Partisan labels are foolish.

Why do so many people feel a need to associate their posts/comments (or, worse, label other people's posts/comments) as being a "liberal" or "conservative" concern? Worse, why do people think by doing so, they are introducing useful information into the discussion?

How about simply considering the actual merits and/or short-comings that are intrinsic to a topic for a change? When did it become intellectually acceptable (or remotely satisfying) to merely toe-the-party-line when considering a topic? Too often issues like gun-rights, or foreign policy, or civil rights, or religious-freedoms...or just about anything, as it too often seems... simply leads to a series of empty, knee-jerk assertions that amount to little more than "liberal-bating" and "conservative-bashing" and fail to present a single cogent argument. Such behavior merely separates the thinking adults from those who still sit at the kiddie table during the large family holiday meals.

Moreover, I would expect people, if they were honest and truly considerate, would have variation in their partisan leanings, depending upon the topic. To be so wed to only a single-minded perspective is to favor form over function, to abandon substance for style, and to announce that you just don't really understand anything with any kind of depth. In short, to place all your ideological eggs in a single basket, is to simply abdicate the ability to think for yourself, and to, instead, default to becoming a simple-minded ideologue. Such ideologues shun, out of hand, any points-of-view other than those endorsed by their own partisan platforms, they brandish the opposing ideological label about like its some kind cudgel, and rarely demonstrate any understanding other than their own single-dimensional position. They self-identify their partisan allegiance at the drop of a hat, and like the obedient robotic soldiers they have become, commonly view the world in terms of liberal- or conservative- "agendas." Most damning, however, is when ideologues start parroting the sound-bites of whatever partisan talking-heads from whom they accept their marching orders.

While I am not against being partisan (I think, in fact, its impossible not to be), I merely think ideological purity is a myth, and to self-label oneself by a particular ideology is to misunderstand partisanship completely. Ideological labels are not what you choose for yourself, but what other people label you in relation to their own positions. If you are articulate, coherent, and well-reasoned in your arguments, your partisan leanings on any issue will become very self-evident to all who read your words. On the other hand, if you feel the need to lead off the conversation by exclaiming your self-identified partisan position, you appear more like an obedient pet who only moves forward in a discussion when you know you are still firmly attached to your owner's leash.

Too often such partisan labels act as a proxy for thinking. Telling people you are "a conservative" or "a liberal" is often explanation enough in need of no further details, right? What this tactic conceals, of course, is the fact that few self-identifying ideologues have ever put sufficient effort into developing a personal position that justifies their self-identification. They merely wear their partisan labels like a badge of honor, all the while depending upon it like a crutch to prop up their dignity, and as a bandage to conceal from view their own gaping ignorance. How can such a tactic ever lead to an understanding of anything? So leave your partisan labels behind and just tell me what you actually think about the subject on hand. Otherwise, I rather just listen to the wind.