And I'm usually so trendy...

The results are in. I'm extreme. No, not that kind of extreme. Over the past week friends near and far have enjoyed the fruits of the Political Compass and as the creators of the graph pointed out it has been a wonderful stimulus for conversation and debate. I always knew that I was a pretty poltically conservative person, but I had no idea how far out I was in comparison to the people I know. The only person remotely close to me has been M. Everyone else is on the other side of y.

It's been really interesting seeing how people react to my results. Some have reacted like "Well duh. It's you. I disagree/kind of agree with you. Let's have a debate." and others have reacted like "Woah... so you're evil." and proceeded to attack. I'm not evil, just different, more different than I'd thought mind you. I can take comfort in knowing that in negative side of the X axis has been popular for everyone. And I would again like to point out that I fall in the category "which couples law of the jungle right-wing economics with liberal positions on most social issues."

There's a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to the right, so before more attacks come via email, make sure that we're using the same vocabulary. Just because I fall onto a position on a graph, it does not mean that you can define my every value and belief. Please know that I'm pretty liberal unless it involves economics or my personal freedoms. I like to think of it as classical liberalism. I know that I will never live in my ideal world. Perhaps people like Mike and Shaver and others living closer to the centre are more grounded in the realities of today's world and what can and will actually happen. I confess to being an idealist and seeing things in black and white, just like my counterparts on the extreme left. I am not a baby eater, nor do I cut down trees for sport. I'm an atheist, so I share very little in common with that faction of the right. I don't want people to suffer needlessly and do not ever want to achieve greatness at the expense of another. I just think that the best economy is a free one and that no one is better at living my life than I am. Savvy? Savvy.

Today's sing-a-long song: "My Life" Billy Joel.

HRH