My views in a Venn…
My core values and beliefs have evolved over time, and I feel like they have finally matured to a relatively concrete state. I am a registered Republican, but my values and beliefs do not quite fit under the “True Conservative” umbrella. Likewise, while many of my ideals are inline with the Libertarian party, certain stances they take (such as their take on defense) are unacceptable to me. Therefore, I am probably closer to a mix between Conservative Republican and Libertarian, so to label myself as one or the other just isn’t plausible. Below I will present my stances on the three major political areas (the three I find to be the major ones anyways). Before analyzing each one individually, I have provided a Venn diagram of the three areas (social issues, economic issues, and defense issues).
Fiscally Conservative
I believe in the free market, with as little government interference by way of regulations as possible. Economists I admire and whose ideals I adhere to are the likes of Adam Smith, Friedrich Hayek, and Milton Friedman.
Defense Hawk
I believe that the United States should at all times have a strong military willing and able to defend the homeland and assist those abroad that are too weak to defend themselves. I am not okay with looking for reasons to go to war, but I will not hesitate to pull the trigger when necessary. As President Theodore Roosevelt once said: “A good Navy is not a provocation to war. It is the surest guaranty of peace.”
Socially Moderate
Social issues are one area in which most of my beliefs are more inline with the Libertarian party. I basically take the stance of Americans should be allowed the freedom to do as they please as long as their actions do not affect others negatively (directly). Obviously this can be very subjective, but essentially I believe that the government should in no way bestow its idea of morals upon the citizens (such as the all-out blitz on American’s smoking habits). As for my choice of the term “Socially Moderate”, I feel that I definitely not socially liberal because I am an avid hunter on one hand, but am very sympathetic to animals in respects such as the mistreatment thereof (especially in the food industry). Another example that proves my moderation and lack of extremes would be that I am totally against most gun control legislation, but I can sympathize with the need to protect the fish and other aquatic life by regulations such as steel shot only requirement for hunters (duck hunters for example). I could go on and on about ways that I am socially conservative on one hand, and socially liberal on the other, but in the end you will find I am socially moderate once averaged out.
In a future post I will provide a detailed analysis of my views on all of the major topics and issues we are faced with today, but for now, this high-level overview should suffice.
