Left? Right? Thoughts on false categorization

I think that the way one person perceives another's political stance depends as much on the stance of the perceiver as on the stance of the perceived.

Oh, geez, was that a convoluted sentence or what? Sorry! try again:

The way you see me depends as much on where you are as it depends on where I am.

A little better.

I consider myself a moderate liberal. A dear friend of mine, upon seeing that, noted that she sees me as being pretty hard left. I think it's more complex than that. I also think she'd agree that it's not quite so simple..

So, some left-right issues:

ABORTION: I am in line with my Catholic faith on this issue. I am opposed to abortion. This does not necessarily imply that I am in accord with all of the individual bishops on the matter. They seem to have quite the knack for making spectacles of themselves, to no useful end.

 But, to say that I'm anti-abortion oversimplifies a complex issue. Just to recall one "But what if. . ." issue: But what if the pregnancy is the result of rape/incest? Could you allow for the possibility of abortion for that circumstance? The answer to this question would depend on the reason for your opposition to abortion. If your reason is that abortion is taking an innocent life, then you must oppose abortion even in such cases. The fact that the mother was raped, as horrible as it is, does not make the baby any less innocent. Catholicism, and most Catholics I know, would permit abortions for rape victims, but our reason for opposing abortion is different. That's too lengthy and involved a discussion for this space.

And, oh yeah, about rape: I think the penalty for a convicted rapist should be life. No parole. First offense. Few, if any, exceptions. Again, a lengthier discussion than this space allows. I may be biased - dad to 4 daughters, grandpa to 5 (soon to be 6) granddaughters - but don't most people know what "NO!!!!" means from the age of two or so?

So, am I left or am I right? Liberal or conservative?

MILITARY: I want a strong defense. I served - Navy, as you may have gathered. My son-in-law is in the Army, and deployed right now. Many in the family have served in the military. We've got all the branches except the Coast Guard covered. I don't want the U.S. to be the people who hung a sign on their fence: "Beware of dog", then thought that they didn't have to bother with the dog. That dog is noble and protects, even to the point of self-sacrifice. I am proud of my service - again, you may have gathered this - and I couldn't be prouder of my son-in-law.

I got a little irritated a few years ago.when a group of talk show hosts - all conservative - went on a tour to visit service people deployed in the Mideast. One of the big talkers said something like, "I just wanted to put on the uniform of my country. . ." Yeah, big talker. Funny thing, guy: When you were 18 or 19 and it was the time that you could serve, you were somewhere else. Chickenhawks: Cheney, Limbaugh, et al. Serving - really serving - involves a hell of a lot more than just putting on a uniform. Radio Man had no clue about that.

I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy.

I see by your outfit you are a cowboy too.

We see by our outfits that we are both cowboys.

If you get an outfit you can be a cowboy too!

So, am I left or am I right?

WAR AND PEACE: I'm opposed to preemptive war, and I have yet to hear a compelling rationale for our having gone into Iraq. Here, I'm pretty clearly on the left. I identify with Thomas Merton. I understand that some wars must be fought, but I can think of few wars which, when traced to their origins, made any sense.

INFRASTRUCTURE: I do think roads need built and repaired. I think bridges need maintained. I think schools should not be left to crumble with students still using them.

Is that left or right?

By the way, how many free market economists does it take to change a light bulb? None. Market forces will compel the bulb to change itself.  (That was a joke, son.)

I think the government should pay their bills. That, I guess, makes me left. A definition of the Tea Party: the something for nothing crowd. The crowd that expects everyone else to lose benefits but "leave my Medicare alone."

To be sure, I do lean left. My position on the death penalty is in line with the Catholic pro-life position and the U.S. bishops (opposed; I won't repeat a previous blog post here). On immigrants, we have a responsibility to be more humane and human.And I do see the responsibility of society (the collective, if you must) toward the weakest, most vulnerable of its individuals. Mom and Dad may be deadbeats, meth dealers, whatever. This does not mean their kids deserve all the worst life has to offer. (Please note that I did not say that said useless parents had a right to raise those kids. Separate issue.) If you're going to be anti-abortion, you must come to terms with the fact that the kid you didn't want to abort deserves at least a fair chance at a decent life. There's no point in avoiding abortion if you're sentencing the baby to a short life, or to repeating the whole cycle. Again, all in line with my faith.

Labels are cheap. Labels are easy. Labels stop thought processes. Someone labeled Obama a  Socialist, and by golly he was - even if he wasn't - because once the label is applied, no further thought is needed for some folks. But, it's always, always more complicated than that.

Am I left or am I right? Before answering, make sure you understand your own perspective. Maybe it's best just to ditch labeling altogether, but this is the Internet age.

Thanks for hanging out for a few. As always, I'd love your thoughts.