What I'm Not

First of all, I'm not a lunatic-crazy-extremist, even if I did mention Ron Paul and silver in the same post.

I'm not a Republican, nor have I ever been a Republican. A decade ago, I considered myself a socialist. Over the years, I've learned what socialism actually means, as opposed to what I was taught in school about political thought. In the course of educating myself, thinking and reading on topics of freedom, some of my views have changed completely, and some not at all, but I made the trip without taking any breaks under the Republican umbrella.

I'm not a Libertarian, with the capital "L" indicating membership in the Libertarian Party. I'm not a Libertarian because, while I agree with most of their ideals, I remain opposed to their views on abortion ("it's the woman's body") and homosexual marriage. These are simple matters which have nothing to do with my religious views. On abortion, scientifically, there are *two* living bodies involved. If anyone ever convinces me that it's okay to kill people whom I consider an inconvenience... Well, let's just say the political scene in my local area will change dramatically. And regarding homosexual marriage, I really don't give a rat's ass about what consenting adults choose to do. However, it's also not the government's place to give it a seal of approval or to force others to accept homosexuality as a valid moral choice. And we've already seen the results of such laws, both in the US where at least one Catholic orphanage was closed because they refused to allow anti-discrimination laws to dictate their morality, and in other countries where similar legal battles have been fought. On the other hand, I wouldn't have a problem with marriage being a completely private arranagement and the government keeping it's opinions to itself.

I'm not a feminist, not by today's definition of the word. The word has been co-opted by those who are anti-woman, by those who have a different set of shackles ready for women to wear, by those who would murder a woman's children in the name of making her equal to the man who can bear none. But I am an old-school feminist. I remember that while the word was co-opted, the original feminists such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton fought against very real injustice. They fought for legal equality and recognized abortion as one of the greatest abuses against women. I believe that we must be careful not to let the pendulum swing too far and forget the very real problems that women have faced and continue to face in the world.

I'm not an inferior to any man on the planet. I don't need a college degree (though I have one), a high paying job (could have had one), or a bunch of liberals (sneer) to tell me these things while simultaneously trying to put a new set of limitations on me. My value--my worth--is that I'm made in the image of God.

What I am is a radical, as my Lord commanded me to be. Jesus preached a radical message, and He died for it. His disciples continued His radical ministry, and many of them died for it. It was never a political message, but it has always and continues today to scare the oppressor.