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To the editor:
Chris Rock put it perfectly when he said, in language that I will clean up here, that he was not a liberal or a conservative because that means you have made up your mind before you hear the issue.
Leonard Peltier, who finally had his sentence commuted by President Biden to house arrest, spent decades in prison for the murder of two FBI agents even though the bureau’s own ballistics test showed the bullets were not from his gun. I called for Peltier's release not because I'm a liberal, but because I don't want innocent people in prison.
I have called for life sentences that actually mean life and do not allow for parole not because I'm a conservative. It's because I believe the public should not be endangered by the release of murderers.
Likewise, I would not automatically take a position just because it's been labeled moderate ("Moderate," The Chief, Letters, May 16).
Also, where a position stands is subjective. "Medicare-for-all" in this country is often labeled as "far-left" while it is nothing more than what most of the developed world has and considers normal. Republicans label Democrats liberal, but Democrats have not nominated a presidential candidate to the left of Richard Nixon since George McGovern.
I take a position I feel is just and factually supported without worrying about whether it is liberal, moderate, conservative or whatever.
Richard Warren
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J.Donne
It is certainly encouraging to learn that you allegedly reject political labels, preferring to establish positions based on justice and factual evidence. It is logical to argue that labels such as liberal and conservative are subjective and frequently misleading. Furthermore, it is sensible to reject the notion of automatically adopting a moderate position because issues are not as straightforward as black and white; there exists a substantial gray area in the domain of ideas, opinions, and ideologies. However, it is perfectly reasonable to analyze issues by considering perspectives from all three sides before determining the validity of one’s opinion, which is inherently subjective.
Friday, May 23 Report this