Political Issues

I’ve considered long and hard which sociopolitical categories into which I fit best and have come to the conclusion that I am conservative in personal choice but liberal in attitude. That is to say, I choose to have a typical American family and career, but I believe others should have the right to choose what suits their personal inclinations. I’ve been forced to debate on issues relating to this attitude on numerous occasions, and have developed sound rationales for my positions that others may find useful or, at the very least, interesting. Note that the order in which these issues is presented is alphabetical so as not to imply the importance of one over another.

Abortion

I heard and debated a great deal on this topic in high school. The crux of the issue seems to be whose rights one favors, the woman’s or the fetus’. My argument has always been a simple one. To favor the rights of either party is to ignore the rights of the other. That being established, the status of the fetus as a person and bearer of such rights is a point of hot debate. The status of the woman, however, is not. A pregnant woman is clearly a person who has certain rights, not the least of which being the right to make health decisions for herself. To say that she is not entitled to an abortion at her option is a clear violation of her rights. Any other stance on the subject is open to debate, and so I prefer to remain pro choice.

Affirmative Action

This has always been a gray area for me. On the one hand, evidence is clear that bias and racism are still a pervasive element of American culture. Minorities routinely occupy a disproportionate percentage of the lower-income social strata due in part to fewer educational opportunities as well as favoritism in job placement. It stands to reason, then, that something should be done to help correct the situation so that American becomes the land of equality that it’s supposed to be.

On the other hand, Affirmative Action has been rightly called reverse-discrimination. A job applicant or aspiring college student may be turned down in lieu of a less-qualified peer who wins out solely because of his or her race. What is this if not racism? I believe there must be a better solution, but it will no doubt take a great deal of time and expense to determine and execute. I do not, however, think that we can solve the problem of racism with more racism, and so I believe that Affirmative Action programs should be eliminated.

Burning the American Flag

This one’s pretty straightforward. America was founded by those who protested an unfair form of government. It makes sense, therefore, that we should embrace such protest as part of our culture. I can understand why some would find the very idea offensive because of the patriotic symbolism behind the flag. However, it is important to realize that any country must grow and change in order to persist. America has changed much since it was founded and it will continue to do so. That is why we must recognize a burning flag, not as a symbol of disrespect, but as a symbol of reform, which is necessary to the vitality and longevity of America.

“God” in Bureaucratic Tradition

By this I mean the appearance of the word “God” in such staples of American culture as the Pledge of Allegiance, the court oath, and the dollar bill. I myself am agnostic, and I object to the implication that the concept of deity should be a part of our government to any degree. Consider for a moment how you might feel if the words of the Pledge were, “One nation, under Allah,” or the dollar bill read, “In Buddha we trust.” While some protest that the term “God” is nondenominational, it still implies a belief in divinity, which violates the First Amendment rights of those who choose to reject that belief.

Confederate Paraphernalia

I’ve heard many people argue about the history and heritage behind Confederate paraphernalia, primarily the Confederate flag. It comes as no surprise, since I’ve lived in the southern United States most of my life. The fact of the matter is, however, that any argument in favor of the Confederacy can be phrased similarly for Nazi Germany. They both wanted a better future for their citizens, fought for their beliefs, and lost. In retrospect, they ignored human rights in their pursuits. It might be argued that this view is somewhat harsh; after all, slavery is not generally considered to be quite as bad as genocide. The Confederate flag, however, is just as much a symbol of slavery as the swastika is a symbol of genocide. To say otherwise is to deny the attrocities committed by the Confederacy.

Homosexual Marriage

I disagree wholeheartedly with the contemporary definition of a family unit, and I have found all too often that arguments against homosexual marriage derive from greed and ignorance. As an example, many people believe that homosexual parenting produces aberrant or poorly adjusted children. Speaking from my educational background, the research indicates that children of homosexual parents have neither better nor worse outcomes than, and are themselves homosexual just as often as, children of heterosexual parents.

Chiefly, it seems that the average conservative feels strongly that the homosexual lifestyle is somehow wrong or immoral, and seeks to oppose it in any way possible on those grounds. This sense of wrongness echoes social sentiments surrounding African American and women’s rights movement in the mid-20th century. Because of this, it is my opinion that the prospect of homosexual marriage will, in a few decades, be considered perfectly normal, and all arguments against it will themselves be considered politically incorrect.

Video Game Violence

Do video games contribute to violent behavior? According to research, yes. Does this mean video games should be subjected to government censorship and regulation? No, in my opinion, at least no moreso than other entertainment media.

The fact of the matter is that violent television and sports have the same effects on behavior as violent video games. It seems strange, then, that video games should be singled out when it would be more appropriate to target all violent entertainment and media.

This is by no means the only argument, either. The film industry’s MPAA system (which produces familiar classifications such as PG, PG-13, R, etc.) is not government-regulated, yet is widely accepted and regarded as an effective method to properly restrict movies from inappropriate audiences. The video game industry has the ESRB to apply similar regulatory classifications. Again, however, it is peculiar that lawmakers single out video games for regulation when the film industry lacks any remotely similar government censorship.

The fact of the matter is that the video game industry is younger and less well-established than other media, making it a convenient target for conservative activists who shy away from attacking its older, firmly-rooted counterparts. All of the arguments against violent video games, however, apply equally against other violent media. Thus, I feel it is inappropriate to regulate one without the other. And, because such regulations would never become instituted universally, it is unfair to apply them against the video game industry alone.