About me and my political philosphy

My name is Samuel Bressler. I am seventeen years old and a current senior at Troy High School in Fullerton. I am a birdwatcher, as well as lover of science. For many years, I have been fascinated by politics and policy. I feel these are important because these, more than sports, fashion, and any other common interest, will be shaping my life, along with my classmate's lives as we prepare to go to college and beyond.

My political philosphy: stick to the facts and logic, forget the dogma. Too often political dogma consists of unrelated beliefs bolted together even though they are not at all related. For example, many people opposed to abortion call themselves pro-life, yet they also strongly support the death penalty. And just to be politically correct, many liberals call themselves the pro-science party and accuse conservatives of living in the middle ages because of issues such as evolution in classrooms and discussion of anthropogenic climate change. Yet same liberals are among the most extreme and partisan opponents to nuclear energy and genetically modified organisms, even if by doing so they are directly opposing some of the greatest fruit science has produced for us.

To be politically literate, a new way of thinking should be popularized- consistency. If you accuse your opponent on one issue but use the exact logic he uses on a different issue (as in the two cases above) you are being inconsistent. Will consistency requiring softening some firmly-held beliefs? Absolutely. Will political discourse be improved? Absolutely.

I also hate talking points that are thrown into the arena from both sides of the aisle. It is an insult to the American people that politicians hoodwink us by spewing inaccurate or just plain made-up facts or statistics in order to buy votes. We the people should let them know.

I am a utilitarian rather than a Kantian. Government should not be about absolutes. With rare exceptions people are not pro-environment or anti-environment, or pro-jobs or anti-jobs. Government should be about doing the greatest amount of good for the people, in this case, the American people. With very rare exceptions, neither liberal nor conservative dogma is utilitarian.

I hope you enjoy my blog!
Samuel Bressler

Pandion haliaetus- Osprey