Changing Political Views

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

I used to think that most politicians were reasonably OK and that a few of them only fit into the absolute gobshite category .
Now I think that just about all are absolute gobshites and a few of them at a push might just squeeze into the reasonably OK category if you really stretch the limits of what can be deemed as reasonably OK .

I'll say the same thing to you that I say to anyone else who thinks politicians are bad - you try it. Come back, and tell me how it was.

Of course, some politicians are woefully inept (Mr. Brown), but not the majority.

[Lemur]

My political views are too all-over-the-map to fit into a left-right paradigm. For instance, I can truthfully state that I believe in the right of married gay people to carry concealed handguns. Where does that put me?

My views have certainly evolved over time, but I don't know that I could pin down a drift or direction to them. Thanks for including the Gah! option, a courtesy for those who can't quite slot themselves into a poll ...

[LittleGrizzly]

heh, the polls completely symmetrical at the moment, i was assuming more of a right shift...

[Redleg]

fiscial right - social center pretty much my whole adult life. Now when I was under 25 I would say I was more fiscial center - social center. However I have always been centered around the concept that the government must function in accordance with the constitution.

[FactionHeir]

Mine used to be more center left when I was a bit younger (not that I'm that old yet).
However, overall I'm probably still center-left on economical issues and more right than center for social issues.

[Gaius Scribonius Curio]

I feel that I'd be screwing up your poll if I voted (I'm only 18!!!), but I'd say that since I've been in Australia, and particularly over the last year, when I've been doing a lot of reading and thinking, that I've moved slightly to the left. I've always regarded Communism as idealistic and impractical and I've always been egalitarian, but recently I've found that I've been taking a much more socialistic line in debates and conversation.

So to the left, but only moderately. Moderation = happiness.

[rotorgun]

I was raised as a typical Democrat of the old school in New England, for social change, progressive, anti-war, pro working class, anti-big business, pro -union, and all that stuff. A classic liberal-but in a moderate way. Now I have found myself, after living through the Kennedy Assassinations, Martin Luther King's shooting, Viet Nam, Watergate, The Cold War (How we ever made it through that I'll never know), Jimmy Carter, Regan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, and now this era of double speak George Orwellian politics, to have become a bit more cynical. My views are still compassionate, but tempered with the knowledge that there are those out there who would really live off my taxes for the rest of their lives, while giving nothing back. I am still anti-war, but realize that every nation must protect itself from threats.


On economics, I agree with Don Corleone:

As I've gotten older, I've come to see shades of gray in that regard. I still believe a self-motivated individual will always make better choices regarding their own financial outlook than a bloated government bureacracy will. But I also understand that not everyone will make wise decisions, and safety nets just make sense.

To sum it up, I am much more Libertarian in my approach, as I cannot seem to trust my government that seems to be ready to implode any day. I say, let's have a drink and talk this through while we're doing something rewarding, like horseback riding on the trail, or fishing at the lake. In the meantime take the time out to help your neighbor once and awhile.