Originally posted by: PSUstoekl
- First, how would you describe yourself politically? Socially liberal? Libertarian? Green Party? Please, expose the nuances of your beliefs.
I'd describe myself as someone who has a more holistic view, where politics is a tool for doing what's needed, however much or little there should be of it.
Larger questions involve how society should work, and how politics can best help that (whether libertarian, anarchistic, socialist, or whatever).
I tend to think that issues are less important than the system - the system is what determines whether you have 99% of the public as serfs whose opinions are unimportant while a few are in power, or whether you have a society filled with a strong middle class, etc.
I don't really have an ideology for politics, I think it makes sense to look at issue by issue, but doing so consistently leads me to the liberal, progressive view, like most of the world.
I think that too many Americans are 'fat and happy' insofar as being increasingly willing to blindly allow their government to try to keep them fat and happy by abusing our military might against the hordes of the world who are poor but up and coming, that we lack a good plan for the world to prosper *and* for America to continue to do as well, when too much of America's wealth is built on the backs of some slave-wage people somewhere.
We need a more sustainable economic model for the whole world to prosper, perhaps analogous to how America's working poor were empowered under FDR.
Finally, I think 'the system' too much allows narrow interests to harm the public good by donating to make money, and we need to fix that undermining of our democracy.
- Second, who do you support the strongest going into this upcoming presidential election? Specifically, what do you find in these candidates that makes them so appealing? Is there anyone towards which you have a particular angst?
What do you mean strongest? Hillary Clinton in terms of the candidate in the best position to win. The strongest in terms of good policies IMO is Dennis Kucinich.
What I find appealing in him is his background making him understand a lot others don't, and a passionate commitment to moral liberalism, with practical, revolutionary policies.
In short, just as FDR re-invented America to become a greater nation, I think Kucinich is the kind of leader we need to do that.
BTW, Ron Paul has the same quality of a passionate vision to re-invent America, but unfortunately it's 20% great and 80% disaster.
- Third, what political situations currently are most important to you? What do you see as being important on the horizon?
1. I think that the increasing pressure in the world as other nations rise economically and surpass the United States (China) can create political pressures that their vision of society in which modern day slave conditions and rather ruthless economies are just fine can force America to the wrong direction to compete- much less Europe, who has even better policies but is under the same pressures from both third world and American nations. We need to find a way to protect the American ideal of individual liberty in the face of these pressures.
2. Money in our political system. Money from corporations is in the system for mostly one thing: to get policies enacted that are bad for the public but in their narrow interest.
Unfortunately, ads work and the candidate who does wrong and has money tends to beat the opponent who does the opposite.
There's only so much money around for the 'good causes' - when's the last time someone gave money because a candidate was in favor of building roads for everyone?
The big money is in other areas - say, the drug companies who can profit by fewer restrictions on, say, their monopolizing drug rights against generics, or selling drugs with less scrutiny for 'phony' but marketable things; or the insurance industry, where every law limiting the right to sue is money in their pocket.
3. I think we need to update our political philosophy for modern times. Too many arguments are rehashes relevant to the revolutionary times. The internet seems like it might be the greatest aid to democracy in, well, possibly our country's history, I'd have to think about it.
- Finally, what operating system do you use? Do you like it, or think of trying anything else?
Windows XP, it's ok, only thinking of Vista mainly for the DirectX 10, but it's a huge hassle to change OS. Mac? Linux? Why?