It’s been a HOT minute since I’ve written anything overly political here, and a lot has changed in that regard since the last time, both in the world and in me. I won’t comment here on current world politics — I just don’t have enough spoons in the drawer for that particular hornet’s nest. But I can comment on my own current political stance as informed by my moral viewpoint as it stands right now.
For starters, it should be known and understood that I am not a liberal, even though I hold views that many people in the US would consider “liberal.” I am also not a conservative. The vast majority of my conservative viewpoints fell away when I deconstructed from faith, religion, and evangelicalism. For some reason, here in America people want you to be either liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, left or right. You have to be one or the other, dammit, or you just aren’t American! But those are labels and brands that no longer apply to me. For me, Conservatism long ago became the brand of hate, of judgment, of restricted rights applicable only to those who hold the reins of power. I identify more closely with liberalism as a result, but even there, I find shortcomings and failures to fit the way I define who I am as a person. Who I am now is something different, something more… eclectic, something made of parts of several different social and political structures.
I think most of my political values can be summed up by two aspects — the social and the fiscal.
Socially
From a social perspective, I consider myself a Progressive. This means I am constantly seeking to push social boundaries to a place where things are equal and equitable for all people. From a practical standpoint this looks like:
- Black Lives Matter
- Equal rights for women, including rights to govern their own bodies, the right to not be assaulted, regardless of what they are wearing, the right to equal pay and benefits, and more.
- If you couldn’t suss it out from the previous point, this means I am also Pro-Choice.
- I am an LGBTQIA+ ally. I know quite a few people who are queer or trans, and I support their right to self-determination, to be who they say they are.
- I’m a huge proponent of gun reform. Specifically, I’m convinced we need a much better system in place for determining who is allowed to own firearms. Background checks should include a comprehensive psychological evaluation to determine if you’re mentally capable of handling firearms safely. There are numerous factors that need to be overhauled. Guns need to be harder to acquire so that responsible people are the only ones in possession of them.
There is probably a lot more I could (and should) list here, but these represent my top priorities socially. If you think there are other things I should be including, please feel free to comment and let me know. That’s the thing about being a Progressive — my perspective, my viewpoint is always open to change, open to be broadened, open to be more inclusive.
Fiscally
Where it comes to money and finances, I tend toward a more socialist approach. I am all for resources being owned by the people. I want equitable distribution of wealth to the masses and the removal of class in society, putting everyone on the same financial playing field. Practically, this looks like taxing the wealthy their fair share and at a higher percentage than those who earn less. There should be Universal Healthcare for all, and education should be free.
But, you ask, doesn’t this mean taxes will go up? Sure, but what most people fail to take into account is that what you lose in taxes, you get back in public services. You’d no longer have to pay for insurance plans that don’t cover everything anyway. You could go to college and get a degree without incurring crippling, predatory debt. And these are just two benefits that are at the top of my list of benefits.
So to put it all together, at this point in time I consider myself a Progressive Democratic Socialist (because I also still believe that people have the right to self-determination in how they’re governed). I will continue to vote for political candidates who most closely align with my values, and more often than not those candidates are going to be Democrats — until such a day as a viable Socialist candidate enters the fray. (It won’t be Bernie, but maybe someone else will take up his mantle.)
I think we can do better. I think we can be better. But we first have to care more about people than we do about money or power.
