OLATHE, Kan. - One of the things that has always fascinated me about politics--and in our everyday discussions with each other--is the way we tend to categorize and generalize people. And what I find really curious are the words "Conservative" and "Liberal," or even "Progressive." When someone says that so-and-so is one of those words, my first question is, "On what issue?" They look at me with a blank stare, and I ask again, "Liberal on what issues?" "Conservative on what issues?"
I use myself as an example. I consider myself reasonably "progressive" on many issues: Gay marriage? Sure. A woman's right to choose? Absolutely. Corporations paying too little income tax? Definitely. Universal health care? I've been arguing for that since the 1970s. When it comes to other issues such as illegal immigration or gun control, then I have to disagree with many of my "progressive" friends whose opinions are different.
I don't believe that unfettered immigration or amnesty for illegals are okay. I'm also a gun owner and champion of the Second Amendment, and I've been an NRA member in the past.
So, with a mix of views like that, what does that make me? Purists of all stripes say it makes me a heretic. But if we don't allow for differences of opinion depending on issues, then we become what the right wing of the Republican Party and the left wing of the Democratic Party have become: ideological blowhards who are largely dismissed.
Liberal? Conservative? Progressive? On what issue?
Welcome to the Kansas Free Press, Will!