Where Do You Stand?
When I met my wife six years ago, she asked me where I stood politically. I said I didn’t. I’d given up on politics. The lies, the corruption, the one-party system. I’d seen enough to know I didn’t want to be associated with any of it.
After I finished my little rant, Jen asked if I knew where I fell on the political spectrum. I had no idea and couldn’t care less, but we’d only been dating for a few weeks and I didn’t want to blow it by being a stubborn jackass. She suggested I take a quick quiz to find out. It was probably the best use of five minutes I’ve ever spent.
Not only did the Political Compass test make me question some of my beliefs, but it opened my eyes to a part of the political arena I wasn’t aware of. There were others like me and they were working toward change. Maybe things weren’t pointless. Maybe by turning away from the system, I was just part of the problem. (Here’s a great article on this)
Although I’ve spent the last six years becoming more politically aware than I thought I’d ever be, I decided to retake the test this morning. Beliefs often change along with our circumstances, and it’s important to question them. For those of you who’ve never taken a quiz like this, or haven’t done so in a long time, please take a few minutes out of your day to do so. If you’re anything like me, there might be a couple questions you’re not sure of. Take a moment to google them instead of guessing. And please take your time before answering each question and don’t allow any knee-jerk reactions. Don’t answer how you think you should answer or how you were brought up to. Pretend you’re the one setting the rules for the utopian society you want your children to grow up in.
With Facebook, it’s so easy to get lured into liking and sharing our party’s memes and spreading propaganda. I’m just as guilty as everyone else. But please take a moment to see where you stand and then compare it to where the party you identify yourself with stands. There may be quite a large discrepancy.
No matter where you stand, I’d love to hear where you guys landed and whether or not there were any surprises.
For those of you who are interested, here are my results:
Economic Left/Right: 1.38
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.82
