ABOUT ME
Who am I? I’m a Republican, a Democrat, a Libertarian, and an Independent; a conservative, a liberal, and a moderate.
How can this be? Because I AM AN AMERICAN, and I refuse to be pigeon-holed by belief categories defined by the politicians and their media lackeys. Americans have historically had the freedom to pick and choose among any of those ideologies, to accept or espouse them in part or in whole, and to do so without fear of prosecution. I intend to do my best to make sure this tradition continues.
POLITICS
I find that no political party has proven itself effective at generating logical, practical, and forward-looking solutions to the problems of our age. The two major parties are more interested in obtaining and keeping their power than they are in ensuring that our nation’s global interests are best served; that the unique principles brought forth by our nation’s founders continue to flourish; and that our citizen’s individual freedoms are maximized. The political parties are now like children with no purpose other than winning their silly yet dangerous games. But, as we need them if we want change in our government, we must reform them before we can get it.
I am not at all interested in senseless commitment to every policy promulgated by any existing political party, and I refuse to anchor myself to some fixed point on the political spectrum. Instead, I seek common sense, practical solutions, and good ideas from all quarters. I study history and economics in order to understand the rise and fall of nations; seek understanding of human psychology and the making of leaders; and try thinking critically while retaining an open mind. I also realize that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and I am well acquainted with the law of unintended consequences.
OPINION vs. FACT and EDUCATION
I am no fan of ungrounded opinion – although I do believe, as did Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, that everybody is entitled to one. It’s just that everybody isn’t entitled to their own facts. I seek truth and use facts whenever possible, and otherwise try to employ rational hypotheses based on fact. I reserve my utmost respect for those that do likewise.
I am therefore an avid newspaper reader, a web user, and a sometime media news junky. I find it highly educational to see how how right-leaning and left-leaning media outlets spin identical events, but far from amusing. I seek nuggets of wisdom from both sources. I abhor the way in which results from ubiquitous polls are quoted and believed without questioning their source, their applicability, or the specific wording of their underlying questions. As the saying goes, statistics do not lie; only statisticians.
My own extensive education involves a large dose of the scientific method and the application of logic. I therefore tend to see things from that perspective rather than being overly influenced by purely emotional factors. I do get emotional, however, when I see rampant misinterpretation of the scientific method liberally applied by those whose actions affect millions of people. Take a bow, Mr. Gore.
I am also painfully aware of the poor quality of education in this nation and of the repercussions of this fact. Uninformed/uneducated and unthinking voters are nothing but a danger to our nation’s survival: a recipe for the repetition of prior mistakes. How can I not be angry when I’m asked to throw good money after bad at our educational system, as if a failed educational policy can be made successful by simply adding funds?
EQUALITY
I do not believe that all people are created equally: if they were, we’d all be Einsteins, Lincolns, Trumps, Zeta Jones’, and Yitzhak Pearlmans; or, if you think negatively, dull clones. Nevertheless I’ll vigorously defend everybody’s right to equal opportunity so that they might make the best of whatever talents they may possess; their equal right to the pursuit of happiness and freedom from tyranny; and their equal rights under a fair and just system of law.
I applaud attempts to ensure access to health care for every citizen, but recognize the practical and fiscal impossibility of making the level of care received absolutely uniform – as, if for no other reason, we cannot all be treated by the same physicians. I also detest a solution in which choice of a care supplier or quality of life is taken from a citizen by a nameless, faceless, and unaccountable regulatory bureaucrat. Yet I will gladly offer bootstraps to those unfortunates who will step forward and use them to improve their lives, and I’ll gladly offer aid to those who are completely unable to help themselves for reasons of physical or mental disability. The provision of fish-hooks is much preferred to the giving of fish.
RELIGION AND PERSPECTIVE
I cannot understand how every organized religion can claim to be the one and only true religion, but I fully appreciate their positive contributions to just and humane societies. At the same time I cannot condone how differences in religious doctrines have led to some of the bloodiest pages in history. This perspective discloses absolutely nothing about my private beliefs in a Supreme Being or Creator, and I can see absolutely no conflict between an all-powerful deity and the sciences that explore the origin and evolution of the universe and the life within it.
I’m guided by the biblical golden rule (do unto others as you would have them do unto you), even though I fully recognize that another version of the rule (do unto others before they do unto you) must sometimes be applied – such as should I face the business end of a rifle. I am therefore aware of the good side of human nature, while I also fully understand that animal instincts still survive beneath the veneer of civilization.
GOVERNMENT
I believe in personal responsibility and disapprove of “Big Brother” or “surrogate mother” societies that attempt to make the important decisions about my personal future that I should be making. As I understand the need for a structured set of rules, limits, and bounds if people are to work together to attain objectives beyond a single person’s reach, I am in favor of SOME government; But I am VERY MUCH anti- BIG- government. To quote yet another cliche’, “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
I believe that people are entitled to enjoy the bounties of their own work, not just to those bounties that some smothering government says they deserve. I equally believe that a fraction of my bounty is appropriately sent to a government that recognizes one of its primary duties is to curtail the power of the mob over the individual. I am therefore guided by the Constitution of the United States of America – that unique document framed by our nation’s founding fathers (as amended from time to time). Our Constitution was forged in an era of battle against tyranny to protect our individual liberties and freedom from such tyranny. It matters not to me whether the source of such tyranny is some leader’s exercise of overreaching authority or the decisions of an unresponsive and therefore unrepresentative collective. The Constitution will continue to preserve and protect us only so long as its words, concepts, and lessons are not forgotten, and only so long as human beings continue to take individual responsibility for their own actions.
Core Rights
I can agree to amicably disagree with others so long as they do not threaten my core rights: to life, to liberty, and to the pursuit of happiness. I thoroughly comprehend that I have no right to become wealthy, famous, or otherwise successful by the typical measures: only an equal opportunity to apply my talent, energy, thought, innovation, and persistence in order to succeed on the level playing field refereed by non-discriminating and just law.
Success and Failure
I agree with the need for a compassionate society to provide for those who fail from causes beyond their control, but would demand that the rewards for success in such a society must always exceed the value of such a safety net.
I cannot conceive of why success would be denied to those who honestly earn it. And such success includes knowing that you have contributed to make the world a better place when you leave it than it was when you entered it.
