Why I'm a Liberal

Monday, June 26, 2017

I've been giving a lot of thought lately to the "why" of my politics. It's not enough to simply state "I'm a liberal" or "I'm a conservative." Since I live in a representative democracy, I have an obligation to understand thoroughly why I believe what I do, and which of my values drives my decision making process.

One of the reasons I believe this to be true is that politics are a very emotional business. People vote for who they like, or who's like them, or who shares their faith tradition. None of these reasons are good enough when the stakes are so high. There has to be some guiding principles that can help me make my decisions about candidates and issues with a rubric that isn't based on emotional response. And while I have always tried to be a very informed voter, and have attempted to reduce the amount of emotional influence I subject myself to, I have never actually analyzed my thoughts and values with the critical eye I apply to other issues.

And the answers I came up with? I believe in the categorical imperative, and I'm an adult.

For those not familiar with Immanuel Kant, the categorical imperative is defined as "act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law."

It's a lot more complicated than that, of course, but this definition will do for the purposes of this discussion.

When making my decisions about politics, I ask myself, "Is this the best option for everyone, or just for me? If everyone votes the way I do, what would happen to the world, the country, my state?" The answer to that question has led me to vote for tax increases, universal health care in Colorado (which will cost me far more than my current corporate coverage), and eliminating the requirement for Party registration in Primary Caucuses.

Different people will answer that question in different ways, of course, but for me, that's the guiding principle. And sometimes, the answer to that question is "neither choice is good for anyone," and that's when being an adult comes in.

One of the keystones of being an emotionally mature adult is understanding - really understanding - the concept that when you make a choice, you are also choosing the consequences of that choice. This has all sorts of ramifications in personal, public, and professional life, but the maxim is still the same.

So if I choose to support the Republican Health Care Bill, for example, I am also choosing the consequences if that Bill becomes law. Millions of people losing health coverage. Reducing health care for the poorest children. Approving of increasing seniors' premiums to an unmanageable rate. Do I want these consequences? I do not. The categorical imperative tells me that even though my own costs went up with the ACA, and my health care coverage didn't change, the country would be a far worse place if my support of this Bill was something everyone shared. So I oppose it.

The same applies when I vote for a candidate. If I had chosen to vote for 45, I would bear the responsibility of the consequences of that decision. Having my country's leader be a laughingstock on the world stage. The U.S. being considered no longer consequential in foreign affairs because our President acts like a narcissistic toddler. My country being categorized into the same bucket that contains Syria. All of those things are now true, indisputably so, and had I voted for 45, I would bear the burden of that consequence. Personally.

Because here's the thing about being an adult. Adults take responsibility for their choices, whether the outcome is good or bad. I chose action X, I am responsible for consequence Y. That responsibility doesn't evaporate because I have buyer's remorse, or I claim I "didn't know." With very few exceptions, I can reasonably be expected to understand the consequences of my choices.

So I voted for Hillary, because when I looked at the categorical imperative and the consequences of my decision, I analyzed the possible outcomes and I found that the consequences of this choice would be far less damaging to our country (and the world) than the alternative. Would she have been perfect? Of course not. Would I then have been personally responsible for whatever negative consequences resulted from her Presidency? You bet I would.

No one is perfect, and there's no such thing as a perfect decision in politics. All choices involve some level of compromise. But this system allows me to analyze my own choices in a way that I hope allows for the least amount of damage to the fewest people. When you add in a core value that dictates that people have an obligation to help one another, especially the least among us, that puts me squarely in the liberal camp. Not the Democrat's camp. The liberal camp.

Because to do otherwise would be to compromise the core of who I am. And I won't do that. Least of all for expediency's sake.

2 comments:

PaulM said...

Beautiful. I didn't know there was a name for it, "categorical imperative."

Shawn Powers said...

Another unfortunate part of adulthood is that even though we both need not feel personal responsibility for the actions of 45, we do still have to try to pick up the pieces. Because when someone craps the bed, the sheets still need to be changed.

I know you didn't imply a "not my problem" attitude, I'm just voicing the unfortunate reality in which we now find ourselves. Sigh.