Cenk Uygur, at the Huffington Post, has an encouraging piece in which he points out the foolishness of labeling onself a “conservative” or a “liberal”:
Some people who have commented on my posts have wondered whether I am a liberal or a conservative because honestly in my writings sometimes both labels come up. The fact is I am neither. I believe in this crazy philosophy called — the bounds of reason.
When taxes for the highest bracket were at 70%, that was outside the bounds of reason. I supported Ronald Reagan. When liberals called for unilateral disarmament, that was outside the bounds of reason. I supported Republicans. When campus liberals (who obviously didn’t understand the term) were for curtailing freedom of speech in the name of harassment codes, that was outside the bounds of reason. I supported conservatives.
When Republicans claim they want to drown government in the bathtub, that is outside the bounds of reason. I support the Democrats. When George W. Bush takes us into a senseless war against a country that did not attack us, that is outside the bounds of reason. I support his opposition. When conservatives argue that deficits don’t matter, then I’m no longer a conservative.
What would our political discourse look like if a critical mass of voters tired of the media-defined labels and issues and started to think rationally about what’s wrong and what needs to be done to make that right?
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