Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Political Philosphy

I don't know if I've ever had a more difficult intellectual challenge than trying to come up with my personal political philosophy. When Mark Finkelstein first "challenged" the class to explain in a few sentences what our political philosophies were, I thought the word "challenge" was a gross overstatement. Why is it a "challenge" to define your political philosophy? It's not that hard...

However, as I thought about what I would say to someone who asked me about my personal philosophy, I really wasn't sure. I guess I never really, genuinely thought about it before.

I have my fundamental beliefs on the everyday controversial issues. I was raised in a very conservative house and therefore have conservative ideals. I am used to having people disagree with my points of view, and I am used to debating/arguing those points. When I came to Ithaca, I knew that I was coming to a very, very liberal school and that I would be one of the VERY few republicans at the school. I did make it a point to listen to other people's views and opinions were on issues, and I still really try to understand where they are coming from. I don't want to be ignorant. But as I have kept as open a mind as possible, my core beliefs have not changed. I have learned a lot about other people, and about certain aspects of myself, but not the political aspect of it. In my high school government class, we had to fill out a survey to see where we stood on the political spectrum. I was one of the most conservative in the class and in my entire graduating class. I think I ranked very close to Rush Limbaugh, which was very fitting since my dad is an avid listener and I listen to the show when I'm home.

So as I took a step back and thought about what I truly believe, my political philosophy suddenly became very apparent: little government, low taxes, entrepreneurial emphasis. That's it in very few words, very simple. I know that there will be people who will disagree with this philosophy, and that's fine. That's the beauty of America.

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