripping down government regulation isn't going to fix things.

The thing that irks me most about conservative economic views is really a philosophical objection: I just don't think things should be valued over people. When you get right down to it, when you boil conservatism down to its basic tenets, the biggest values are the rights of property and property owners. That's just so skewed to me. Corporations as people, unstructured free markets - these things are just so different from how I see life, and they place such an emphasis on things that just don't add up to much in the end. I'm not saying this is wrong, it's just not right for me.

So, after all that, the one thing we can say for certain is I'm not conservative. So what do I call myself? Honestly, I think I fall pretty close to the center of the political spectrum. I'm liberal, but mostly because I'm not conservative. For instance, I'm not looking to nationalize banks or other institutions; I think socialism, communism, and other far left systems are just as lofty and unrealistic as libertarianism and other far right systems; and for the most part, I think capitalism is responsible for the prosperity our country has achieved. On the other hand, though, I would prefer a social market to a free market; I fully support equal rights for all people; and I place a higher value on education and globalism than militarism or nationalism. Also, I know this is a stereotype, but I seriously get annoyed by conservatives' general disregard and/or disdain for scientific facts and theories. (Tip: Trying to discredit something because "it's just a theory" only reveals how little you know about the gravitas of the term "theory.") That has nothing to do with liberal or conservative politics, it's just another tally mark in the "con" column for my opinion of most conservatives.

Of all the terms out there, the one that fits me best is social liberal. As if I've not yet made it clear, let me just enumerate my core ideals and beliefs even further: (1) A social market. The model has been largely successful in Europe, especially post-war Germany, and seems to emphasize steady growth, low unemployment, and low inflation in a setting of allocative efficiency. Nice, fancy words, yes, but in a nutshell: the economy grows, people keep their jobs, and the rate of expense does not outpace the rate of earning. Sounds kind of nice, huh? Sounds preferable to the boom-bust cycle of capitalism. (2) Equal rights for all. To me this is self-evident, but if all people don't have the same rights, obviously something is not fair. (To the nit-pickers: let's please not get into extraordinary circumstances. Just apply this to the average person. We don't need to get into special cases right now.) Legalize gay marriage, get rid of the pay discrepancy, etc. (3) Complete separation of church and state. For me, religion is a personal matter. I don't want other people to tell me what to believe, and it is not my business to tell other people what to believe. I don't want to see any sort of favoritism among religions; in fact, I frankly don't care and would rather not know a candidate's religious beliefs. A lot of people use this as a short-cut, but I do not understand how religion has any bearing on the ability or inability to govern or lead effectively. And in case it wasn't clear: if I was in charge, I would get rid of the phrase "under God." Completely unnecessary. (4) A public health care option. Key word: option. I don't see the harm in this. Conservatives decried this, saying it would drive too many insurance companies out of business... It's an option. About 50% of the country identify themselves as conservative; if that many people claim to be conservative, wouldn't they not choose the option? That's a pretty significant number of people who would decline purely for ideological purposes... or do political leaders worry they would be abandoned by their base simply because of lower prices? (5) A progressive tax system. In short: if you earn more, you pay more. Because you can afford to. Plain and simple.

These stances sound much more extreme than they actually are. These are all reasonable, rational views. I'm not calling for anyone to be marginalized, exploited, or left out. Maybe I'm being naive or idealistic, but each of these seems pretty tried and true, and I don't think I'm making any unreasonable requests. If I am, let me know. And if you disagree, fire away.

Considering where I grew up and what my family is like, my outlook is kind of unusual... but at the same time it feels inevitable. When I was growing up, my mother really emphasized fairness, equality, playing by the rules, including everyone, etc. "Live and let live," "To each his own," "Just because it doesn't work for you doesn't mean it can't work for somebody else" - these are just a few of the pearls of wisdom which remain with me to this day, and which I hope to pass along to my children. Now, you might look at those and say, "Wait a second - those don't really support or refute any political ideology." Exactly! That's what makes it such invaluable advice: my mother wasn't trying to brainwash me or inundate me into her way of thinking; she wanted me to find my own way, ask my own questions, and seek my own answers. Advice like that, coupled with a penchant for questions that demanded real information and disregarded xenophobic attitudes - it's no wonder I see things the way I do. I may not agree with some of those closest to me, and a number of people may think me something of an idiot, but considering my hometown, my upbringing, and my environment, it's really no surprise that I turned out to be just a little to the left.