Your Politicial Slant?

BhikkhuJayasara

I do not want this to turn into a turf war.. I wish we could just make a poll.. but I'd love to see a study in terms of Buddhist practitioners political slant.. something tells me most would be democrat/liberal/left... but I'm sure we can break some stereotypes .

Me personally... I think I was always destined for the middle way lol.. I was never left or right, I disagree with both. Just like I came to find Buddhism that fit me.. Libertarianism(http://www.lp.org/introduction/what-is-the-libertarian-party) fits me as well. For those who don't know. The Libertarian party is the only part that has it's members follow the non-agression principle. It is also the only party that believes in total economic and social freedom, where as the right believes in full economic freedom and controlled social freedom.. and the left believes in full social freedom and controlled economic.


so what is everyone's political slant.. and how do you think that connects to your choice of following the path of dhamma? This isn't for debating who is better so lets keep any political arguments out of this.

federica

....Is my business.

I vote in secret, so I'm not about to make any revelations now.

But that's just me, avoiding a turf war....

vinlyn

Middle to slightly conservative Democrat, although my exact stance depends on the issue (e.g., in limited situation I support the death penalty).

BhikkhuJayasara

federica said:

....Is my business.

I vote in secret, so I'm not about to make any revelations now.

But that's just me, avoiding a turf war....

as we all should

These things(politics, religion, employment) all "color" us .. "define" us.. effect our perceptions and world view, at least until we are all stream winners and have been able to lay it down.

We all come from very diverse backgrounds to the dhamma.. just like in the time of the Buddha. Us few dhamma friends who practice together :P

BhanteLucky

I go for Direct Democracy. It's not left or right, it's true democracy.

Direct democracy is a form of democracy in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives.

I also think abolishing the legal system, lawyers, and judges is a great idea, and instead have large randomly-selected juries who hear cases and freely make up their own minds, like in Athens.

(My political slant is Radical Left, Radical Green... but I know that's a minority view, so I would support a new system of government, rather than a left/green government.)

DaftChris

I suppose I'm a moderate independent.

I hold mostly liberal, and a few conservative views; and I vote based on who I believe best represents said views.

vinlyn

JamestheGiant said:

I go for Direct Democracy. It's not left or right, it's true democracy.

Direct democracy is a form of democracy in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives.

...

And that's working out real well for California, isn't it?

Jeffrey

I'm an anti-republican

BhikkhuJayasara

vinlyn said:

JamestheGiant said:

I go for Direct Democracy. It's not left or right, it's true democracy.

Direct democracy is a form of democracy in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives.

...

And that's working out real well for California, isn't it?



other then the order of the Bhikkhus and a short period in ancient greece.. I don't think there has ever been a true democracy on the planet.... especially not California haha.

Jason

As most are probably aware, I'm relatively far left on the American political spectrum. If I had to label myself, I'd say 'democratic socialist' is an apt a label as any. As for how that connects to my Buddhist practice, see this.

BhanteLucky

vinlyn said:

JamestheGiant said:

I go for Direct Democracy.

And that's working out real well for California, isn't it?

Hehe, you're right, that's a real mess. All right, something else then.

BhikkhuJayasara

Jason said:

As most are probably aware, I'm relatively far left on the American political spectrum. If I had to label myself, I'd say 'democratic socialist' is an apt a label as any. As for how that connects to my Buddhist practice, see this.

I find it ironic how the further I get into my practice the less political I become.. and he became political when he found Buddhism lol.... interesting.

RebeccaS

I'm with Federica. Keeping it on the down low, though I think most people around here know which way I vote.

I was thinking about this yesterday though... We vote in secret, so what's the point in political signs in front of houses? I would never put a political sign on my lawn... One of those "vote for X" things... Why do people do it? I don't give a crap who you're voting for and it makes your house look ugly. Can anyone tell me what purpose they serve?

BhikkhuJayasara

RebeccaS said:

I'm with Federica. Keeping it on the down low, though I think most people around here know which way I vote.

I was thinking about this yesterday though... We vote in secret, so what's the point in political signs in front of houses? I would never put a political sign on my lawn... One of those "vote for X" things... Why do people do it? I don't give a crap who you're voting for and it makes your house look ugly. Can anyone tell me what purpose they serve?

I just wish more then 20% of the people voted :P... no president in my lifetime has ever been elected by "the majority" thats for sure.

and as far as politics, it's a personal choice whether you want to be open about it or not. The voting in private is so that there is no form of intimidation(even though the parties still do stuff like that now.. like the black panther party int he last two elections) or anything of the sort. From the very beginning when parties formed people have fought, debated, and voted, back and forth.

because I wanted to get into politics to help change things and educate people to get rid of their apathy, it's always been a very open thing for me.. then again I'm pretty much an open book in all aspects of my life.

