What Are Your Politics?

• To understand the history of the political spectrum

• To explore our political preferences and worldview

On Running for Public Office from: A Promised Land by Barack Obama (2020)

Seize the Opportunity

The power to inspire is rare. Moments like this are rare. You think you may not be ready, that you’ll do it a more convenient time. But you don’t choose the time. The time chooses you. Either you seize what may turn out to be the only change you have, or you decide you're willing to live with the knowledge that the chance has passed you by (Ted Kennedy urging Barack Obama to run for president (p. 69)).

Why Obama Ran

I wanted to be neither supplicant, always on the periphery of power and seeking favor from liberal benefactors, not a permanent protester, full of righteous anger as we waited for white America to expiate its guilt. Both paths were well trodden; both, at some fundamental level were born of despair (p. 118).

Co-opting the Candidate

At some basic level people were no longer seeing me, I realized, with all my quirks and shortcomings. Instead, they had taken possession of my likeness and made it a vessel for a million different dreams. I knew a time would come when I would disappoint them, falling short of the image that my campaign and I had helped to construct.

I realized, too, that if supporters could mold bits and pieces of me into an outsized symbol of hope, then the vague fears of detractors could just as readily congeal into hate. And it was in response to this disturbing truth that I ‘d seen my life change the most (p. 136).

In a political or news context, have you heard the terms "leftwing" and "rightwing" before? If so, what do you think they mean? If not, can you guess what they may mean?

The Political Compass Quiz

You may also find this political spectrum/positioning quiz interesting.

Reflection:

Did you find the political compass survey accurate? If so, why so? If not, why not?

Many people may argue that the whole notion of the political spectrum is antiquated and is no longer of use. In fact, this article makes a good case for getting rid of it altogether. However, the terms have become so ingrained in our political lexicon that it is difficult to imagine these disappearing anytime soon, no matter how much confusion, hostility or dogmatism they may inspire.

“I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done, of everything done-to-me. I am everyone everything whose being-in-the-world affected was affected by mine. I am anything that happens after I'm gone which would not have happened if I had not come. Nor am I particularly exceptional in this matter; each "I," everyone one of the now six hundred million plus of us contains a similar multitude. I repeat for the last time: to understand me you'll have to swallow the world” (p.535).

― Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children

The reason we have explored the political compass and attempted to situate ourselves on the political spectrum is to try best determine our worldview. The perspective or lens through which we view the world will determine how we believe the "affairs of the state" or politics should be handled.

In its simplest terms, a worldview is a set of beliefs about the most important issues in life. More technically, a world view is a conceptual scheme by which we consciously or unconsciously place or fit everything we believe and by which we interpret and judge reality. Either way, we all have worldviews and our worldviews act as a guide throughout life.

A worldview may be best understood through the analogy of wearing eyeglasses. We look at the world through our own set of “lenses”. There are several different issues that influence the nature of each person’s lenses.

First, the unique experiences that you have in your life will “shade” your lenses in a particular way that will affect the way you view the world. For example, if we have never experienced war we may view the possibility of our country going to war in a much different light than someone who has experienced war. Our experience with various social groups - friends, religious groups, teachers - also impact our worldview.

Another way in which our worldview is constructed is through reason. When we receive new information we decide whether to accept it or reject it. If we accept it, it becomes part of our worldview and shapes the way we look at things. If we reject it, that also impacts our worldview in that we have chosen not to view the world in that fashion.

Finally, tradition and culture have a significant impact on our worldview. Our traditions may be of a religious, spiritual, moral or ethical nature. These traditions all affect the way in which we make decisions about our world. Cultural expectations from the way we dress to our beliefs surrounding human rights all impact the lenses through which we view the world.

First, how do you most strongly identify? Do you identify primarily as the member of a nation? a particular ethnic group? an organization such as Greenpeace or a religious group? Perhaps it is more than one. Either way, reflect on how your membership within these groups impacts how you view the world.

What are the two political issues that you hold to most strongly? Why those? Re-read the explanation of worldview. How has your worldview shaped your understanding of these political issues. In other words, how have the lenses through which you view the world shaped your perspectives on these two issues? This would be a good opportunity to talk about your political compass results and how you view yourself as politically positioned. Do you identify most closely with/have your strongest connection to: your country, a state or province, a nation (cultural group) to which you belong, a religious group, a charitable organization or a movement? How do these connections impact your worldview.

Upload your reflection to our Google Classroom in the "classwork" tab.

In partners, complete this political spectrum review