Friday, November 10, 2006

Where do you stand politically???

"How you expect me to be drug-free/
When George Bush ain't never did shyt for me/
Follow me home and tap my phone/
What happened to my freedom of speech?/"


-- Young Jeezy
A friend of mine emailed me this test yesterday. In her words:
"Like many Black Marylanders, I had a moment of hesitation before the recent elections. Should I vote for the Black Republican or the White Democrat? This confusion made me realize that I never really acknowledged my personal political views and always supported one party (granted, I still support that party and I'm pleased with the election results). So I did a web search and found an excellent on-line quiz to help me 'find myself' in the political arena. The site is very informal but asks pointed questions to help you see where your views fit in our democracy.
So, I took THE TEST and found out that I have Democratic beliefs. This wasn't a real surprise, but it was an interesting process.

The questions definitely make you think about how you really feel about certain issues. I suggest you all take a few minutes at some point to take the test. If not to see where you stand politically, then just to enlighten yourself about some of the issues that determine one's politcal stance.

I've been a bit discouraged by the political process in general over the past few years. But the older I get and the more educated I become on how things work in the "real world" I realize that WE have to be engaged in politics or some wrongs will never be right and some things will always be dictated to us with our implied consent. Meaning, by not being politically active, you are implicitly consenting to whatever political changes are made and eventually enforced upon you. At least if you get involved and let your voice be heard, you will not be compliant without having the chance to be defiant.
FYI - Some of the latter questions are dating-based so don't be surprised. The site is okcupid.com...LOL.

6 comments:

T.a.c.D said...

I took the test and received these results:
Social Moderate (55% permissive)and an...Economic Liberal
(18% permissive)You are best described as a: Democrat

I honestly think I am more independant than anything...I don't just vote for the Black candidate, NOR will I just vote for the Democratic candidate...I am all about voting for the person that I honestly believe has the community in which I live (MD/PG County) bests interests at hand...This election was, like your friend said, a real test to evaluate where we all stand politically in the process. I agree that we DO have to become involved and make our needs known to the elected officals. I think that the American people stood up and spoke this election all over the country with the Congressional and Senatoral elections...so in all this election was democracy at work, which is the first time I have seen this in a while...(since Bush "took" office)
This is a good post

Anonymous said...

I think as Black folks we're brought up in environments where we have some sort of subconscious allegiance to the Democratic party. That is, until we get older and can understand the way things work a bit better and start really looking at who's addressing the issues that affect us.

This test made me evaluate some things that I had never really thought about before and I think that's good. It definitely made me happy that I didn't turn up a Republican though...LOL. I would have been ashamed. But then again, that's because of the fact that as a young black male I've been brainwashed in a sense to think that being a Republican is not an option.

I am still a bit indifferent towards some aspects of politics but as I learn more, I am sure I will start to be more active and have a vested interest across the board.

Lawrenorder said...

The cool thing about the test was that it wasn't based necessarily on your political beliefs. It was really, 'here's something that happens in the world. how do you feel about it?'

That being said I'm a Centrist.

Anonymous said...

I agree Lauren...Centrist...What's that? I have an idea but?????

Lawrenorder said...

For the most part Centrism is being in the middle of the political debate relative to where you are and relative to the issue. For example, I live in a town that's a cross between a liberal moderate and a progressive. In theory, as a centrist in this area my views would been seen as liberal in most other places, but since I'm not too far one way or the other, here I'm a centrist.

In actuality, I am more of an absolute centrist. Depending on the issue I could come out on the left or right, capitalist or socialist, but never too far in any direction. Which I'm kind of excited about because it just supports my general spazzy nature and means I'm almost always middle of the road. I mean, there's got to be an upside to seeing all sides of an issue, right?!

Anonymous said...

Cool. I got you now.