I think I'm becoming more liberal

[Zach]

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about what I believe religiously and politically, and I think that I'm slowly moving away from the conservatism that I've been raised to believe in my whole life. This isn't the first time that I've done this - I briefly flirted with socialism a few years back before reverting back into a super-capitalist, but the more I've thought about things, the more I realize that I'm not a war-mongering, gay-hating Republican like my parents.

I think that, more than anything, I'm becoming a pacifist. I certainly understand the need to defend oneself if your life is threatened, but I don't think that I can really support war any longer. Why should we ask our nation's military to go overseas and risk their lives to shoot people they've never met? Many of our nation's politicians try to justify the "War on Terror" (and I use that phrase loosely) by diminishing the humanity of those in the Middle East, trying to paint the Muslim population as soulless and somehow inferior to us as human beings.

I can't bring myself to accept the idea that those we're currently fighting haven't ever enjoyed the company of their family and friends or laughed at a joke or ever been scared or held a women in their arms and told her that he loves her, because that's what I'd have to believe to think that it's alright to fight this war and watch hundreds of thousands if not millions of innocent people at this point be slaughtered because of our involvement.

I don't understand what's happening inside of me, but I feel like might be on the verge of a volte-face with my politics.

[Hiro]

This is good news.

[YPrrrr]

I dont see how anyone still supports this war, liberal or conservative

[Daddy]

I dont see how anyone still supports this war, liberal or conservative

i reckon those muslim fellers are terrists who hate jesus.

it's basically the crazy fundies who support some sick holy war.

[YPrrrr]

i reckon those muslim fellers are terrists who hate jesus.

it's basically the crazy fundies who support some sick holy war.

too bad we love Saudi Arabia

[Daddy]

too bad we love Saudi Arabia

they have oils and aren't as brown

[Zach]

they have oils and aren't as brown

they're still pretty brown

they just have money

[Bolivian Army]

it's easier if you just think of them as a bunch of oprahs

[Veal]

So basically you're becoming a college student.

[Dullahan]

I may change in the future, but at the moment I can't convert to pacifism.

I don't believe in what Lennon said about "peace lasting forever". Maybe one day, we as human beings may find the solution with that perception, but we are far from that stage. I think at this point, all we can do is keep making mistakes until one day we can find the answer.

[Socks]

I dont see how anyone still supports this war, liberal or conservative

War is a means to an end, it does not exist exclusively. As a rational, selfish bastard, I firmly support the end in this case. We all benefit from it, in ways far too complex, intertwined, and profound to simply list. Unfortunately, we often take our blissfulness for granted and complain when reality surfaces. At that junction our subconscious becomes conscious and we react impulsively. Not eliminating guilt, but subverting it, not eliminating suffering but displacing it.

[Lozal]

I was raised to be a hardcore Christian conservative.
I believed everything until a few years ago. Meaning I swallowed everything that I was taught by my parents; gay marriage is wrong, capitalism is the only way to a successful society, God is the only way, abortion is murder, drug legalisation is bad, and countless other "conservative" standpoints.

However, I began thinking outside the box. Thinking about different societal-economic issues and how the average conservative chooses to fix them. I began to wonder about my religious beliefs, which lead me to question why gay marriage is considered to be wrong. I thought about why we fight, and later developed a somewhat pacifist opinion. I don't realise what the point of the war is anymore. It's pointless, really. I also started thinking about abortion. I later developed my own opinions about many of these issues and found the economic system of socialism and the political philosophy of Marxism. The way that I went on my change from Republican / Conservative / Capitalist to pretty much as far left as you can go was when I started thinking independently.

I realise that a lot of conservatives have thought the same way as me but still have different opinions. I'm not saying that they haven't. I'm just stating that you can't always say that the opinions of your parents are your true opinions. My political views are now almost the exact opposite as those of my family.

[wawi]

I thought about why we fight, and later developed a somewhat pacifist opinion. I don't realise what the point of the war is anymore. It's pointless, really.

I'm just curious...
Are you referring to the war in Iraq? Why, in your opinion, is it useless? What are your views of war in general? When are wars "justified"?

[just1more]

I used to be a chicken hawk fascist republican up until 4 years ago. Then I did a complete 180 in political views and became a liberal pinko commie socialist. Recently I've been moving back towards the middle a little bit, probably due to lack of interest.

[YPrrrr]

I used to be a chicken hawk fascist republican up until 4 years ago.

It's the long island effect, it's not your fault