IT 240 Wordpress assignment

Professor Troy Smith

POSC 110

October 23rd 2015

I Stand Alone

Conservative democrats, liberal republicans, radical communists, socialists, tree hugging greens— with such ambiguity, imprecise sets of values and blurred lines of meaning, I find it hard to confidently place myself within the confines of one political ideology. While many are capable of recognizing and identifying with the specific ideologies and positions of the different parties, I do not. I’ve decided that I am an independent contextualist by deliberating the values of life, equality and privacy.

The value of life is one that I consider to be a major factor that guides my political standpoint. That said, my perspective on life changes when placed in different contexts. For example, the value of life when the issues of abortion and capital punishment arise. With abortion, I am pro-life in the sense that I stand by the life that has been created, and I believe should have the chance to live. However, when faced with capital punishment, I feel that the murderer’s right to life no longer exists after their crime has been committed. Due to my contradictory views on the value of life, while much of my beliefs are in line with those of the republican party, I find it impossible to definitively identify myself as a “Republican.”

The second value I have determined that shapes my political ideology is equality. From my understanding, true equality, equality in terms of equal opportunity for all citizens, clearly comes from the socialist ideology. In my life, equality has determined my choices for as long as I can remember. As a child I would want equal privileges or equal pieces of a cookie, and while the example of a cookie is fundamentally different from that of political issues, the value can still be applied in the same way. As stated before, as an independent contextualist, my views on equality will change based on context. When the controversy of equal pay between men and women arises, I believe that equality should be present and there should be no discrimination based on gender. Men and women should be paid equally; especially if they have the same credentials, and are doing the same type and amount of work. However, if I was to voice my opinion on the issue of gender equal military drafts, where laws which required both men and women to be drafted into war, I would definitely oppose them. In that situation, I wouldn’t want equality between the genders. Scientifically speaking, women are physiologically different than males, the physical capabilities between the two are unequal. Evidently, my perspective of equality has shifted completely and they have begun to conflict with one another. Both examples mentioned have to do with gender equality, yet my perspective on both are different. Thus, making it hard, again, to place myself at one specific point on the political spectrum.

The third value that also has an affect on my political decision is the value of privacy. Privacy does not have a place in all political dilemmas, but when it comes into play, my standpoint definitely shifts. For example, the debate for whether or not the government should have the power to tap phones, computers, emails, etc. Personally, I don’t think that citizens should make a big fuss about privacy being an issue, as long as it is strictly used to prevent terrorist attacks, and it benefits the greater good. But once again, my political views present another paradox. If America was placed into a hypothetical situation where there was a law proposing that the government has the ability to closely surveil the goings-on of every aspect of life, including within the safety of our own homes, I would undoubtedly esteem the value of privacy much more, and defy the law. In that scenario, I feel I might take on a radically democratic standpoint. After all, “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union...ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity”(U.S. Constitution, Preamble). Of course we, as citizens of the United States, deserve to prosper and be protected, but when the limits are pushed, and our personal space is infringed upon, that is where I draw the line.

All in all, I definitely am not as developed and involved within the political system as I should be, which is why I identify as an independent contextualist. I believe that placing yourself within the graces of one or two specific ideologies limits our opportunities— it makes us more closed-minded and biased in different situations. I use the basic values of life, equality, and privacy to help me determine my standing on presented topics and proposals. My political views are so ambiguous, my values often collide. Ultimately, though it seems ignorant to not have myself grounded in one specific ideology, as Thomas Gray posited, “ignorance is bliss”; for with knowledge comes understanding, and with understanding comes the responsibility to fulfill the duties we take on as citizens of a state. That duty, as discussed, is the duty to know where on the political spectrum you stand.

And I stand alone.