Elizabeth has been accosting me, accusing me of being a centrist. It's probably because I called myself a centrist, for lack of a better term.

So what do I believe?

First, I avoid labels like "Democrat," "Republican," or even "Socialist" or "Libertarian." I do not want to be pigeon-holed into a particular way of thinking, or giving others the impression that I am a "Democrat," which then presents them a whole buffet of assumptions about me that they can pick and choose.

"Centrists can decide the best political course of action based on the issue instead of the ideal to which they cling," writes Elizabeth. That's exactly right. When I make a decision, I don't make that decision based on whether or not I am a Democrat or a Republican, but based on how I personally feel about an issue. This results in my opinions being conservative in some cases (I am not opposed to allowing some people to invest part of their social security money) and liberal in others (we should legalize marijuana because it's no more harmful -- and even less so -- than alcohol, a legal drug). To say I am a "Democrat" would be a misnomer, because I often disagree with the Democrats. To say I am a Republican would be similarly wrong, because I often disagree with the Republicans (although in truth, I probably disagree with the Republicans more than the Democrats). The effect of my decisions is that I usually end up on the liberal side of the political spectrum, but this is not because I have a liberal ideology, but rather that my beliefs often lead me to the more liberal opinion about an issue.

Plato believed in a theory of transcendent ideals. A chair is a chair because it is a copy of the perfect form "chair" which exists in some supernatural, transcendent realm. Aristotle said that a chair is a chair because we call it a chair; everything that matches our conception of a chair is called a chair. In terms of politics, this means that Plato would say that first a political party exists and we then attempt to mimic the opinions of this party: "I am a Democrat and will follow Democrat beliefs." Aristotle would say the opposite, that our political beliefs exist first, and we then ascribe a name to them: "My beliefs make me a Democrat."

To the latter statement I have no objection. If you, as a person, have thought long and hard about your beliefs on individual issues, and you more often than not end up on the conservative end of things, you may safely say that you are a Republican. For this reason, I might call myself "liberal," since more often than not, my opinions end up on the liberal end of the political spectrum.

To the former statement, I have some question. "I am a Democrat; therefore, I should believe X." To adhere to an ideology is cause for concern, since adhering to an ideology denies that each person's beliefs vary. No one can adhere completely to the party-line.