Do you really feel that one word can describe your belief system and somehow affiliate you with a group?
Asked by
TheCouncil (
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)
July 2nd, 2008
from iPhone
Liberal or Conservative. Republican or Democrat. I understand agreeing with one side more than the other but are you really willing to put yourself squarely in that camp right or wrong? If so do you not find that limiting? (based on the sudden liberal vs. conservative outbreak on a few recent fluther questions)
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13 Answers
“nonpartisan” works for me.
“progressive” works for me.
I generally like conservative more than I like Republican. Although my beliefs still remain conservative, I’ve become semi-jaded with the Republican party of late.
I don’t feel that it’s worth taking a stand against labels just because they have limitations. They’re clumsy semantic tools, but many times a clumsy tool is good enough.
I’m never going to agree 100% with the Dem candidate, nor do I perfectly conform to the classic liberal ideology. But hey, I haven’t voted for a Republican candidate in my life, and I would feel much more at home at an Amnesty International rally than at the IRA convention.
Rarely do I feel that it’s necessary to explain the full nuances of my positions to anyone; if all they need to know is the general drift of my political views, I’m fine with saying that I’m a liberal or a Democrat. That doesn’t mean that I adjust my views to conform to some organization’s ideology, just that the label’s a workably good fit.
Generally, no. I identify myself as a moderate liberal with some conservative personality traits and an agnostic with both feet well-soaking in the pool of atheism.
Which is a long-winded way of saying I’m from California.
edit:: “IRA convention” should have been ”NRA convention”, if you hadn’t already guessed.
in a similar vein as webarnold, i think that each word has such different connotations to everyone who hears it—it’s helpful to explain a little more. for instance, the word “feminist” can call up all sorts of alarming images, although i certainly consider myself one.
Well that’s the point of conversation – you get to explain further. Labels schmabels – if they get you into conversations (this one, for example), everyone gets to learn something.
i also tend to think that because one-word labels don’t usually completely fit anyone all the time, the people who do use them to self-identify (& not just out of laziness, but really truly feel that way) are doing it to find comfort in conforming to a certain group.
Independent, and I don’t just mean politics.
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