Why I'm a moderate (neither liberal or conservative)

[JayhawkFan]

Let me tell you about a few personal experiences in my life which helped mold my political views.

-I grew up in a low income household, with both of my parents working full-time to support us. My father worked for the state, but we were still so low income that we qualified for food stamps
-I worked full-time on the overnight shift for 7 years at wal-mart to put myself through college. I learned more about hard work and determination in those 7 years than any other time in my life
-When I was 25 I lost a job when the company I worked for replaced the workers with illegal immigrants (I helped train them to do my job)
-I spent at least 5 years of my life without health insurance after I turned 18.
-My mother suffered a devastating back injury that has prevented her from working for 3 years. Her employer turned their back on her after the first year.
-I worked 2 full-time (80+ hours a week) jobs for 1.5 years after graduating college
-I have been robbed at gunpoint (as a teenager) twice.
-My grandfather, was a severe alcoholic, and served time in prison for murder
-I was layed off and unemployed for months during the recent recession, but have recently bounced back

[E3CSHARP]

Well despite sharing some of your hardships. I am neither of the two because my conclusion is I have to judge an individual based on their character and who they are. I see both sides have non-progressive views therefore why pick a side? I accepted that I am a member of the human species and that no one is any better than the other. All rich people go to bed at night without possessions. All poor people go to be at night without possessions. All people can be alive today with material things and gone tomorrow without material things. Being able to accept people for who they are made me realize living is beyond picking some stupid political gang color. It is pointless, causes hate and conflict. Forces people to choose a side ultimately resulting in one side believing only they have the right solution. I refuse to take part in the silly little I am better than you games. That is why I am a moderate aka independent aka what benefits all people benefits me.

[JasperST]

All people can be alive today with material things and gone tomorrow without material things. Being able to accept people for who they are made me realize living is beyond picking some stupid political gang color. It is pointless, causes hate and conflict.

Having an ideological point of view isn't a matter of choosing a team and cheerleading from the sidelines. It's an inevitable outcome for anyone that forms an opinion by observation.

When I was younger, up to serving in the military and graduating college, I was very tuned out to politics and had no particular ideology. I didn't vote and wouldn't have known what to vote for if I wanted to. Looking back, I had more liberal beliefs than not. I was a product of my environment, any hardships I may have suffered were somebody else's fault.

But I was too young to see patterns and outcomes. The more I payed attention, the more I saw. Like a parent with a child, soon you see the consequences for the upbringing and behavior. The more I learned the more conservative I got.

To me now, being in the middle of the road means that dad doesn't know whether to give his kid a cookie before dinner or not.

[dadyswat]

Well despite sharing some of your hardships. I am neither of the two because my conclusion is I have to judge an individual based on their character and who they are. I see both sides have non-progressive views therefore why pick a side? I accepted that I am a member of the human species and that no one is any better than the other. All rich people go to bed at night without possessions. All poor people go to be at night without possessions. All people can be alive today with material things and gone tomorrow without material things. Being able to accept people for who they are made me realize living is beyond picking some stupid political gang color. It is pointless, causes hate and conflict. Forces people to choose a side ultimately resulting in one side believing only they have the right solution. I refuse to take part in the silly little I am better than you games. That is why I am a moderate aka independent aka what benefits all people benefits me.

You, moderate!!

[kc12]

Since we're telling where we came from how that influenced our current opinions. I grew up in a upper middle income house, but lived poor. For the last five years of my life there, I had no more than 2 pairs of pants that fit, 4 t-shirts, and however many underwear came in a pack. I was severely physically and mentally abused from the time I was 12 until about 15 or 16 when the abuse became less physical and almost all psychological. When living with the parental units, I had very little support other than the required food and clothes. The mother unit didn't want and male kids and the father unit didn't want the mother unit, so he was gone with work all of the time. When the mother and father units split the new wife of the father unit couldn't stand the kids from the first marriage.

All of this taught me to be very self reliant. Nobody helped me be successful. I did it on my own, but wished I had assistance because I could have bebn much more successful. I put myself through college. After high school I worked at least 40 hours per week, while maintaining a full course load until I couldn't afford any more school. I dropped out, found a better job, then I worked more than 40 hours per week and took a full course load until I was done. I still don't ask many people for help. My past has proved I don't need it. Believe it or not I do have compassion, but you better make all attempts to help yourself before whining that you can't do something. My position is fiscally conservative first then socially liberal, and can be summed up with, "Do what you want, as long as it doesn't effect me or require me to pay for it." So that would make me a classic conservative (or southern democrat from the 60's), not this neo-conservative BS.

