People like balkanisation. They seem to like classifying people into arbitrary groups based on a limited number of observations. I think one of the reasons they do this is because its a fitting substitute for when they want to generalize but don't want to seem like they're generalizing.

Moreover, I think its a soft form of bigotry. People balkanise when they are ignorant about a person or group, and by generalizing as they do they perceive that they have that group "nailed down," and know it as well as "Every square inch of their glorious naked body."

Of course, that is a quote of Rush Limbaugh, one of the foremost fans of bulkanisation, but the same mentality rests behind anybody who out of intellectual laziness, a desire to appear intelligent, or some other means of disguising their ignorance, makes a declaration about a person or group they know nothing about.

I bring this up because in several instances people on the MyUMBC forums have classified me as such. Maybe it's because I talk about the Bible, or  because I question the motives of the current "liberal" administration. I don't know, but its entirely inaccurate. So to set the record straight...

I am not a conservative. These are some of my top reasons:

1. I believe that attempts to legislate religion and morality have in fact weakened both.

2. I believe that conservative policy grossly underestimates the economic benefits of government spending.

3. I believe that the unconditional support of military spending promotes murder, oppresssion, and situations which lead to psychological disorders.

4. I am repulsed by the unabashed use of fear and nationalism in the conservative platform, which is divisive, manipulative, and promotes conflict.

But before anybody suggests that I'm a liberal, I want to add this:

1. I believe that promoting moral relativism encourages chaos and is a foremost factor behind the rapid degradation of society.

2. I believe that liberal policy grossly overestimates the value of government spending and how much money it recycles into the economy.

3. I believe that an endless stream of laws and regulations deprives people of the vital process of weighing the morality of decisions absent the threat of prosecution.

4. I am concerned by the purposeful use of fear and populism in the liberal platform, which is divisive, manipulative, and promotes covetousness.

And I am not an independent, either! The other day at work one of my clients got on me about how I need to "take a side." No I don't. I am unaffiliated and don't support any government, and you wouldn't believe how much flak I get for not voting!!! I am under the authority of the United States and the State of Maryland, and I will respect their laws and do what they say as long as it does not conflict with my religious beliefs.

Is that so wrong?