RebeccaS

Well, if aggression is a problem (which I believe it could be in some places) what's with all the signs?

Takuan

I have no political affiliation at the moment.

Bunks

I have tended to be left leaning but am considering not voting anymore.

It is compulsory to vote in Australia so you have to go and have your name marked off the roll then you are free to leave.

I like the idea of adding Buddha Shakyamuni to the list of candidates and putting a 1 beside it. That would be just wasting the time of the people counting votes though so I probably won't.

ThaiLotus

I would say right leaning independent. But since I been studying the dharma I've been tracking to the left ever so slightly. I really try to see both sides and buddhism has helped me with this. Can we start a Middle Way Party?

karasti

Liberal, and I align the most with the green party, though I voted for Obama because I really like him as a person.

@RebeccaS On signs, I think people do it for different reasons. I don't think anyone puts up a sign hoping to convince someone else. More so to show support. I don't typically put up candidate signs, but I did put up a sign about the gay marriage amendment. It's an issue very close to me and very important to me, so I put up a sign to show my support for the gay community, including our neighbors who thanked me regularly for it. It's not like Obama is going to drive by my house and stop in to thank me, lol, so I don't see the point of that myself. But, I have different motivations than others, I'm sure.

MaryAnne

Lefty-Liberal-Progressive-- who believes in using our government like a co-op. We all contribute in relative fairness, (graduated flat tax % rates) and in turn the government uses that money to provide a well maintained infrastructure, FREE education (K through college), national security, and a judicial system whose priority is to uphold civil rights, the constitution, and freedom from religions; instead of micro-managing our personal lives and women's reproductive choices.... I also believe Lobbying and corporate sponsorship of elected candidates should be abolished- completely. Politicians should be governing according to the majority will of the citizens.

caz

MaryAnne said:

Lefty-Liberal-Progressive-- who believes in using our government like a co-op. We all contribute in relative fairness, (graduated flat tax % rates) and in turn the government uses that money to provide a well maintained infrastructure, FREE education (K through college), national security, and a judicial system whose priority is to uphold civil rights, the constitution, and freedom from religions; instead of micro-managing our personal lives and women's reproductive choices.... I also believe Lobbying and corporate sponsorship of elected candidates should be abolished- completely. Politicians should be governing according to the majority will of the citizens.

Sometimes the Majority is incorrect, Principles should be the basis of governance rather then the will of the Majority.

MaryAnne

caz said:

MaryAnne said:

Lefty-Liberal-Progressive-- who believes in using our government like a co-op. We all contribute in relative fairness, (graduated flat tax % rates) and in turn the government uses that money to provide a well maintained infrastructure, FREE education (K through college), national security, and a judicial system whose priority is to uphold civil rights, the constitution, and freedom from religions; instead of micro-managing our personal lives and women's reproductive choices.... I also believe Lobbying and corporate sponsorship of elected candidates should be abolished- completely. Politicians should be governing according to the majority will of the citizens.

Sometimes the Majority is incorrect, Principles should be the basis of governance rather then the will of the Majority.

Yes you're absolutely right, when it comes to civil rights, equal rights and those established principles already covered in the constitution and Bill of Rights, etc. majority shouldn't rule - otherwise the minority will always get the raw deal!

But when it comes to things outside those black and white laws and constitutional boundaries, you know, the 'grey areas' like legalizing marijuana or decriminalizing all hard drug use, (addiction is a health issue, shouldn't be a crime), and all those other "nanny laws"; implementing a national health care system, going to war - or pulling out of one; what the people want should carry the most weight. Then our elected officials can bring in the experts and experienced advisers to decide how the will of the people can be best achieved and still be within the boundaries of the spirit of our constitution.
IMO, we have allowed the dissolution of way too many personal freedoms in this country.
We need to seriously reduce the number of government laws/regulations and restrictions that intrude into our personal lives and decisions down to about ... well.... almost none.

vinlyn

^^ I don't really agree. The "will of the people" is often decided merely by their pocketbook and their own selfish principles. And, it also becomes a question of states making decisions or us being a nation. California does the most of what you recommend...and it's a total mess.

BhikkhuJayasara

now now.. if a big time political guy like me can avoid debates(oh there is so much I'd like to post in response to some of these threads :P) ... we all can haha.

taiyaki

so liberal it hurts.

ecdrewello1

I was born and raised a Conservative Evanglical Christian... then I went to college. In Upsate NY I'm now considered to be a hair-shy from a communist... in Boston I'm considered a moderate. lol

vinlyn

Hey...where in upstate NY????

