Self-Determination

One of my fundamental beliefs that drives my poltical ideology is that of self-determination. This is a very dangerous and very American ideal because it makes the assertion that people should be able to pursue their own destinies with the least amount of interference from governments, parents, other people, and maybe even economics.

This applies on both an individual level as well as internationally. I have no problem with independence movements as long as they are democratic. If Quebec, Scottland, Palestine, Kurdistan, Taiwan, or Texas were able to get a majority of its population to vote for independance, I'd be all for supporting them, even millitarily.

The American Civil War would still be a tough case using this ideal, because while the Confederate states chose to leave, slavery goes completely against the idea of self-determination. I'd probibly still have invaded and emancipated the slaves, but I don't think I would've forced the confederacy to rejoin the union. But I digress.

On a less grand scale, I'm all for issues like school vouchers, legal immigration, and things like that. Oddly the environmental issue kindof fits in this catagory, with people having a right to clean air and the like.

I'm also against religeous indoctrination (though not moral) of children, because they aren't old enough to fully grasp the concepts. I would probibly push the the confirmation dates up to the age of adulthood, but since religions are unregulated I'm not sure how to enforce that.

On the individual level, I'm all for people getting the full rights of citizenship earlier, like 17 or whenever they graduate from school, when enthusiasm is still pretty high and the mind is mature enough nowadays to make rational decions (not that they always will). So lower all the drinking and gambling ages and legalize everything for adults . But since tatoos and piercings are permanent and the effects of drugs on youths are very damaging, I would heavily enforce these prohibitions until the age of consent, because future adults deserves to have their naturally developed bodies to do with as they see fit. I still remember my sister screaming when she got her ears pierced when she was way too young. This would end contraversial practices such as circumcision and drugging kids with ritalin and other actions with long-term consequences that only the future adult should make.

I'm still working out the abortion angle, but right now it would be free and universal availability of the "morning-after pill" to prevent implantation and give women full short-term control. Successfull implantation implies consent and the woman should carry the baby to term and give it up to adoption if she doesn't want to keep it.




Lurker
(must create Revolutionary Party)