An anonymous contributor to Free Racine accused me of formulating an opinion based on my feelings as a business owner. The assertion is ridiculous but I began to wonder what my political views might be if I allowed my feelings to supersede my thoughts on political matters. So the following is my best guess as to what my policy preferences would be based only on my feelings.
I feel that war is bad because people get killed so we should not participate in any wars.
I feel like the environment is very important. We only have one after all. Pollution is bad for the environment and can cause asthma and resperatory problems. We should eliminate all pollution.
I feel that children are very important and so is education. I feel that we should spare no expense in helping our children learn because they will be in charge some day.
I feel bad that some people are sick and can't afford health care. I feel as though health care should be free.
I feel sad when I think about poor people. I feel as though some people have more money than than they really need. I feel like poor people should get money from rich people.
I better stop now. I am starting to feel like a liberal. I don't like this feeling.
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4 comments:
Denis, the way I interpret your post, I believe that you make a very important point.
In policy decisions, we must make them with a blend of thinking both logically and intuitively. Some studies have said that this may be accomplished by having greater gender diversity in the decision making process. Of course all individuals minds, including those of diferent genders, think differently, so there is no absolute in a microcosim.
Hey Pete. Thanks for your comments. My post was intended to suggest that it is silly, even dangerous, to base your public policy preferences only on your feelings. I believe that I share many of the feelings that liberals do, but that my thoughts lead me in a completely different direction much of the time. Glad to have you as a FreeRacine reader/participant.
Denis, I do read your blog a couple of times a week (although I have to admit it isn't my home page.) I do respect your opinions as they are well thought out. I feel your blog and viewpoints add gratly to community discussion and that is always a good thing.
We may not always agree, but that is what makes it a good thing.
By the way, not only do I read your blog, but I even voted for you in the primary four years ago. At a forum at St. Pauls, I ranked answers based on ethical grassroots democracy and clean, open government and you, by far, presented the best positions on these basic foundations of my belief in the way government should be.
Thanks for the kind words Pete. It seems that we share an appreciation for clean and open government. I appreciate that you would vote for someone (me) even though we probably have areas where we disagree. It is unlikely that any candidate will represent all your interests. If it sounds like they would represent all your interests, you are probably being seduced by a smooth talking politician.
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