Why I See The World The Way I Do, Part I: A Call For Understanding
A biographical summary of who I’m not, who I am and what I believe to help people understand my political worldview better
A biographical summary of who I’m not, who I am and what I believe to help people understand my political worldview better
People frequently misunderstand my perspective on politics and current events.
Over the past several years, these misunderstandings have increased and I believe this is largely because of the polarizing incentives of the propaganda landscape we are living in. In this landscape, people too often categorize others with simplistic dichotomies, a version of then-President George W. Bush’s statement in 2001, “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.”
Nonsense. I can be against you and against the terrorists. In fact, I was and still am.
A more recent example that I’ve repeatedly experienced is when I have criticized a Democrat or the Democratic Party and someone will assume I’m therefore a Trump supporter and a Republican. I’m not and I never have been. I’m an independent and I’ve never felt loyalty to any political party.
I’ve tried not to let these misunderstandings get me down. When they are said by people who don’t know me at all, I don’t take it personally.
However, over the past few years, especially with regard to my perspective on the global reaction to the COVID-19 situation, I’ve had some people who I thought knew me better say some pretty crappy things about me. In those cases, I’d be lying if I said those experiences didn’t wear on me.
Even more, too often over the past few years, they’ve stopped me from writing, because sometimes it’s felt like a wasted effort, like banging my head against the Iron Sheik. (That was never a winning strategy in the 1980s wrestling world and, judging from the picture below from 2009, it likely still wouldn’t have worked very well then).
I know I’m not alone in having very close friends disown me because they didn’t take the time to hear me out and quickly labeled me as outside of their perceived group of “good guys.” This has been an experience many have shared with me over the past few years and it doesn’t matter what “side” one is on because judgmental behavior has no political boundaries.
Folks, I believe we all contain multitudes. I know I do. Thus, it’s hard enough for me to know myself, so I don’t expect others to have me pinned down and I know there will be misunderstandings. When these misunderstandings occur, wouldn’t it be better to keep talking until we are clear about what the other person is saying? Doesn’t that sound better than standing still in polarization?
I’d like to think that most people would prefer to live in a world where we can agree to disagree with each other and remain friends.
After all, are your beliefs so important to you that you can’t be friends with people who have different ones? I know mine aren’t. I know my 50 years on this blue and green marble have been much richer because I’ve always been a social chameleon. In my opinion, variety truly is the spice of life and this includes variety in the people I spend time with.
No, the only person who I have trouble getting along with is a person who, no matter their politics, believes it’s their way or the highway, a person who will do everything they can to not listen to others who they disagree with. These are people who are prideful and arrogant.
Now, I have a feeling if you’ve read this far, this is probably not you. No, I bet you are more likely a humble person who is comfortable in your own shoes, the kind of person I’d get along with fine. Having said that, I know people like you will still misunderstand me!
Thus, in the second half of this post, I will try to bring myself into sharper focus by sharing the basics of my biography and some of my core political perspectives. If I’m successful and it helps you know me better, then perhaps I can share this post with others who I have future misunderstandings with, as well.
What I’m Not, What I Am (The Nutty Nutshell Version)
First, let me assure you of things that I am most certainly not: I’m not a violent anarchist nor a law-and-order champion; not a fascist nor a Marxist; not a Nazi nor a Woke Warrior; not a racist Rightest or an anti-Semite, nor an eco-fascist Leftist or an anti-termite; and last but certainly not least, I’m absolutely not a raving, maniacal lunatic or a mummified pejorative. If you call me any of those, especially the mummy one, I’ll probably laugh at you or, if I’m in a less jovial mood, I may fart in your direction.
What I am? Impossible to pin down but a start:
I’m a 50-year-old father of two teenagers and one silly Shih Tzu dog who grew up in a suburb in the Seattle area of America;
I’m a graduate of the University of Southern California (Class of 1995), with degrees (and honors) in print journalism and political science;
I’m a former newspaper reporter and editor, working in journalism for several years, covering sports, culture, and politics
I’m a journalism burnout who then, after bouncing around the temp job world, went to work at a used bookstore;
I’m a guy who fell in love with a Japanese woman while I was falling deeply out of love with America, so I moved to Japan in the summer of 2004 to raise a family and live in a different culture
I’m a lover of the English language, so I share that love with the citizens of Japan as an English teacher;
I’m a guy who has been writing all my life, with two previous blogs (here and here), one novel, some novelettes, and some short stories.