Steve_B

I'm pretty far left.

relay

I make Dennis Kucinich look like a fascist.

MaryAnne

relay said:

I make Dennis Kucinich look like a fascist.

I looked up Dennis Kucinich ... Now I get it! LOL and a :thumbsup: for you!

David

I'm a democratic socialist. The closest thing to that is the NDP here so that's how I vote.

lotuspadma

In practical terms I'm a democratic socialist as well. In idealistic terms I'm a green socialist. Or better yet, an eco-communalist. I'd really like to live in one of those ecovilles. But I don't actually believe that would work in a larger scale. Too much greed going around. My political orientation has turned from moderate to far left after being inspired by my Marxist History teacher at high school, especially after watching The Corporation in class. I was a passionate radical socialist before actually starting to meditate. From then on, I started caring less and less about politics. There is no point in trying to radically change the political paradigm while people are still virtually the same. Nowadays I'm still left, and though I think it is invaluable to fight for change, it should be gradual as to not cause suffering, like it happened in the USSR and other places where violent revolution occurred.

seeker242

Never felt any particular affinity with a political party, this is interesting though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_libertarianism

Vastmind

It's my understanding that the 1st Amendment promises
my ability to say

" I'm too damn disgusted with Congress
and Washington right now, to think about
my political slants." :grumble:

Oh...this connects to my practice choice because
being disgusted leads to suffering.
It also leads to change.....for the better, sometimes.
Im not giving up yet. lololol

TheEccentric

I support the UK's party UKIP (UK Independence party) because I think we should leave the European Union, I'm not old enough to vote now but they have my vote when I'm older.

caz

TheEccentric said:

I support the UK's party UKIP (UK Independence party) because I think we should leave the European Union, I'm not old enough to vote now but they have my vote when I'm older.

Hopefully we shall have left the EU amicably by then and simply be a trading partner.

ThailandTom

I myself have never really felt I would put my full trust and following in any established party when I was in the UK, in Thailand I cannot vote but even more so here I would not be able to say this or that (however I do not understand why they voted in a sister of an ex-leader who was ousted due to a coup some years before). Looking at the US I cannot see myself following any of the 2 main parties as it ends up in a similar fashion which ever way you vote.

I believe in a swift change in how politics operates or a total revolution because that is how I feel. I do not strongly campaign for this and nor do I attach much to it, I let politics go on as they do and give little energy or attention to them as I see all too often it brings out the worst in people.

TheEccentric

I fogot to mention, I'm anti-Labour (UK)

ZenBadger

I am a socialist and a green although I have now left the Green Party as it isn't as socialist as it used to be. I was a teenager through the Thatcher years and saw members of my family beaten and bloodied by her uniformed thugs during the miner's strike so I have an extreme aversion to the right wing.

Jimyo

I put myself firmly on the left. Although (in the UK at least) the lefty parties are much less left and the righties a lot less right than when I was a littl'un. I do vote on principle as untold numbers of people have died for that basic right but I don't expect politics to have any answers to any real problems; those answers can only come from compassion.

rocala

Left and Green.

zombiegirl

I'm extremely liberal for obvious reasons.

Judging by the trend here, I wonder if Buddhism attracts liberals or creates them.

BhikkhuJayasara

zombiegirl said:

I'm extremely liberal for obvious reasons.

Judging by the trend here, I wonder if Buddhism attracts liberals or creates them.

I don't think it creates liberals.. because imo I don't see much in common with what the buddha taught and pure liberalism. I think in the west Liberals may be more the type of person looking for something different so they are exploring something like Buddhism. Also of course the roots of Buddhism in the west stem from the hippie culture to begin with.

then you have people like me who are neither left not right who are/were also searching( and I see so much in common between buddhism and Libertarianism.. its crazy). In the end I really don't know if political slant REALLY has much to do with our Buddhist practice at all.

Deepankar

Buddhism is about knowing karmic factors of materialism, health, wellness and applying loving kindness wisely in the world of desire. It does not control social joys and peace. If it causes harmful effect to the society, like heroine etc, there is a need to handle it.

lobster

A well-balanced person is one who finds both sides of an issue laughable. — Herbert Procknow

ThailandTom

I have mentioned it before but what did the Buddhism say about the business of politics? I remember reading something about that but cannot find or remember exactly what it said. I am almost sure it was something along the lines of he considered it unskilful to get involved with. I am not saying because you may be a Buddhist means you have to follow everything he said right down to the bone, find your own way of course, but I do take this stance myself personally as whenever I look around at people who are involved with politics, they are even corrupt, age badly due to stress, lie and the worst parts of their personality tend to come out as you need to take 'sides'.

vinlyn

^^ Buddha's environment -- where kings ruled -- was not exactly conducive towards citizen participation. Not sure those times were at all comparable to today.

