Quoted from BlueMeanie

It's what everybody SAYS they believe in.

Maybe in your world, BM, but not in mine. Have you read the "Who should be the next US president" thread (not that there's any good reason for you to). Here in the States there is a VERY large group of people that seem to think that rationalism is not per se better than worldviews. In my experience, they usually vote Republican, with exceptions to be sure. They're the ones who claim that evolution is just one theory of many and should not be given any special consideration over other theories, like maybe Creationism for example. When presented with Carbon 14 dating data, they claim that really it isn't exactly PROVEN that there might not be a mistake in how Carbon 14 is estimated to decay. And so on.

Unbelievably, these folks have enormous power. Would you believe that they caused a recall of all science textbooks IN THE STATE OF KANSAS to revise them to give more credence to the "Creationism" theory of evolution? I swear, it's the truth.

It's enough to make one want to , gotta to keep from   

Here in America there are very large groups of a lot of different types of people. Why do Americans insist on stereotyping themselves?


And I DO believe that most people really do believe in what you posted. Granted, they may not always stay true to it, but I think most people are decent at heart. And I certainly don't believe we Americans are much different from the rest of this world you speak of.  

BTW, and I always feel like I need to clarify this lately, I'm not trying to offend anybody. I'm only just posting my thoughts. I'm not saying I even know what I'm talking about half the time, but I do enjoy the discussion. So I hope it comes off that way.

Quoted from Sandra

BTW, and I always feel like I need to clarify this lately, I'm not trying to offend anybody. I'm only just posting my thoughts. I'm not saying I even know what I'm talking about half the time, but I do enjoy the discussion. So I hope it comes off that way.

No offense taken here   I'm just unhappy that people with my world view are not the ruling power now! Glad I don't live in Kansas too, though I hear that those folks were voted out of office via the stake-through-the-heart method, and now it's cool to talk about evolution in the public arena again.

And likewise, if my posts are offensive to anyone, I will tone them down, and just talk about the Fab 4!!

Quoted from alexis

And likewise, if my posts are offensive to anyone, I will tone them down, and just talk about the Fab 4!!

Myself, I'm only offended by violent physical assaults. Saying what you think and being willing to debate (and doubt) it is one of the marks of a civilized person. Keep going!

I don't think anyone's been offensive in the slightest. This is the Current Affairs forum, and by nature, relatively serious, and therefore folks should feel free to speak their own mind.

And actually Alexis, it does matter to me who wins. I think it matters to everybody. Yes I have read the thread, though I haven't often contributed. Though I have to say I'm beginning to understand American politics a bit more due to both that thread, and the media bombardment going on at the moment. It's getting more coverage here than the Danish election did last year! Mind you, that only lasts a couple of weeks. Bliss!!

Quoted from BlueMeanie

I don't think anyone's been offensive in the slightest. This is the Current Affairs forum, and by nature, relatively serious, and therefore folks should feel free to speak their own mind.

And actually Alexis, it does matter to me who wins. I think it matters to everybody. Yes I have read the thread, though I haven't often contributed. Though I have to say I'm beginning to understand American politics a bit more due to both that thread, and the media bombardment going on at the moment. It's getting more coverage here than the Danish election did last year! Mind you, that only lasts a couple of weeks. Bliss!!

But if it only lasts a couple of weeks, you might not learn how well the candidates can bowl    Under those circumstances, how can one make an informed decision about who would be best to lead the country in times of good and bad  

Aaaaah! This thread title is killing me! It should read "Where do your political beliefs lie?".

Now that I've said that...

I would say that I am a very liberal person with a few viewpoints that are right-leaning. For instance, I am in favour of gay marriage but not Sunday shopping. I am in favour of a woman's right to choose but I personally feel that abortion is wrong.

I know everyone says "I was so much more liberal when I was younger..." but honestly I don't think I'll become right-leaning when I'm older. I was raised in a pretty darn liberal household. Honestly, my parents would be more upset if I told them I failed a class than if I told them I was a lesbian.

why not shopping on sunday? counldn't it be not shopping oon saturday? i love to do my shopping on sundays!!!

Well, for several reasons:

-If big grocery stores/department stores are open on Sundays, it will be detrimental to small convenience stores
-People who are willing to work on Sundays get hired over people who aren't
-Isn't the world materialistic enough? Can't we just have ONE DAY where we can't go out and spend like crazy?

Quoted from Mairi

Can't we just have ONE DAY where we can't go out and spend like crazy?

You mean there's actually a place where there isn't shopping on Sunday? I think one of my credit cards just had a stroke.

Well, that's the way it used to be, in Nova Scotia. But in October of 2006 our Premier decided to instate Sunday shopping even though we had held a province-wide consensus and the majority voted against it. Now there's shopping every day, even holidays like Christmas and Mother's Day. The only day when we don't have shopping is Remembrance day.

It's pretty sad, if you ask me.

I'm a liberal Democrat.  I'm very socially progressive (pro-choice, pro-gay marriage).  I do take a more moderate approach to a couple social issues (I mildly support the death penalty, but it should be as rare as humanly possible.  For people with no conscience, like sociopaths, or people that wanted to kill "to feel what killing is like," then I'd support the death penalty, but even then, life in prison may be just as bad or worse).  In economics, I consider myself to the left, though I'm not really sure how far when it all comes down to it.

Hey there Frightwolf! Haven't seen you in a while.

Quoted from Taxgirl

But being left/right winged has a different meaning in various countries.

Right. I have the feeling that some Americans see the Democrats vs. the Republics as left vs. right, but for Dutch political standards that's more like moderate right vs. far right...

It all depends on the context, of course. For instance, in the eyes of the world, Che Guevara and Fidel Castro were as left wing as they got. But if you're a Cuban in 2008 and you're pro-Castro, you're conservative... While if you're anti-Castro, some people will probably think you're unpatriotic...