Those are the basic biographical notes. For more in that vein, check out this post.
Some of My Core Political Beliefs
While I have long identified as being “on the Left” or “from the Left,” I have considered myself an independent since about 1993 and nowadays think “politically homeless” fits best. In addition, I’m mostly convinced that political dichotomies, especially the Left and Right, are useless. I’ve encouraged people over the past several years to at least incorporate another axis — Authoritarian-Libertarian — into their thinking, as the people at the Political Compass site do. You can take a test to find out which quadrant you land in. On my end, I’ve taken this test several times over the past decade and have always landed in the Left Libertarian quadrant. Below are today’s results (I’m represented by the red dot).
Basically, as a Left Libertarian, I want the government to be very limited so people can freely engage in life. I trust individuals more than I do large social institutions. The little government I want is one that serves the needs of the people, protecting us from oversized corporations, governments, and social institutions, while providing a basic social safety net.
My experience of the 2020s has changed my perspective on that latter point, which has moved me slightly right on that axis. Basically, during the COVID-19 crisis, I saw governments being authoritarian in the name of safety so I am losing trust in governments to provide a social safety net. I have long felt governments know less about what is good for an individual than an individual does.
For example, in 2023 Japan is going to mandate cyclists wear helmets. I have commuted by bicycle helmet-less for the past 20 years and when I have been in America, I’ve gone cycling with a helmet on. Comparing these two experiences, I know my mental, physical and spiritual health benefits from having the air and sun interact unimpeded with my head and hair, so I think the government is overstepping its duties in the name of safety here. Ultimately, I believe the government should, whenever possible, encourage individuals to take personal responsibility for their own safety because we all have differing ideas of how much risk we want to take.
The last thing I want to share about my political perspective relates to the United States government. Generally speaking, I have believed since my teenage years that the U.S. political system is working almost solely as a servant for the rich and powerful. The system we are told as everyday people to believe in hasn’t been serving the general needs of the people, let alone the planet we live on, for way too long.
I’ve voted in most American elections and often wondered what the point was because none of the people I voted for have either had a chance to win or have come close to representing my perspective. For president, I’ve only voted for mainstream party candidates twice (Clinton in 1992 and Obama in 2008) and both times felt extremely let down and duped, and in general elections, I’ve usually voted Democrat or third party but have sometimes voted Republican.
However, much as I feel the US political system isn’t working these days, over the past few years, I’ve come to recognize that some of the elements of its design are ingenious and shouldn’t be discarded without serious thought. Notably, I’m speaking of the “rocks-scissors-paper” nature of the separation of powers and the systems of checks and balances, as well as the federalist system that should allow states the ability to experiment in structuring their social arrangements.
You see, I think the federal government has become too powerful in the past century and needs to be curtailed. However, I worry that too many people want to simply burn the whole thing down but have little idea what, if anything, to replace it with. From my reading of history, political vacuums are often nasty places.
More related to this essay,
This has been my best attempt to describe what I’m not, who I am, and where I’m coming from politically. I’m sure I missed a lot. In fact, I know I did. This is why, in a future post in this series, I’ll delve into some more details of my biography and share some of the more challenging aspects of how I got to where I am.
Meanwhile, I’d like to close by asking you to reflect on some questions:
After you finished the basic biographical facts about me, how were you relating to me? Were you judging me? If so, why? If not, why not?
After you read about some of my core political perspectives, how were you relating to me? Were you judging me then? If so, why? If not, why not?
After reading this, do you feel you know me better?
Do you think this post can be useful for me to share with those who misunderstand me?
While my first goal for this article is to ask for more understanding and to clear up misunderstandings about me by sharing about myself, I have another goal that those questions are seeking to fulfill. Mostly, in 2023, I’m trying to understand why these days people hold their political beliefs so tightly that they so often lose their ability to empathize with others who have different political beliefs. This is a huge problem now and, as a 50-year-old, I can say a few decades ago it wasn’t.
Again, this is likely a topic I’ll return to. For now, I appreciate that you’ve taken the time to read this article and encourage you to write responses (to those four questions or anything else), questions of your own, or ball-breaking political creeds below. (Okay, maybe not the last one!)
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