Is It Possible For Anyone To Truly Be Independant?

[Tick]

It seems like when people talk politics they are either a liberal or a conservative, or at least that is how they are perceived. It seems like if I make a comment that I don't not like Obama, I am automatically a Republican and in love with people like Rush Limbaugh? How about, I think think Obama is full of fail?  Also, if you criticize the current president, you usually get met with an angry tirade from someone telling you its all Bush's fault!!! He put us in this current mess!
Is it possible that I don't like either of them and both made costly mistakes, that did and are further ruining this country? Obama is spending us into oblivion. I should be on board with that? He is getting stuff done for the sake of getting it done, whether it makes sense or not.
It seems that you can't be an independent thinker, without people telling you which side you support?
I lean to the right on moral issues, but I am lower middle class at best and feel Republicans could really give to shits if I live or die.
I have voted Democratic and Republican and will continue to keep an open mind, because politics is shit to begin with.
I just hate being falsely painted into a corner which has been done to me so many times.

[j]

People are going to assume things about you no matter how little they know.  If you express an opinion shared mostly by conservatives, you can expect to be labeled a conservative.  It's stupid, but it's reality.

Most people identify themselves with a mainstream political ideology, even if they don't even know what all it entails, or why they think the way they do about certain issues.  It's easy to do and feel good about, and to take it one step further, it's easy to view the whole world that way: black and white, Republican and Democrat, etc.

But to answer the OP, of course it's possible.  It doesn't matter what somebody else tries to label you, you're the only one who knows the way you think and why you hold the opinions you do.  If people want to lump you into a category because of their own ignorance, fuck 'em.

-J

[El Barto]

Yeah, and I'm certainly a culprit of that. 

In my defense, you did come in here with the sole intent to slam Obama whenever possible.  I suppose that if you had joined up when Chimpy was in office you might have been just as critical of him--who knows.  Unfortunately, when all people see is LOLOBAMA type threads, they're going to assume you're part of the brainwashed FOX crowd. 

At this point I think you've done well enough to distance yourself from that. 

[Tick]

I also wanted to say, that this thread was not intended to be solely about me. It was for anyone who feels that you don't have to be on one side of the fence or the other. In fact, I would contend that if you are solely in the corner of one party, you are in a dangerous place.

[AcidLameLTE]

It seems like when people talk politics they are either a liberal or a conservative, or at least that is how they are perceived.

In America, maybe.

[hefdaddy42]

I am unaffiliated, but I am a lot less conservative than most Republicans, so the majority of my votes wind up being for Democrats.

[GuineaPig]

The whole Democrat/Republic left/right black/white mentality is the main reason a two-party system is awful.

[lordxizor]

Sure, it's possible for a person to be politically indepandant. But the vast majority of Americans are still going to define that person as conservative or liberal based on their opinions about the topics that matter to them. Everyone is liberal on some topics and conservative on others. If the person you're talking to cares deeply about abortion for instance, they'll probably label you based on your opinions about abortion despite the fact that you may be the opposite for most other topics.

[Tick]

It seems like when people talk politics they are either a liberal or a conservative, or at least that is how they are perceived.

In America, maybe.

What is like in your country? I'm curious. Do these opinions not exist at all?

[PlaysLikeMyung]

In the UK and other European countries they have what's called a "proportional representation" system. This means that people who get seats in parliament are chosen based on the percentage that their party was voted for.

Example:

There are four parties out in the forefront for the elections.

Labour
Conservative
Liberal Democrats
Socialist (yes, it exists in most other countries)

Say the Conservative party gets a plurality of the votes, with 40%. Whoever was running at the front of the Conservative party will get the Prime Ministerial position. 40% of the Parliament seats will go to those in the Conservative party

Subsequently, the Labour party gets 35% of the vote, the Liberal Democrats 20%, and the Socialists get 5%. 35% of the seats go to Labour, 20% to the LibDems, and 5% to the socialists.

What Harry means, then, is that not everything is so black and white, since there are multiple 'flavors' of thinking in the UK and Europe, as opposed to the black and white here in the states

[j]

It appears that way on the surface, but the tendency is the same: toward two juggernaut parties or two large collaborations made up of compromising parties.  The Socialists are practically inconsequential with a mere 5% of the seats; they're better served allying themselves with Labour (or whoever) and compromising their ideology a bit in hopes of attaining some level of majority and some leverage.  And so on.

-J

[juice]

I'm an independent but I lean right.  If you look at the American Independent Party website you'll see that they seem to have a little more conservative opinions.

[Tick]

Left or Right. Make your choice and draw your weapon!
The joke is on us when we buy into a simply Black or White stance.
Wisdom is slowly leading down a path that has made me examine both sides or any argument and not firming standing on one side or the other.
That is the deception created by both parties and there media cohorts, and it has been working to perfection.
When America opens there eyes and realizes this, maybe politics will change?
Probably not.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Never. Gonna. Happen.

Politicians' careers depend on the division that a two-party system creates among the general populace.  The elected officials are going to make damn sure that a shade of gray NEVER has the option of winning an election.  It will always be black or white.

[Tick]

Never. Gonna. Happen.

Politicians' careers depend on the division that a two-party system creates among the general populace.  The elected officials are going to make damn sure that a shade of gray NEVER has the option of winning an election.  It will always be black or white.

As a whole, yes. We as individuals have a choice to not paint ourselves into a corner and can examine both sides of any issue. That is all I'm saying.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Gotcha.  We have to try to take the black and white we're force-fed and see the grey that results from combining the two in some fashion.

[Tick]

Gotcha.  We have to try to take the black and white we're force-fed and see the grey that results from combining the two in some fashion.

I just personally had a light go on recently (LIGHT BULB!)that showed me how dangerous it is to just wholeheartedly accept one point of view without at least examining the other. That's what both sides want us to do, and its a bad idea to fall in love with an ideology so much you are unwilling to hear another point of view.