Left and Right Need to Read This Blog!

This is my blog, and therefore my opinion – as the name of the blog implies. I am not looking to debate political issues in the articles I write, but for clarification I feel I should make some political distinctions here for those who may choose to read a particular article and take exception with what they find in it. I'm not going to argue over semantics, nor defend my position beyond what I state in the article. However, these distinctions will help the reader understand how I refer to political positions in my articles.

On the political scale, there are innumerable positions from the farthest possible left to the farthest possible right. And there are, of course, centrists in this spectrum as well. I do not generally lump extremists on left with liberals, nor do I generally lump extremists on the far right with conservatives. I call them what they are – extremists, far-left, or radical left, far-right, or radical right. They are not mainstream in either political persuasion.

Most of my references to liberals will include those who clearly take a mainstream liberal political viewpoint. Conservatives, by the same standard are those who take mainstream conservative political viewpoints, and both clearly lie more to one side or the other of centrists. Simply and in general, liberals have a loose interpretation of the Constitution, espouse big government to provide social programs to citizens and to have control over much of the economy while Conservatives believe in a strict interpretation of the Constitution, believe that the government should not be involved in the daily lives of the citizenry, and should practice fiscal restraint.

When I refer in generalities to political persuasions, I refer to Democrats as liberals and Republicans as conservatives. However, I apply the same type of generality to Independents which I will distinguish from time to time as more liberal-leaning or more conservative-leaning, or simply as those who fit between the two camps.

But I must note that all radicals on either end of the scale will be noted as extremists, meaning where the mainstream political view of either liberals or conservatives has been carried far beyond the realm of reality and sensibility. To lump extreme radicals with either liberals or conservatives as equal to those in the mainstream is totally incorrect. That's where I feel most people misunderstand the other side of the political divide. Just because someone has liberal views, doesn't make them equal to the Uni-bomber or Weather Underground. And it is just as ridiculous to lump Timothy McVey and Scott Roeder with all conservatives. In fact, beyond inaccurate, it is totally incorrect.

So, if you are one of those readers who are guilty of doing just that... assigning the insanities and inhumanities of extremists in either political position to the general description of either liberal or conservative political groups... then don't bother to read my blog. It will only frustrate you, and I don't really care what your opinion of my opinion is.