Hard Corps
Full Member
 
Offline

Freedom is worth facing your fears
Posts: 236
Kansas City, Missouri
Gender:
|
Economic: 0.0 Libertarian: -1.64
I guess I'm pretty centrist? I'm may be the most open-minded gun-toting, religious, humanitarian, environmentalist you've met. But I know what I think, and why. Prove me wrong through logic (not rhetoric) and I'll change my mind. I am extremely conservative morally, but believe the government should butt the h377 out of our personal business.
For example, I personally believe homosexual activity (not feelings/orientation) is immoral, but only as much as heterosexual promiscuity is--nothing to judge or shun, just one choice people make in life that I happen to think is less than the best (but, again, how many "less than ideal" choices of lifestyle do I have? too many) [my gay friends know this about me and accept it, because I accept and love them- sexuality is personal and should stay that way]; but it's certainly none of the governments d@mn business what goes on in your bedroom.
Likewise, I don't smoke pot, but I don't think possession of small quantities for personal use should be a crime. If you want to strip naked, paint yourself blue and sit in your basement eating daisies and watching Bollywood movies, while you reload shotgun shells, hey, it's a free country, brother.
I am against globalization for the most part, and also believe the government should butt out of our commercial business. America first, and the little man is the big priority. Get rid of the USDA, OSHA, the FDA, the DEA and the BATFE. Let the buyer beware. If I fry my donuts in motor oil, I'll go out of business soon enough. If I want to buy steel from China to make knives, they'll be a great price point, but won't compare to American blades. If I put my employees in hazardous conditions, eventually I won't have very many employees and my business will fail. ATFE should be a convenience store. The market will decide.
I am generally opposed to the actions of most large financial institutions, and conglomerate corporations. I avoid buying unnecessarily from WalMart, Microsoft and a host of others. I like to keep my money local. But I'm a strict capitalist. If you don't work, you don't eat.
And charity work is none of the government's business, either. Americans donated more out of pocket to help the Tsunami victims than the US Gov't. did. I've worked for the Salvation Army, donate my time regularly to a plethora of charities and give money to support overseas medical work in India and clean water in Africa.
I am a "Nazi" for education. I think reading, writing, and arithmetic are foundational, but rote memory is worthless without the ability to critically analyze and debate logically. On the other hand, I think compulsory public education is a sham. I know people with Master's degrees who can't spell. This used to be called illiteracy.
I think murderers, rapists and child-molesters should be put to death, but I don't think SWAT teams should be able to raid organic food co-ops for violating some obscure FDA regulation. The cops should have the right to shoot known felons who assault them, but they shouldn't have the right to search my car or my house without the governor's signature or senate approval. I think our military should be the most well-equipped and most-powerful on earth, but I don't think we should go sticking our noses where they don't belong. I'm all for killing terrorists. But I'm against creating more by camping out in the sacred territory of their holy land and running over their goats and children with tactical vehicles. I'm in favor of using force to stop oppression, but don't figure we need to try and make every nation on earth conform to our way of thinking/government.
I believe in fiscal responsibility. I don't use credit. If I don't have the cash, I guess I'm not buying it. I'll build a cabin on a small plot of land with my own two hands, and pay for it a nail at a time. So why should our government force its citizens into indebtedness for the next innumerable generations? If a company fails, it fails. Let the chips fall where they may. If someone can't afford a $500k house, let them rent an apartment. There's no constitutional right to an oversized SUV and McMansion. Why should anyone be bailed out? On the other hand, someone has to take care of the disabled, the injured and the dispossessed; especially the veterans who have sacrificed their limbs and mental health on the altar of unconsitutional "police actions".
If you think government run health-care is the answer, look at the miserable excuse we call the VA. If you think government can educate us, look at the dropping test scores. If you think government can fix the economy, who do you think got us in this mess in the first place? If you think the government can protect you, wait 9 minutes for the cops to arrive when a thug is in your house with a gun. (And I used to be a cop...) If you think the government can protect the food supply and regulate medicines, look at the peanuts, the melamine milk and the side-effects of half the pharmaceuticals on TV. From driving around in Missouri, I'm pretty sure they can't even do that well building roads. So what are they good at? Lying and stealing. Any surprise?
I guess I'm a strict Constitutional, Capitalist, Charity-driven, Small-government, Libertarian Environmentalist. I believe in voluntary socialism. I give to friends in need and don't turn away from a brother who asks for help. But governmentally coerced socialism is theft and discourages personal accountability and responsibility. I have a military mindset, but was raised to question authority. I believe that authority and respect are earned not granted. I hate partisan politics and think both the Republicrats and Demogogues are spineless fascists, with no shred of concern for anything other than their own wallets and sense of power who want to control every part of your life from your income to your education, your healthcare and your retirement. Who needs the bums? Throw 'em out, I say! It's supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. Maybe we aren't free anymore, because too few are brave enough to face the consequences of life and fend for themselves.
I would love to see a third or fourth party sweep these yea-hoo's out of Washington and blend the commonalities of the hippies and the Amish, with the writings of the Founding Fathers. That would be change I can believe in.
My $.02. Adjusted for hyperinflation.
|