Why do you believe in the political beliefs that you do?

Question

I'm what Americans and British would call a liberal (it has a different meaning in Australia). I believe everyone should be treated fairly, live their lives safely and have the same equal opportunities in life, and it's the government's responsibility to provide this, through health-care, education, welfare, defence, etc. I believe businesses have a place but they shouldn't be in control of our essential services, and if they treat their customers/staff/stakholders unfairly it's up to the government to intervene. I think conservitism has many flaws which leads to a class-based society of rich vs poor, and liberalism can narrow this gap.
So, why are you a liberal, a conservative, libertarian, fascist, whatever? What are your justifications for your views, and how do they create a better world?

Yeah, I like a lot of the libertarians' viewpoints. I don't agree with everything about them though, but I don't think they're represented enough in politics.

Answer 1

I never paid attention to politics until JFK came along. He truly inspired me to the point that I joined the military so that I could do something for my country. After the Cuban missile crisis I was sent to West Germany, at the height of the cold war and I could see first hand why I was there. I did not see the effects of communism until many years later, but I knew people in the east who were allowed to come to the west for weddings and family gatherings on occasion. They told us that they were only allowed to come if a close family member stayed behind. The threat was that if they didn't return, that family member would be taken away. Then JFK was killed and Lyndon Johnson took over. I noticed that under his leadership the country was taking a turn for the worse, but I didn't worry about it and didn't really understand it. Years later I wound up back in Germany under the Carter administration, when the terrorist activity began to escalate, and I could see that Carter was far too weak to deal with it. I returned to America toward the end of his term and even worked to provide security for him on one occasion. I noticed that the crowd did not seem nearly as enthused to see him as they did when I provided security and got very close to Kennedy on his "Ich bin ein Berliner" trip. I then started realising that all of the things that the democrats had stood for over the last few years were doing nothing for the people that they supposedly wanted to help. People were becoming more and more reliant on government to make their lives better, and the attitude among those people was "Why should I work harder and try to improve myself? I'm getting money from the government and I can't get along without it. I had a 30 year old niece in CA at the time, who was addicted to drugs and laughed when I asked her if she was ever going to go to work. She said that she had no reason to because the government was giving her more than she could make by working. Then Reagan came along and I was inspired again like I had been by JFK. I then fully realised that the cause of many of America's problems had been the fact that people had lost their will to be, once again, a great nation of innovative and industrious people, and was becoming more and more like the Soviet Union in some ways. By then I had completed 20 years of military service and had lived all over the world, seeing many different cultures. One thing that I had noticed was that in those countries where there was a repressive government there was also an inordinant amount of poor people. After Reagan was instrumental in bringing down the USSR, I visited East Germany for the first time and was shocked by what I saw. My wife, a west German, was also shocked, mainly by two things. First, nothing had been done to improve the infrastructure since WWII. She said that it was like stepping back in time fifty years and that literally everything looked like her home near Frankfurt did before the war. The second thing that we noticed was the look of utter dejection and hopelessness of the east German people. They looked defeated and depressed and very seldom would look us in the eye. It was then that I truly came to despise both communism and socialism, because of what those philosophies produce, a lack of initiative and self reliance, the two traits that made America great. Later, the Clintons came on the scene and it didn't take long to see what their ideology was, although it was much more attractively packaged. Hillary truly wants to take us back to the days of the USSR and the mediocrity of those socialist countries in Europe, by making us dependant on a big, repressive government that wants to control every aspect of our lives. As Thompson recently said, "A government that can do everything for you is powerful enough to do anything to you." America is great because of a huge middle class, so it is not the rich vs the poor as liberals would have you believe. We are free to pursue our dreams to the best of our ability if we are not hindered by an over-regulating and ever-controlling government. We know how to do it without having politicians dictate to us how we should live our lives. That's why I'm a conservative.

Answer 2

Yes and no. I have certain beliefs that would fall under the category of "political" that I see as being ethical matters. For example, I am strongly against the death penalty and I do believe the world would be a better place without it. I have yet to hear an argument (and I have heard many) that can convince me otherwise. I believe in strong gun control too and again, have yet to hear an argument to convince me the world would not be better off with it. There are a few other things too. However, I can see why people think differently to me on a variety of different issues and I have no problem with that. I am very liberal on most issues, but I don't think less of someone who is more right wing. I'll respect any point of view as long as it's an educated one. I do believe that we should all treat each issue individually. I dislike the mentality that says "I'm a liberal/conservative therefore I will side with them on every issue". Life and the issues in society are more organic than that. The upbringing point is interesting. I know that many of my political views come from the fact that I am a working class Scot who grew up under Thatcher's rule. Would my views be different if I was an upper-middle class person from the south of England? Possibly. But I would hope that I had the compassion to see the suffering of the masses and still want to do something about it, whatever my class or financial status. edit: But then, no political system is infallible. Human nature and the diversity of us all will not allow for it to be. Capitalism looks great on paper, but try telling that to an 8 year old working in a sweatshop in Jakarta. Communism seems like a good solution, but try telling that to the relatives of the 4000 people executed in China last year. We need to stop with the "isms" and start focusing on the issues that face us all.