ThailandTom

vinlyn said:

^^ Buddha's environment -- where kings ruled -- was not exactly conducive towards citizen participation. Not sure those times were at all comparable to today.

As much as this is true, I speak for myself in this instance and anybody who lives where they cannot vote due to not being from that country, or there being no voting system in place, which is a lot of people. The entire world is not the United States of America. Furthermore, just like what can I do to save the world, what will my one vote do even if I could vote? I get so opinionated and worked up by people and their opposing views but it comes down to 4 years and my one vote. That is unless you form some kind of group/gang. I have never voted, here obviously I cannot and back in the UK I would not like to be linked to any established party, the same goes for the US, they all stink. So on that note I stick to what I consider and that is, leave the politics to the hot heads, I will just live in whatever country I wish and go with the flow.

BhikkhuJayasara

ThailandTom said:

vinlyn said:

^^ Buddha's environment -- where kings ruled -- was not exactly conducive towards citizen participation. Not sure those times were at all comparable to today.

As much as this is true, I speak for myself in this instance and anybody who lives where they cannot vote due to not being from that country, or there being no voting system in place, which is a lot of people. The entire world is not the United States of America. Furthermore, just like what can I do to save the world, what will my one vote do even if I could vote? I get so opinionated and worked up by people and their opposing views but it comes down to 4 years and my one vote. That is unless you form some kind of group/gang. I have never voted, here obviously I cannot and back in the UK I would not like to be linked to any established party, the same goes for the US, they all stink. So on that note I stick to what I consider and that is, leave the politics to the hot heads, I will just live in whatever country I wish and go with the flow.

with regards to the vote thing I will speak, since to most people even though I've voted in every election(federal, state, county) I could in my life.. to most none of my votes ever "counted" because I've never voted republican or democrat except one time in my life. As a libertarian(3rd largest party behind coke and pepsi) I get that a lot.

The way I see it is that I am LUCKY to be able to vote because the founding fathers fought for me to be able to have these rights (the constitution doesn't GIVE us rights, we have them naturally, but government is force and we have to keep that in check).. it is the highest duty I have as a citizen, and I vote for what I think is right. To me that is more important and means more then" well I guess I should vote democrat because X, or Republican because Y.

is it idealist drivel? yeah probably LOL.. but then again I always was an Idealist.. I think thats a big part of how I came to Buddhism.

vinlyn

Jayantha said:

ThailandTom said:

vinlyn said:

^^ Buddha's environment -- where kings ruled -- was not exactly conducive towards citizen participation. Not sure those times were at all comparable to today.

As much as this is true, I speak for myself in this instance and anybody who lives where they cannot vote due to not being from that country, or there being no voting system in place, which is a lot of people. The entire world is not the United States of America. Furthermore, just like what can I do to save the world, what will my one vote do even if I could vote? I get so opinionated and worked up by people and their opposing views but it comes down to 4 years and my one vote. That is unless you form some kind of group/gang. I have never voted, here obviously I cannot and back in the UK I would not like to be linked to any established party, the same goes for the US, they all stink. So on that note I stick to what I consider and that is, leave the politics to the hot heads, I will just live in whatever country I wish and go with the flow.

with regards to the vote thing I will speak, since to most people even though I've voted in every election(federal, state, county) I could in my life.. to most none of my votes ever "counted" because I've never voted republican or democrat except one time in my life. As a libertarian(3rd largest party behind coke and pepsi) I get that a lot.

The way I see it is that I am LUCKY to be able to vote because the founding fathers fought for me to be able to have these rights (the constitution doesn't GIVE us rights, we have them naturally, but government is force and we have to keep that in check).. it is the highest duty I have as a citizen, and I vote for what I think is right. To me that is more important and means more then" well I guess I should vote democrat because X, or Republican because Y.

is it idealist drivel? yeah probably LOL.. but then again I always was an Idealist.. I think thats a big part of how I came to Buddhism.

:thumbup:

And I'd much rather be at least somewhat of an idealist than whatever the alternative is.

sndymorn

@jayantha. The "hippie culture" while it made use of Buddhism was not the genesis of its roots in the West. I believe London had a temple in the early part of the twentieth century and spread the Buddhist word to New York , San Francisco , Los Angeles, and other major cities so that by 1950 the bones of the Buddhist movement in the West were fully in place. Those original populizers of Buddhism looked, and still look ,askance at the hippie revolution counting them , generally, as posers.