Tuesday, August 28, 2012

#4: My Egalitarian Political Philosophy


Upon taking my “Political Compass Test”, I discovered that my political view was associated or linked to the same views of a Left-Libertarian. Left-Libertarian’s focus an equal amount of attention on the freedom of each individual and the justice incorporated with all social classes. They focus on a multitude of approaches like: society, culture, and politics as well as the theories associated with politics and society. They believe in the idea of “self-ownership” or individual autonomy, in which the individual is in total control of their life and body. Personally, I feel that my ideas, views and beliefs are associated more with Egalitarianism rather than the views of Left-Libertarian’s. I feel that my personal political philosophy is Egalitarianism; the following paragraphs will explain why.

            Egalitarianism is a philosophy that is centered on the equality of society as a whole, and emphasizes the idea that all humans (no matter race, gender, sexual orientation, religion etc…) are equal. In regards to political power, we believe that the power is not equally in the hands of the people or society as a whole, but is still maintained and established by the ruling class. We believe that every individual is to be treated equally as citizens and have the same civil rights (economically, socially and politically) within society as a whole, regardless of the ruling class or where the citizens within the population originated from. Our society continues to evolve and progress throughout history; instead of progressing towards a more equal environment, our society has become diluted by derogatory concepts. It is our responsibility to purge our society of derogatory concepts such as: racism, sexism and discrimination in order to create an environment more focused or global unity. In my opinion, these derogatory concepts have been detrimental to our society’s ability to gain equality as a whole since before the 1700s. It is also our belief that everyone within our global community (no matter if their American, African America, Asian, Korean, Hispanic, Male, Female, Christian, Agnostic, Muslim, Gay, Lesbian, Trans-gender, etc…) should be equal citizens within their society and have the same equality when it comes to freedom, rights and laws. For example: laws concerning marriage should not be limited to individuals of the opposite sex only, if freedom of religion is acceptable within the United States then all religions should be taken into account when making a law based off of a religious principal or perspective and gender specific laws should pertain to all genders instead of one or the other. Freedom is not debatable; it is mandatory and if our freedom is being violated then so are our rights.

            Egalitarians believe that the fundamentals of equality originated from the teachings of the Bible and of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is credited for teaching us that woman and men, no matter their racial or ethnical backgrounds, were all created as equal. But even though the fundamentals of equality originated from the religious teachings of Jesus Christ, it doesn’t mean that the members of the church have actively participated in equality. Even in my life today I feel the effects of discrimination and inequality within my rights as a citizen. Injustice should not have to be tolerated within a society that bases so much of their judicial system upon the key principals and laws derived from their biblical and religious aspects. Religion was supposed to teach society that we are all equally created by God with no superior individual other than him; these teachings have become seriously misconstrued from when they first originated to how they are perceived now. I don’t claim to know all the answers to the needs of our society or how to establish equality within it, but I do know that we have to start somewhere. (Why not start now?)

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