I have an issue, however, that I want to discuss. I feel that this is an issue that will become a very important topic of debate.
Many of you might find this laughable, but I consider myself a conversative. This might be laughable depending on your definiton of conservative and, more importantly, that is what I want to talk about.
If I were to try to put the political views on a two axis view rather than a one axis view, we might end up with something like this:
Traditionally, or at least recently–which might be the same thing to many people–the political axis only swings left or right. Liberal or conservative. Politics is, obviously, quite a bit more complex than this. However, keeping things simple is also important–as long as they are still useful. The problem is there is a second polarity. Fiscal and Social.
In fact, there are more than these two, but I think most of issues of political importance can fall into these categories. For example, government oversite of business practices would be fiscal while abortion issues are social (one might even want to use “moral” instead of “social”, but I think this is wrong).
This is the two axis political spectrum I like to use. One axis is fiscal, one is social. Both have a liberal and a conservative end.
My position is one that has the least amount of power and influence in today’s political process–I am a fiscal conservative and a social liberal. Even that is a bit generalized and untrue, but again, it is simple.
However, being a fiscal conservative places me, politically, in the traditional single axis “conservative” group. However, this group is both fiscally and socially conservative. As a result of elections and political movements across this country, it might be more prudent to place social first in that list.
There are many others like me, as well. And many of them are rising up, in anger, at the marginalization we feel at the hands of other so-called conservatives. This is going to be a real problem and, perhaps, a largely unexpected problem.
With mainstream focus being on the “bitter political divide” of the two parties (or of ‘liberal’ and ‘conservative’) we are seing the really the reaction of extreme to extreme. Those of us in the middle are left both without a voice and without a viable course of action.
I think the “bitter divide” will become more and more prominent in the ‘conservative’ camp and this is the political arena which will become the hottest sparking point.