Tuesday, September 11, 2001

Be a rebel, think for yourself, avoid labels
by John Araujo
Skiff Staff

Recently I was asked which way my political leanings go. I’m not particularly fond of this question, because I can’t give a straight response like “liberal” or “conservative.”

Heck, I can’t even give “moderate” as a response, and you’ll see why in a moment.

Here’s my situation: I oppose legalized abortion, I believe in personal responsibility and I think school vouchers should be made available to the poor. These are considered conservative views.

And yet, I am also against the death penalty, I believe in certain forms of affirmative action and I am against making English the official language of the U.S. I also think the rich get way too many tax breaks. These are considered liberal views.

So what would you call me? I seem to be both liberal and conservative, and yet not really either one. I can’t be a moderate, because a moderate falls in between the two viewpoints, and clearly, I don’t just take the middle ground. But wait; let’s confuse this a little more!

I am opposed to legalized euthanasia, but it hasn’t been decided yet on whether this is a liberal or conservative value. I am uncertain as of yet on the gun control issue, but I certainly don’t want guns in the hands of whackos. As far as globalization, I can see the good and the bad of it, so the jury is still out on this one for me.

So now what would you call me? Perhaps dazed and confused? I favor the term independent. The reason I wrote this column is because my experience is very common. The majority of us don’t fall neatly into one side of the political spectrum or the other.

And you know what? There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, I would admire you more if you stick to your guns instead of changing your views only to better comply with a political ideology.

And now, on to the editorial cartoon: Have you decided on the political leanings of the woman in the cartoon? The answer is: e.) none of the above.

She is only a cartoon in a newspaper!

Okay, it was a bit of a trick question, but there was a point to it. So let’s see what your answer says about you.

If you answered a or b, then you are probably an a or b yourself, and you most likely make a habit of judging people as liberal or conservative based on their appearance.

This means you could have a future as a political activist or a talk show host.

If you settled on c or d just to decide something, then you are probably a moderate. That means that you decided on something without really deciding anything. This shows that you could have a future as a politician.

If you answered d because you just read that I consider myself an independent, and so to make yourself sound cool you voted to be like me, then you could have a future as one of my mindless minions or bootlicking lackeys. If that is the case, submit your application by e-mailing me at the address below. I have spoken.

If you answered e, then you are probably an independent-minded person, and your future can range from being a scholar, a columnist or a manufacturer of antenna balls. It also means that you’re smarter than you look (we independent types get that a lot).

The point of the cartoon was to demonstrate how politicizing can get to the point of seeing it in everything, even a cartoon meant to be vague and apolitical. When politicizing gets to that point, dialogue, debate and freethinking become casualties.

Sadly, the one area that is supposed to be a haven for debate and freethinking has instead become a bastion for mindless political correctness, and that would be our colleges and universities.

The shame of our modern colleges is many students graduate even more blind and closed-minded than when they started. So that’s my lesson to you, men and women. Be a rebel and think for yourself.

John P. Araujo is a master of liberal arts major from Fort Worth.
He can be contacted at (j.araujo@tcu.edu).