The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #91375   Message #1737509
Posted By: Bill D
10-May-06 - 06:14 PM
Thread Name: BS: Defining terms: Liberal/Conservative
Subject: RE: BS: Defining terms: Liberal/Conservative
well...according to that brief quiz (which would LOVE to see expanded and better phrased) I am a 'liberal centrist with 60Y and 40X.....sort of what I might have pegged my self.

The thing is, a yes or no (or 'yes' MAYBE and 'no') on a few questions does not clarify much. A lot depends on the underlying attitudes for an answer.

example: If I were asked if I am in favor of restrictions on immigration, with only yes & no as possible answers, I would have to say "yes"...but my REASONS might be totally different from a bigot who simply hated people with different skin color or language.

similarly, if I were asked if there should be more restrictions on gun ownership, I would again say yes, knowing that my interpretation of the Constitution is different from many people, and that there would be those who agree with me for very different reasons.

one of the questions was "should one have the right to not wear a swimsuit"? Assuming this refers to 'public nudity', I would say "no" to complete freedom of nudity, as a practical matter, not for moral reasons.....

There are many, many questions that I might superficially seem to agree with folks on, but only because the question was narrowly phrased.

Real quizzes need to ask VERY carefully worded questions, AND allow for qualifications and disclaimers.

Almost no one is absolutely anything.