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"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left."
Ecclesiastes 10:2 (NIV)

I am most definitely NOT in favour of unlimited hand-outs to those unwilling to lift a finger, but I DO feel that we should help those less fortunate than ourselves...

I am also sick and tired of the political correctness that has infilitrated our society. We are so afraid that a tiny minority "might" get offended that the majority has to sit on it's hands and pretend everything is normal.

For example it's called Christmas for a reason, so I make a point when people wish me "happy holidays" that I say "Merry CHRISTMAS" back to them....

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The last time this country mixed politics with religion, people got burned at the stake.

thank you senax. you read my other post in the environmental thread, and you had to make a smart remark. Oh well, no big whoop. im glad that you can see behind some of GW's BS that he puts out there.
As for me, being a DEMOCRAT, (not a liberal i take offense to that) and steriotypically, the democratic party is not known for their religious beliefs. i happen to have very strong religious beliefs and i think that a strong moral foundation among the people helps society grow and progress. however, this is not to say that only one religion can get you there. There are many wonderful religions of the world that promote improvement of the soul through various activities. And im glad our country promotes that in the constitution, it just seems that everybody has got it all wrong these days.

I'm also against destructive impediments to business such as inventory taxes and archaic depreciation schedules.

oc

OC, trying not to get off of the subject, but i wonder what you mean by archaic depreciation schedules? put in the Budget and Taxes thread, and we can discuss there. i dont want to take away from the quality of this post.

I am a defender of state's rights and local government. I think that states should have the power to make more decisions for themselves. The government is supposed to be run by the people, so the smaller it gets, the easier it is for the people to have a say.

Like you mentioned Senax, I am liberal but I hold conservative views on spending. I'd really like to see the deficit "fixed"...and I'd like to see less money spent outside of the US and more spent inside to take care of US citizens.

I can see the value of conservatism...but I think that the definition of the word has been lost in the mix. Why is it that the so-called conservatives in the government are acting anything but conservative?

Thanks for this thread...it's an interesting thing to ponder!

I see them as a combination of idealism and experience. We all have good ideas about how things ought to be, but the more experienced in life we become, the more it seems our idealism becomes tempered by reality and the foibles of human nature.

With all this, at the age of 50, I find myself evolving in a more conservative direction on some issues and at the same time becoming more liberal on a few others. I'm beginning to have big problems with the death penalty. Not because I don't think there are people who deserve the ultimate penalty, but because I wonder if they should live out their lives with the memories of their crimes as they approach the final unknown. That might be the worst punishment of all. At this part of my life I am finding that a lot of things I thought were black and white have some shades of gray.

All my views seem to fit with my image of myself. I try not to stereotype myself, so it's hard to pick something that sticks out as "going against the grain." I suppose my fondness for Pepsi would be a surprise as I bear a strong resemblance to a Pepper.

i'm new to this group but i found this topic particularly interesting because i have always had a contradiction present in my political philosophy.

i'm a registered democrat and support many of the typical democratic platforms however i am also a practicing catholic and have been my whole life. i believe that growing up in the catholic church and also being exposed to an eclectic group of political philosophies has aloud me to be respectful of beliefs (religious and poltical) even though i may not support them. there are many aspects of the catholic religion which i do not agree with but there are many more aspects that i do support and live by; one of them being 'pro-life'.

i tend to vote along democratic lines but am adamently against abortion being legal.

any comments are welcome...thanks.

lila, i said the same thing in my post in this topic. I am very strong in religious beliefs. I agree with you on abortion to a point. I would never let my girlfriend/wife have an abortion unless they were raped by another person or an extreme circumstance. So i guess i am pro-choice for governmental realm, but pro-life in my personal feelings.