[JasperST]

My position is fiscally conservative first then socially liberal, and can be summed up with, "Do what you want, as long as it doesn't effect me or require me to pay for it." So that would make me a classic conservative (or southern democrat from the 60's), not this neo-conservative BS.

Sounds more libertarian to me. Are you pro-drug legalization? I don't see how that describes a 60's Democrat though. Neo-conservatives are former liberals, they've seen the light.

[kc12]

Sounds more libertarian to me. Are you pro-drug legalization? I don't see how that describes a 60's Democrat though. Neo-conservatives are former liberals, they've seen the light.

Not a "60's Democrat," a "60's Southern democrat." The big difference is the southern democrat believes in live and let live. They didn't really care about what other people did, it was none of their business. At the same time they had a tendency to live a decent life (no promiscuous sex and drugs). The 60's democrat in comparison (when I think of a 60's democrat) comes from Haight/Ashbury.

I do not favor legalization of drugs, however after looking into the matter of marijuana, I learned that MJ smoke contains fewer harmful chemicals than smoking and alcohol combined. I really don't care if MJ is legalized. If it were ever legalized I believe similar restrictions as alcohol need to be put in place. This would effectively cause people who use MJ to lose their driver's licenses, and many jobs, because as long as a person tests positive for THC they are under the influence of the drug. Smoke up on Friday and your still under the influence on Monday.

[JasperST]

I do not favor legalization of drugs, however after looking into the matter of marijuana, I learned that MJ smoke contains fewer harmful chemicals than smoking and alcohol combined. I really don't care if MJ is legalized. If it were ever legalized I believe similar restrictions as alcohol need to be put in place. This would effectively cause people who use MJ to lose their driver's licenses, and many jobs, because as long as a person tests positive for THC they are under the influence of the drug. Smoke up on Friday and your still under the influence on Monday.

Then I don't think you are all that socially liberal.

[E3CSHARP]

Having an ideological point of view isn't a matter of choosing a team and cheerleading from the sidelines. It's an inevitable outcome for anyone that forms an opinion by observation.

When I was younger, up to serving in the military and graduating college, I was very tuned out to politics and had no particular ideology. I didn't vote and wouldn't have known what to vote for if I wanted to. Looking back, I had more liberal beliefs than not. I was a product of my environment, any hardships I may have suffered were somebody else's fault.

But I was too young to see patterns and outcomes. The more I payed attention, the more I saw. Like a parent with a child, soon you see the consequences for the upbringing and behavior. The more I learned the more conservative I got.

To me now, being in the middle of the road means that dad doesn't know whether to give his kid a cookie before dinner or not.

Fully understood I don't hold it against you for deciding which side you agree with. For me it is simply the fact that there exists ignorance on both sides. It does not matter to me what the percentage is on either side. If a conservative or liberal presents the best solutions that benefits the public I am for that individual and not his/her affiliation. Why should I fight the inevitable fact that people will forever disagree with each other? If a liberal says they are going to pay a person $3.00 / hour it is the same as a conservative saying they are going to pay $3.00 / hour. They are both taking advantage of people.

[JasperST]

If a liberal says they are going to pay a person $3.00 / hour it is the same as a conservative saying they are going to pay $3.00 / hour. They are both taking advantage of people.

Not if they agree to work for $3.00 an hour. Who are you to step in between them?

[E3CSHARP]

Yes if they agree and what about when they don't agree? Who are you to force them to?

[JasperST]

Yes if they agree and what about when they don't agree? Who are you to force them to?

I'm for forcing people to work for $3 an hour?

[E3CSHARP]

Am I stepping between people who want to work for $3.00 per hour? I am basically doing the same as you are by injecting you(in your case you injected me) into it. It should have never even came to that.

[JasperST]

Am I stepping between people who want to work for $3.00 per hour? I am basically doing the same as you are by injecting you(in your case you injected me) into it. It should have never even came to that.

You said that they were being taken advantage of at $3 an hour. Then you agreed that they weren't if they agreed to it. I can see why you consider yourself a moderate.

[JayhawkFan]

There seems to be this battle brewing between conservatives and liberals where they try to lump you in on one side if you don't agree 100% with all of their views. People like me who don't fit the mold on either side of the issue are sick of it.