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This is not your grandfather’s politics
INTRODUCING A NEW COLUMN, THE PARADOXICAL
BY AUTUMN BEREND
EDITOR IN CHIEF
O ften I find m y self tired by the
ever grow ing annoyance that is
H i
American politics. If I ’ve learned
anything from the p residential
election o f 2016, it’s how low and
unenlightened o f a country w e’ve
become.
Often I find m yself as the outsider, holding ideas that
make me appear more nuanced than the general public.
That’s not saying I ’m more intelligent, but I don’t adhere
to labels like “liberal” even though I am one by definition.
I ’m not afraid to hold right wing or left wing ideas at
the same time and state my dislike for such titles as “left”
or “right.”
People who engage in p o litical discussion typically
commit fallacies, or fallacious reasoning, and Americans
are no exception to the rule. In fact, they typically commit
it far more than Canadians and our European brothers and
sisters. Why? Because they generally have more parties and
beliefs that are more open, whereas in America we tend to
see black and white, or Republican and Democrat; liberal
and conservative just to start off.
W hile we did have the Green Party w ith Jill Stein,
highlighting a new face to the party system, and due to the
last election, even the Libertarian Party had more o f chance
than prior, but nonetheless, people still see left and right.
My problem with this is it blinds and causes us to stick
w ith hasty overgeneralizations. The Republicans and
conservatives will argue an idea is stupid and blame it on
the Democrats or liberals and the liberals and Democrats
will do the very same.
This creates a toxic environment that prevents anyone
from having any discussion when we’re far more nuanced
than that. Don’t believe me?
through? O f course not.
Not every conservative supports Trump or has all the same
views just as not every Bernie supporter agrees 100 percent
with Bernie on everything he says or the level of taxation.
This issue needs to stop and the use of labels or identity
politics, being a “leftist” or a “right-w inger,” being a
Socialist or Communist or anything. You should not nor
need to tell people you are X, Y or Z. What you are is simply
what you believe. If you believe in the Second Amendment
but believe in a 90 percent tax increase, that makes you
hold views associated with the conservatives and socialists.
We as people who should seek enlightenment and adhere
to intellectualism must stop the odious use of labels and
political identity and simply argue based on views. Argue
taxation with people you disagree with. The level of taxing
the people varies with person to person. Being labeled
anything puts you in a bubble and subject to lumping.
By definition I ’m a classical liberal and yet as a liberal
I ’ve been lum ped with A ntifa, which I hate, political
correctness, which I don’t agree with, fascism, which I ’m
arguably the biggest proponent on campus of thanks to the
works of George Orwell’s brilliant 1984, and anything you
can assume I as a liberal believe. I promise you, you’ll be
wrong most of the time.
Don’t be like others, you’re more nuanced than that. You
should act like it.
“ We as people who should seek
enlightenment and adhere to
intellectuallsm must stop the
odious use o f labels.”
- Autumn Berend
Jake a look at any issue, such as gun control. Does
anyone truly believe that only the left believes in'it? And
does anyone truly believe that everyone that supports gun
control has the same level of control they wish to see pushed
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OCTOBER 25, 2017