March 11^th, 2009

I have to keep saying this. I am sorry for repeating myself (I've been writing these rants since the Fall of 2003, so it's bound to happen...)

I am not left wing and I am not right wing. I keep telling people that. But then the left-leaning people keep looking at me as though I'm some sort of right wing pundit, and the right wingers look at me as though I am some sort of tree-hugging granola head. I am neither.

I've always seen the left-wing/right-wing dichotomy as a convenient set of words to hang a lot of different ideas on that otherwise have no political charge. And I think ultra-left and ultra-right are both bullshit. I think that opposite ends of the spectrum are actually identical in implementation (they just use different vocabulary).

In fact, the only differences that I see are thus:

	How to feel good about yourself	How to feel bad	Emotional identifier
Left Wing	Remind yourself how awesome you are every time you buy your no-low half-caff soy latte with nutmeg and a dab of non-dairy creamer in a recycled cup (and didn't leave your Volvo idling while you cantered into the free-market coffee shop to buy it)	When reality intrudes	Guilt
Right Wing	Be smug about how common sense you are; you've got the whole world figured out and if everyone just listened to you—or at least thought like you—there'd be no problems from those whiny little liberals; the market tells the story: the strong survive, the whiners get bulldozed	When reality intrudes	Fear

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