I am always amazed at the way people tend to impose their ideals on others.  We classify ourselves into three basic categories…conservatives, liberals and libertarians with independents not “claiming” any affiliation.  But what does that mean?

Conservatives claim to be for freedom, but they still impose their values on others.  This case was recently brought to my attention.  There is a young girl in Front Royal, Virginia, who had a vision.  She made awesome pastries and decided to open a donut shop.  So she recruited backers and worked hard to make her dream a reality…this, by the way, is the true American dream, but that is another post.  She called her shop Naughty Girl’s Donut Shop and used posters of icons like Marilyn Monroe as decoration.  She and her staff continue to go to high school while running the shop!  But some think her name is too risque for the sleepy town of Front Royal so they are calling for a boycott.  So much for the concept of freedom!  Read about this young lady and her business here.

Liberals call themselves “liberal” which would imply a more tolerant outlook, but it seems they only take that stance if you agree with their outlooks and phobias.  As a general rule they are for a Utopian world where everyone is given everything that they need and everyone is equal.  The problem with that concept is that if everyone is equal there is nothing to strive for, no goals, no success and no failure.  In essence, no advancement.

Libertarians are more in line with freedom than the first two groups, but still believe that we are not trustworthy enough to make our own decisions, therefore we must have a higher “authority” telling us what we can and cannot do.  This is still not freedom.

Independents…true independents…will hold that we are each responsible for our own actions and accountable for our deeds.  There are very few true independents, although there are some.  When you meet them you may think them odd because they embody a different perspective on life and freedom.

Most of us fall into more than one category.  Most of us THINK that we are all about freedom and liberty, but we have lost sight of what those terms really entail.  Where do you stand?  Are you willing to allow others to embrace their own values even when they don’t agree with your own?