Reply #5: labels ... [View All]

[welshTerrier2]

you spend too much time looking at the pretty pictures on the package and you never really get to find out what's inside ...

the only label we really need is: anti-republican ...

now, having said that, if pressed to talk about some key differences we might have among those who support democrats, i would divide the differences along cultural, economic, governmental and foreign policy lines ..

i'll just list a few issues here ... you can stick on your own labels ... it's not an exact science; it's a continuum ...

cultural: church and state, abortion, gays, legalized pot, etc.
economic: globalization and free trade, social security, healthcare, workers' rights, living wage, corporate "personhood", materialism
governmental: campaign finance, lobbyists, no bid contracts, equal media time, third parties in debates, civil liberties
foreign policy: justification for war, propping up dictators who "support us", exploiting weaker nations, building alliances, use and abuse of military force, global responsibility

i suspect if you go issue by issue, the simplistic divide between left and right, or certainly between left democrat and moderate democrat begins to break down ... perhaps it is true to say that "left" means seeking greater change and center means more tolerant of the status quo ... the bottom line is that labels hide what's inside ... you're always better off getting into the real details than falling prey to the laziness of labels ...