MPR News Share your insight

How do you define the political community you belong to?

Eric Ringham February 22, 2012, 5:00 AM Feb 22, 2012

A panel of judges on Tuesday released a redrawn map of congressional and legislative districts in Minnesota. Today’s Question: How do you define the political community you belong to?

About the blogger

Eric Ringham

eringham@mpr.org

Wade

My political community is composed of people that are tired of the political process and are certain that regardless of what letter come behind a politicians name, they are not really concerned for our well being… they have other agendas to take care of at our expense.

Welp, with being said, I am sure these comments will degenerate into name calling and declaration of party alliances soon!

todd

My community is the voiceless. I have been to both the Republican and Democratic caucuses in an attempt to find a political home and felt like a fish out of water at both of them. Those who find logic in certain positions of both parties but who would question their sacred cows, are the wandering nomads of that ever-elusive Middle. I suppose I should be satisfied with my role of switchng sides each cycle and deciding elections.

Gretchen

Who am I to define my political community? I don’t align myself with any specific group, and the community I live in has a wide range of views. Although I have very liberal tendencies, there are conservative views I agree with as well. I think once we start looking to belong to a specific group we start to limit our possibilities. Strict political views and the inability to be flexible are causing a lot of problems in politics right now.

Larry M.

I define my community as those who believe that “Liberty and justice for all” means for ALL, not just the monied or white people or the straight people or the religious, but for all. In other words my political community is liberal.

david

I feel like I live in the districts of the damned, both on the state and federal level. Really it is the districts of the duped. Tailor made for do nothing politicians like bachmann, hackbarth, & jungbauer. As long as they pretend to be religious, saying the right things about fetuses, who marries who, and guns they’ll keep getting reelected. Things that they really should be caring about you never hear them mention. Unless you think they should spend all their energies pandering to the NFL, the energy companies, or pretending they could be president when they grow up.

Philip

Socialist, where people are born with their hand out waiting to receive something for nothing.

Steve the Cynic

Let’s start with how we define community. I don’t think most folks in America today know what real community is. A community is something I’m a part of, and I don’t get to define it on my own. Other members of the community have a say in how the community is defined, too. Gretchen is right to ask, “Who am I to define my political community?” The kinds of radical individualism, libertarianism, and laissez faire economic ideology embraced by so many on the right wing these days is antithetical to real community. (So are radical collectivism, conformism and socialism, but practically no one is espousing those ideologies in America these days, so that’s not a problem). If we don’t see ourselves as in some sense “all in this together,” we don’t have community.

Gary F

Well David,

I live in a community that is primarily made up of people who want more government, who want to give up freedom, who want to pay a little more while they want someone else to pay a lot more.

Tailor made for people like Betty McCollum, Richard Cohen, and Michael Paymar.

Surley the Cynic

” (So are radical collectivism, conformism and socialism, but practically no one is espousing those ideologies in America these days, so that’s not a problem).”

Look no further than the White House.

david

Wow garyf.

I should know better then to ask you, but I can’t help myself. What freedoms do those big bad democrats want to take away? Would it be the freedom to marry who ever you want? Would if be the freedom to make you own health related choices? Especially if you’re a woman. Would it be the freedom to vote in free and open elections without big brother approving it first? Would it be the freedom to say, read, or post what you like online without homeland security getting involved? Do you ever think before you tal, or just parrot what rush limbaugh or some other moron tells you to think? You are the duped poster child gary.

James

Question of the Day is my political community. There is a decent range of perspective. Especially of late, the discussions are reasonably civil and thoughtful. I read the QOTD daily and post frequently. What more can you ask of a community?

Jim G

Ok, I had to think about this one. My political community is constantly evolving as I grow in life experience. My community was once defined as conservative. That community has changed and I have evolved. I now seek a community that is radically inclusive, giving, and growing. It liberally accepts differences; racial, ethnic, national, and sexual orientations. It isn’t encompassed by any political party, although I support more democrats than today’s conservatives. My political community is growing because of its support of justice. I urge you to find one just as liberally life affirming as mine.

lawrence

I used to think my political community was 21st century America. However, in the last 10 years, I’ve come to discover that politically, America is still mired in the 1960s and 70s, and Minnesota has devolved into the 1860s. If you think about it for just a moment, the tenor of our politics sounds exactly like the dialog Archie Bunker and Michael Stivik had on the TV Show, All In The Family. Gays, illegals, minorities (or as pleasantly called, welfare dependents) supposedly, as Archie used to say, are taking over America against the Founders wishers and good Christian (white) Americans. Archie also used to call unions commies and pinkos, and that attitude people, HAS NOT CHANGED. Today, we’ve replaced those names with the equally offensive tag liberal, and the unions are characterized as beastly critters that we have to eliminate even though unions are really made of more hard working Americans. Minnesota, in particular, isn’t nearly as welcoming as it used to be, and some folks, like former Gov Tim Pawlenty, rang an alarm bell at the alleged socialist deviants the size of an old 1950s air raid drill that would make Eisenhower proud. Let Timmy tell it, the Soviets are just outside the St Croix and going to expel Minnesota, not in a matter of days, but hours. Teachers, another group Archie Bunker was not fond of, are villified more than unions, illegals, and dependent Americans. The last time schools were attacked so vehemently was during forced desegration plans. I’m not impressed with my political community at all.

Steve the Cynic

“Look no further than the White House.”

The fact that people actually believe the lie that Obama is a socialist shows just how far to the right the pendulum has swung.

red bottom shoes

Hmm it looks like your blog ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I as well am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to everything. Do you have any points for rookie blog writers? I’d certainly appreciate it.