Credo

There are a number of memes running around right now which are well-intentioned, and which I at least somewhat agree with -- but they're all of the form "copy these words exactly to show that you're One Of Us, and not One Of Them." I'm afraid that I probably am One Of Them in many cases, though I'm not going to repeat verbatim anyone's loyalty oath.

I don't do loyalty oaths.

And, again, I never intend for this to be a political blog, so I don't want to talk about particulars.

So, instead, here's what I believe, in general terms:

• It's none of my business who you're sleeping with, and it's none of the government's business, either. Absent coercion, violence or massive power discrepancies (such as those between any teenager and any adult), this is purely a private matter. I'm not for "X rights," whatever X is, but I am for treating people equally and fairly. Except for a very few cases, I would prefer government and private citizens to act as if there is only one class of persons: "people."
• Physical torture is barbaric, generally useless, and stupid. Any regime that relies on it demonstrates that they are only interested in "proving" what they already know, and not in learning the facts.
• Invading another country to "bring democracy" to them is something Democrats do. And it never worked when they tried it, either. Democracy is not a pizza delivery; you can't bring it with you.
• I'm hesitant to call upon anyone to disobey orders or laws they consider illegal or unconstitutional; this opens a massive can of worms. Some people may abhor laws that the manifesto's writer loves, and disobey them. We all have to do what we can, where we are, with what we have. I would much prefer a world in which no one ever tried to be a hero, in which no one cared about abstract things that much.
• I am against Big Anything: Big Business, Big Government, Big Labor, Big NGOs. Any large organization inevitably turns against its original purposes and becomes a tool of corruption and self-serving. The best imaginable society is one in which the larger interests oppose each other at every turn, and no one interest or consortium can get control of more than a limited piece of the society.
• All politicians are liars and thieves, in direct relation to the amount of power they control. The most honest and innocent-seeming ones are the worst, since they're the best at hiding.

This I believe.

(I'm trying to stay on the realistic side of "grumpy old crank," but sometimes it's hard. This has also been sitting all week, as I did tiny little edits that didn't change anything and wondering if it's a good idea in the first place, but I think I'll finally post it now.)