Survey: Where do you get your information from and what is your political leaning?

When I was younger I was a liberal but have changed over time to what I call a practical conservative. I don’t think I fit into one side or the other overall. I didn’t get my B.S. degrees until later than most (late 30’s) and I think that is most likely responsible for the change. That and the seeming shift in liberal views from supporting our country (a.k.a JFK) to blaming our society for everything bad and the promotion of “victimhood†as a way of life. It just gets so old. Some of the posts in this topic are examples that it doesn’t have to be that way (F8L and Livelychick, I admire your courage).

I define a practical conservative as one that believes that we should have as little government as possible, but that government also has a role and responsibility to “promote the general welfare†of the society. That includes things like building roads, maintaining a standing army, etc, but it also means influencing the status quo to help citizens have a better life. Programs like loans for education, funding for scientific research and development etc. I also think the closer our government is to the people it represents the better government we will have. Meaning, I would like for states to expand their role in our lives and the federal should reduce its’ role. It doesn’t sound practical, but I think it is more effective when the people making laws are held accountable for what the government does. That is MUCH easier to do at the state level than the federal level.

I get most of my basic news from the internet sources now. CNN, MSNBC, FOX, and the local paper to get the basics about the stories. Then I read columnists’ to get different viewpoints on what is going on. I don’t have enough time to read books like I used to. When I did it was more in the scientific/historic realm than political. I have a deep distrust of MSM news though, because they all seem to have an agenda they are always promoting and I don’t feel like I am getting a complete or objective view. CBS’s fake documents are an example of that.

 

Hmmmmm...

Fiscal conservative. Big on pay-as-we-go.

Social Liberal. Lots of confidence in people as individuals (if they're not manipulated too much by mass media or politicians).

I'm currently reading 'The Death and Life of Great American Cities' and 'Silent Spring.' Also, 'Weather Flying' (I'm working towards a CFI rating). For news and current information, I tend to check as many different sources as I happen upon.

I don't own a TV, though, so the only video I see is via the Internet. I've found that reading news works better for me, anyway; it tends to be a bit more in-depth and I'm not distracted by production values, or the anchor's being prettier and younger than I.

I also enjoy researching issues which interest me, and then finding a book or two which can tell me more...I don't claim this will make me an expert, but it's at least an attempt on my part to locate a bit of the 'bedrock' which differing viewpoints might share (or not), and get past the sensational aspects of the day's news. It's fun to do something other than sit back and ingest news in a passive manner.

It's also cool to read publications intended for audiences which I don't normally consider myself a member of. I'll even examine the ads, just to learn more about the target audience. Sometimes this can be frustrating, though, if it goes against what I believe, but I do my best to take away what I can. Even things like, say, catalogues from religious colleges, for example, are worth a look.

I also ask some of my expat friends about the perception of America 'over there.' Yes, the observations are of course colored by their own feelings, but it can provide an interesting observation on how lots of little changes can add up to big, substantive shifts in public policy.

Trying to get past the media being the message.

 

First, F8L, interesting thread.

I've never found a category that encompasses my leanings, although I will most likely fall more into one from what follows.

Pro-choice, pro-lifestyle, pro-accountability (from the child up to the corporation -- that includes our government corporation), pro-environment.

I would be pro-death penalty if I felt our judicial system was more fair and less easily manipulated. I believe we need a comprehensive reform of our health care system; the only ones benefitting from the current systme are the insurance companies and the uber-rich. I believe in less government, and don't believe they have any business in a woman's womb, our bedrooms, nor our houses of worship. I don't believe the largest single real estate owner in the world should enjoy tax-exempt status while people remain homeless.

Our political system needs an enema. The most qualified candidates never see the light of day. Political contributions, PACs, etc., should be abolished; they are nothing more than bribes. Have the networks provide equal time to all candidtates, sponsor REAL debates (one or two topics, more than 60 seconds to respond, etc.), the internet is perfect for this. I have seen the differences between republicans and democrats over the years narrow to the point that I cannot tell the difference anymore. The dems act like the reps and vice-versa once they're in office (often times during the race itself). I cannot in good conscience vote for anyone who cannot see past their religious book of choice to recognize scientific facts.

Our economic system is reaching critical mass. It is unsustainable over the future. The stock market seems to me to be nothing more than legalized gambling; a corporation's success is determined by them reaching certain benchmarks that "experts" think they should achieve. I think the term "success" needs to be redefined going forward. I think CEO's should be held to greater accountability, and their "success" should be evaluated based on their long-term results rather than short-term gains that look good on the books but ultimately are destroying the economy.

I think we have become a nation of victims, with little accountability for our actions. Most of the problems I encounter on a daily basis are directly related to this lack of accountability, and our government and corporate structure are equally guilty.

My sources are online news, NPR radio, books and magazines. I will not read newspapers except for local events and believe they are, rightly, becoming a thing of the past. I view anything coming over the network news channels with great suspicion.

 

I get my information from the Wall Street Journal, the local paper, online news services and Fox News, which I find fair and balanced.

I find the "mainstream media" grosssly biased, and it makes me sick to watch or read.

I get additional information and enjoy the commentary from some blogs, including InstaPundit and Little Green Footballs.

I hope that I interpret and use this information through my Christian faith and understanding. I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, written down by fallible people and interpretted by fallible people. When I read it and interpret it, it is once again being read and interpretted by a fallible person. I believe in every word of the Apostle's Creed, and I also believe in dinosaurs and evolution. Science reveals what God has made and often how He made it.

I embrace the Reformed Tradition and am an active member of a Presbyterian-USA church. I read a lot of Richard Foster, C. S. Lewis and right now am immersed in The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard. This is a fascinating book that urges us to become disciples of Christ. Willard thinks most churches today have it wrong -- on one side they practice the religion of sin management, and on the other side, the religion of social justice. All we're supposed to do is follow Jesus.

I believe Jesus made people laugh, and that God has a tremendous sense of humor.

There are a lot of things I don't know the answer to. I think those "Left Behind" books are atrociously written and terrible theologically. I do not believe that the Book of Revelation is a code we are to break in order to foretell the end of the world.

Jesus told us we would not know when it was coming, and I believe him. He did tell us how to live, so I try to follow that path, frequently in error but redeemed through grace.

I am conservative and nearly always vote Republican. Most of my friends are liberal, but we somehow manage to get along.

 

Must not debate....urrgh..

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(micheal @ May 15 2007, 06:11 PM) [snapback]442781[/snapback]</div>

Couldn't have said it better.

Jesus replied, "The first is this: 'Hear O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'

Mark 12:29-30 (added emphasis mine)

Views: "conservative," generally. (Work for what you get, bear responsibility for what you do, respect the rights of others, respect the authority of God, give thanks for what you have, be humble about who and what you are.)

News: myriad internet sources, including online versions of classical "print media." PC is my liberal counterpoint.

(Other) Formative Sources: mostly books

Aldous Huxley
Brave New World
After Many a Summer Dies the Swan

C S Lewis
The Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength)
Mere Christianity
The Abolition of Man
The Great Divorce
God in the Dock (think "witness stand," not a place to tie up a boat)

Donald DeMarco/Benjamin Wiker
Architects of the Culture of Death

Hugh Gregory Gallagher
By Trust Betrayed: Patients, Physicians, and the License to Kill in the Third Reich

Core Belief: Humans, although "built on a biological platform," are not primarily biological entities.

 

Are questions (not rhetorical ones) allowed? It's your thread, F8L, so you make the call...