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Descartes
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02 Apr 2011, 2:45 pm

AstroGeek wrote:
Descartes wrote:
My parents both consistently vote Democrat, as I most likely will do so in all future elections, but my political beliefs are probably more socially liberal than my parents'. For example, my parents are both pro-life, whereas I'm pro-choice.

It always strikes me as kind of weird how the US has an essentially 2 party system. It means that you have to either be center-right (or far-right it seems some days) or center-left. There is no room for anyone verging farther to the left or who is more in the center. In Canada are Conservatives are basically at the center and then we have a spectrum of parties across the left: Liberals (similar to the Democracts), the New Democratic Party (NDP, they used to be socialists but now they just want reform), and the Greens. Of course, I'm sure some people would complain that we don't offer anything much for right-wing voters. Oh well, I honestly can't it's a huge concern for me.


Our two-party system is a problem for many voters. There are a lot of people who would really like to vote for a third party candidate, but they're hesitant to do so because a third party candidate never has much of a chance of being elected, so they have to settle for the lesser of two evils.


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black_legion
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02 Apr 2011, 3:20 pm

I don't really care what my parents think of me, In all honesty my opinion of myself Is the most important have a good opinion of yourself, and whatever anyone else says about you is forefeit, I may sound arrogant here but In the end unless It's something that you need to pay attention to It's not up to other people to govern your life. (An anarchist's view of the world)



AstroGeek
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02 Apr 2011, 5:55 pm

Tequila wrote:
AstroGeek wrote:
That was actually a ways down my list. The environment is not my only concern. And please don't reply telling me that I shouldn't vote for the Green Party then.


I wouldn't dare tell you not to vote for X party. You vote for who you like. That I disagree with them is by-the-by.

Reason I dislike the English Greens is because they are left-wing, authoritarian and deeply statist as well as being patronising, holier-than-thou wretches. The Greens in your country might well be different. :)

Most if not all Green Parties are fairly left-wing (a trait which some people view as a good thing by the way), even though they protest that they transcend the traditional political spectrum. I honestly can't speak for the UK Greens, but in Canada they aren't like that--at least I don't see them like that. Of course, what I might view as a necessary regulation you might view as authoritarian. But they really aren't condescending at all here. Their leader Elizabeth May is a really interesting person and very likable. And she is really into trying to find common ground with other parties and other points of view, so that everyone can get something done. That sort of behaviour is quite refreshing and is part of the reason I find myself attracted to the Greens.



Guitar_Girl
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03 Apr 2011, 7:43 am

AstroGeek wrote:
Over the last year or so, and especially over the last week since Canada called an election, I have started to find myself interested in Green Politics. To give a quick summary, other than the basic idea of protecting the environment, Greens believe in building an economy that is sustainable environmentally and economically, in promoting peace, equality, breaking the power of big businesses, grass-roots democracy, and the importance of social programs such as education and health care (I'm Canadian so most parties would agree to that last bit, but the Greens make it a particular priority). There are a couple of other points that I disagree on, but I honestly think that the Green Party still is the closest to my views and would be interested in supporting them in the future.

However, my parents are both highly dismissive about the Green Party. My dad just doesn't care much about the environment (although he'd never come right out and say it) and is a bit too right-wing for the Greens anyway. My Mom just refuses to believe that the Greens have any sort of mandate other than environmentalism and dismisses them.

I'm nearly at voting age (if our current election had been called a few months later I could have voted) and as I said would be interested in supporting the Greens later (probably once I'm in university). But how can I do this without getting into arguments with my parents? Usually I've respected their opinions on things before, so I'm really not comfortable with differing from them like this.

I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this post, but since it's more about dealing with parents than politics I decided to post here.


I identify with the Green Party too! I might register Green next year since I will be old enough to vote. And my parents are Republicans, so we are all opposite and we don't like each others views, so I know how you feel. I actually don't want to vote with them next year because we would have opposing people. Do your parents actually yell at you for your beliefs? Like you are not allowed to feel how you feel. I feel uncomfortable talking about politics because they freak out sometimes. Like they freak out because I don't hate Obama like they do.
Bottom line when you are out of your house and in college, you are old enough to make your own decisions. I'm glad to see another Green person lol!



TechnicalPacifist
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03 Apr 2011, 8:19 am

My parents don't mind my political beliefs - which would be Anarcho-Communistic - as they're leaning "that way" themselves (especially my mother :lol: Former Greenpeace member, even). However, if my paternal grandparents found out - Jesus Christ. 8O They'd hate me.



AstroGeek
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03 Apr 2011, 8:34 am

Guitar_Girl wrote:
AstroGeek wrote:
Over the last year or so, and especially over the last week since Canada called an election, I have started to find myself interested in Green Politics. To give a quick summary, other than the basic idea of protecting the environment, Greens believe in building an economy that is sustainable environmentally and economically, in promoting peace, equality, breaking the power of big businesses, grass-roots democracy, and the importance of social programs such as education and health care (I'm Canadian so most parties would agree to that last bit, but the Greens make it a particular priority). There are a couple of other points that I disagree on, but I honestly think that the Green Party still is the closest to my views and would be interested in supporting them in the future.

However, my parents are both highly dismissive about the Green Party. My dad just doesn't care much about the environment (although he'd never come right out and say it) and is a bit too right-wing for the Greens anyway. My Mom just refuses to believe that the Greens have any sort of mandate other than environmentalism and dismisses them.

I'm nearly at voting age (if our current election had been called a few months later I could have voted) and as I said would be interested in supporting the Greens later (probably once I'm in university). But how can I do this without getting into arguments with my parents? Usually I've respected their opinions on things before, so I'm really not comfortable with differing from them like this.

I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this post, but since it's more about dealing with parents than politics I decided to post here.


I identify with the Green Party too! I might register Green next year since I will be old enough to vote. And my parents are Republicans, so we are all opposite and we don't like each others views, so I know how you feel. I actually don't want to vote with them next year because we would have opposing people. Do your parents actually yell at you for your beliefs? Like you are not allowed to feel how you feel. I feel uncomfortable talking about politics because they freak out sometimes. Like they freak out because I don't hate Obama like they do.
Bottom line when you are out of your house and in college, you are old enough to make your own decisions. I'm glad to see another Green person lol!

My parents wouldn't yell at me. I haven't really told them how I'm actually thinking I might like to get involved with the Green Party though. I just made the comment once that I could be convinced to vote for them (now I'm pretty sure I will vote for them) and my Mom said that she doesn't think they're fit to be in power because they only focus on one issue. Which isn't true, but anyhow. Then the other day when my brother said something about them (I only heard part of this conversation, so I'm not sure what) and my Mom made some derogatory comment.

It also helps that my parents are not particularly Conservative (although in Canada most people would find the Republicans repulsive). My Mom identifies with the Liberal party (like your Democrats) but might vote for the farther left-wing NDP if she didn't like the Liberal candidate. My Dad leans towards the Liberals but might vote for the Conservatives (who are mid-way between the Republicans and the Democrats) depending on their platform and who's running in our riding (in Canada we don't specifically elect our executive branch of government--in our elections we vote for a member of parliament, similar to how you'd vote for a congressman or woman, and then the leader of the party with the most seats becomes the Prime Minister).