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With the Democratic Convention looming, and all of the political conflicts swirling around in our society lately--Fox News vs. CNN, Bill Maher vs. Bill O'Reilly, etc.--it might be worthwhile for people in America to better understand the true nature of the political spectrum and their own position on the spectrum. To that end, I found a simple, on-line multiple choice test that helps people clarify and identify their own position on a two-dimensional political spectrum, and to identify contemporary and historical figures who share their political views. The test is located at a site called the "political compass." It is based on x and y axes of libertarianism/socialism and authoritarianism/ democracy. I ended up toward the political center in the "Ghandi" region-- next to the man that Winston Churchill once called a "half-naked fakir." Check it out:
I scored almost exactly half way between the Authoritarian top and Libertarian bottom: Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -0.10
And almost exactly in the middle of the Economic right side: Economic Left/Right: 5.50
Much of it has to do with the way the questions are worded.
A question like this: "It is important that my child's school instills religious values." gets a disagree answer from me, because I know a secular or even religious school, (meaning Protestant or Catholic), will not have true religious values to instill, yet I don't mind if they pass on general basic, 'golden rule' values. I will instill the proper values at home, so it is not really the school's job.
I agree that some of the questions on the test were open to interpretation. One question asked, for example, "Would you support your country even if it is wrong?" I found myself wondering what they meant by "support," but answered in the negative. I also found myself wondering where Our Lord Jesus Christ would be positioned on this two-dimensional matrix, based upon His "political" teachings. We probably all think that the Lord's locus would be directly next to our own, and I certainly thought that he would be positioned somewhere next to me in the "Ghandi" quandrant. Evangelical Protestant Republicans, on the other hand, would probably position Him in the George W. Bush quadrant. However, I did notice that they positioned Pope Benedict, the Roman Catholic "Vicar of Christ," slightly above and left of the mid-point, in the Mugabe quandrant.