Answer 3

I don't agree with most of your beliefs. Does this make me a bad person? Does this make you a bad person? No, it makes us individuals. Personally, I think I fall more in with the Libertarian crowd, leaning more toward the Conservative side.

I don't believe that government can solve all our problems. I was raised to believe that you need to work for what you get. Welfare is fine as a helping hand, but I don't believe it should be a solution to a persons problems.

I also believe in individual responsibility. Yes, the environment a person was raised in has a lot to do with how they turn out later in life, but ultimately, it is up to you to overcome this. Don't blame society for your problems.

Education is something I believe the government and society is responsible for. Yes, even people that don't have kids in school share some responsibilty and have (whether they believe it or not) a stake in the outcome. These kids in school are the ones that are going to become the policemen, the military, and the firefighters that will protect you. They will be the doctors and lawyers that you will call upon when you need them (not all come from private schools). They are also the ones at your local stores that will help you with your purchases. But, with all that said, it is not just the government's and society's role to educate. The final responsibility lays with the parents to get involved in their children's education, whether it is privae or public school.

And I don't believe in "Big Government". The government has no reason to interfere in my private life if I am not doing any harm to others. Gay marriage should be allowed, just as I feel polygamy should be (as long as all parties involved consent). Drugs, prostitution, and gambling should all be legalized. In a nutshell, what happens between CONSENTING ADULTS is no business of the government.

Finally, taxes. Taxing the wealthy more because they can afford it is really just punishing them for being successful. I do think that the loopholes need be closed, but don't increase the amount of tax just to pay for some new program. The government gets xx amount of dollars, and they need to make it work. I can't go to my boss and ask for a raise because I want a new boat. Neither should the government.

Answer 4

I am completely opposed to your views. I am a conservative and think government should have a very limited role. People should take care of themselves, first and foremost. The US Constitution says the government has the responsibility for national defense. That is job one. Government run education in the US is bordering on failure. Countries that have socialized medicine have failing programs. Fairness is arbitrary. Equal opportunity is all that government should guarantee.
Remember that everything the government does costs lots of money, meaning lots of my tax dollars.
I got my views from education, training, experience, intelligence and a long life.
Winston Churchill said: "If you are not a liberal by the time you are 20, you don't have a heart. If you are not a conservative by the time you are 40, you don't have a brain."

Answer 5

I'm a "liberal" because I believe in limited government and I DON'T believe in a theocracy.

I love how "conservatives" think govenrment shouldn't regulate big business to protect the environment, but it should regulate what stays in my uterus. I just don't understand how any "conservative" is not anti-American. Our Founders didn't envision a Bible-thumping theocracy where millions live in poverty.

In short, I really believe in the libertarian viewpoint, as they are the TRUE conservatives, but I like my candidate to win, so.. I also live in a state with closed-party primaries, where there are rarely any indpendent candidates.

Answer 6

The problem with politics overall is people who BELIEVE rather than THINK. In other words, some will take to heart, rather than mind, deeply-held views without actually understanding their true meaning and how to apply those ideals in life. Some of the most ardent partisans prefer only to hear or believe ideas or opinions that are similar to their own and are cynical to those on the opposing side.

Answer 7

37 years of working on my own. No government there to help me through the bad times, only me. Now that I'm in my 50's and need all the money I make for my own retirement and health care, a bunch of parasitical socialists want to steal ever increasing amounts of the fruits of my labor to pay for those to stupid. lazy or unwilling to look after themselves. Screw them. Why would I want to give up my income to have the government put me in a bogus, half-baked health care program? I'll pay my insurance and get decent health care. If the socialist element wants a national health care program, let me opt out and not pay for it.

I'm against the public school system. My children attended private school and both me and my wife worked to pay for it. Why should I have to support this disgusting system that produces uneducated twits who think others in the world owe them something? If you have kids, you pay for their education. The fact that I own property in an area where there is a school is no reason I should have to pay for it, particularly since a lot of the students are the children of illegal aliens who suck a communities resources dry with their pestilence, over propagation and need for free social services.

Answer 8

Life Experience.

You start out young and naive and believing in all of that idealistic liberal idealism because it sounds so well intentioned and you are just young enough to fall for it.

But life experience shows that these allegedly well intentioned liberals are really the biggest cut throat predators of them all who target specifically the most young,weak and naive among us with the sole intent of thoroughly exploiting them and their naivete` for personal gain and nothing more.

Answer 9

I'm conservative because the government can't be trusted when it comes to the things you want to depend on them for. Liberal politicians don't have anyone's interest but their own and it would be foolish to rely on them.

Answer 10

All I had to do was listen to a few Democrats squeal and I decided I was certainly NOT for that party.

Republicans are more responsible, more composed, more professional, and they tend to actually make sense.

Why do you think that it is the governments job to provide you with welfare? Do you really think you deserve a monthly paycheck for sitting on your bum?