Don't Label Me

I realize that I work at a University, and that I grew up in a University town, but does that automatically make me a Liberal? Granted, I am a pacifist, an atheist, and a homosexual; I have no love of anyone who decides that the purpose of government is to keep the wealthy in power and to suppress everyone else.

I suppose that makes me a Liberal, but I don't really feel that much like one. I want controls regarding gun usage, corporate "indiscretions", military actions here and abroad, and govenment watchdog agencies that only report to the public. I also want the end of the death penalty, a more re-education oriented prison system and the end of treating young offenders as adults.

But does that really make me a Liberal?

I would like to stop the entertainment industry from producing the violent matierials that seem to be getting more violent over time. I'd like to have a more rigid system of justice in regards to illegal drug use and abuse. I'd like a new Witness Protection system that will not allow a known criminal to go free simply because he or she agreed to testify.

Wouldn't you consider that these make me more Conservative?

I also have a thing for children. If I ever discovered an adult assaulting a child, I would "knock his block off". If I ever found an adult sexually assaulting a child, I would ignore my pacifistic and "right to life" leanings and remove him or her from life as we know it. This is, in my opinion, an extremely Conservative reaction.

Perhaps I fit into the mold of Moderate (with liberal leanings). Perhaps I should be called an Independent. I really don't know. I'm not really a fan of the concept of fitting a mold. I don't care for the idea that everyone has to be associated with a group; I'm an individual who happens to love his individuality, living in a world filled with people who apparently must all be cataloged in groups that determine who and what they are.

Maybe I should just ignore the labels.