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bingle · 04-24-2003, 11:33 AM

Hi! It's time for Essay With Bingle, the new series where I write a long, sometimes rambling dissertation on some idea which popped into my head about the thread! You can see an example above.

Political parties. I see a lot of people here saying they don't want to be forced to vote along party lines, or shouting the virtues of independents. However, I think that political parties are simply a natural outgrowth of the fact that people have basic general philosophies that steer their beliefs.

For instance, if one is a certain denomination of Christian, one's religious beliefs will have a profound effect on one's politics. If you believe in a literal interpretation of the bible, for instance, you will likely be supportive of prayer in schools, teaching creationism, and be anti-homosexual and anti-abortion. There are also likely to be a large number of people who hold the same basic tenets as you, who will tend to agree with you on any proposed political issue, *even if that issue has never been previously discussed and is not explicitely spelled out in your beliefs*. For this reason, it makes sense to vote for a group of people who hold the same basic philosophy as you do, because if they are faced with a totally new decision, you can trust them to react in the same way you would.

In addition, it is only natural that if you hold the same basic belief as many other people, you will end up voting the same way they do, every time. Thus 'unofficial' political parties would naturally arise; an example would be the religious right, or the environmental movement, or even 'soccer moms'. These groups have no formal political connection, but because of shared interests or circumstances they will tend to vote the same way anyway, and will get treated as a party or a sub-party even if there is no formal definition.

Of course, there will be individuals or small groups who don't fit exactly into the mold of any particular party, however most of these people will, for convenience's sake, choose the party that most closely represents their views.

So, really, belonging to a party doesn't subvert one's decision-making power, or subsume one's individuality, it is simply a natural phenomenon that will happen regardless, in most cases. When it happens voluntarily, it gives you more strength and flexibility politically. In fact, one reason the far left is not nearly as politically effective as the far right is because they have too many splintered parties - fifteen varieties of socialism, eight subtly different environmental groups, or whatever, that compete among each other for clout.

That's all today, tune in next week for another Essay With Bingle!

Your host, Bingle Bing Whotsit.

04-24-2003, 11:33 AM	#40 (permalink)
bingle Crazy Location: California	Hi! It's time for Essay With Bingle, the new series where I write a long, sometimes rambling dissertation on some idea which popped into my head about the thread! You can see an example above. Political parties. I see a lot of people here saying they don't want to be forced to vote along party lines, or shouting the virtues of independents. However, I think that political parties are simply a natural outgrowth of the fact that people have basic general philosophies that steer their beliefs. For instance, if one is a certain denomination of Christian, one's religious beliefs will have a profound effect on one's politics. If you believe in a literal interpretation of the bible, for instance, you will likely be supportive of prayer in schools, teaching creationism, and be anti-homosexual and anti-abortion. There are also likely to be a large number of people who hold the same basic tenets as you, who will tend to agree with you on any proposed political issue, even if that issue has never been previously discussed and is not explicitely spelled out in your beliefs. For this reason, it makes sense to vote for a group of people who hold the same basic philosophy as you do, because if they are faced with a totally new decision, you can trust them to react in the same way you would. In addition, it is only natural that if you hold the same basic belief as many other people, you will end up voting the same way they do, every time. Thus 'unofficial' political parties would naturally arise; an example would be the religious right, or the environmental movement, or even 'soccer moms'. These groups have no formal political connection, but because of shared interests or circumstances they will tend to vote the same way anyway, and will get treated as a party or a sub-party even if there is no formal definition. Of course, there will be individuals or small groups who don't fit exactly into the mold of any particular party, however most of these people will, for convenience's sake, choose the party that most closely represents their views. So, really, belonging to a party doesn't subvert one's decision-making power, or subsume one's individuality, it is simply a natural phenomenon that will happen regardless, in most cases. When it happens voluntarily, it gives you more strength and flexibility politically. In fact, one reason the far left is not nearly as politically effective as the far right is because they have too many splintered parties - fifteen varieties of socialism, eight subtly different environmental groups, or whatever, that compete among each other for clout. That's all today, tune in next week for another Essay With Bingle! Your host, Bingle Bing Whotsit.