Independent vs. Democrat in the Era of Obama

I received a couple of questions in a comment to a recent post that I thought deserved a thorough response.

The first question was:

I want to ask about your evolution to a commitment to the Democratic party. I sometimes wonder if the two party structure we've evolved is counter-productive to the examination of multiple viewpoints. Even though I've generally leaned Democratic, I still resist identifying myself as a Democrat, preferring to be "independent".

I have shared this view for a long time and it is the principal reason why I was a non-aligned voter for 25 years. However, I tend not to be a “black and white” thinker which is what particularly pushed me away from the Republican party and the Bush administration.

As with Obama, I chose the Democratic party not so much because of a specific platform but because of a general set of principles that governed its practices. I saw those principles being ones of diversity, empowerment, inclusion, dialogue and respect for the individual that is often balanced with the needs of the community.

When I looked at the two parties, like you, I found myself identifying most often with the Democratic party.

The second question was:

I'd be interested in what is now your clear alignment with the Democratic party. How would you define the party as opposed to the Republican party (which right now seems like an unlikely marriage of two very different groups). Of course, what the parties were historically and what they represent now may be quite different. In either case, I'd be interested in your thinking. What has inspired you to have that identification?

That is a rather difficult question to answer. As frustrating as it may seem, I see people, groups, issues and events as collection of interests or attributes each measured along its own axis or continuum. So, when I think of the Democratic Party, I see a collection of diverse people each with his or he own set and measure of interests. For me that makes it challenging to pin down just exactly what the Democratic Party is and if you ask any two people, “what is XYZ party“, you’ll get differing answers.

As I said, becoming a member of the Democratic party was not so much accepting some pre-determined set of beliefs or issues but deciding to become part of the equation. At any time, the party may have positions in its platform with which I will not agree and I’m OK with that. I believe that is integral to living in a democracy. However, by becoming part of the party, I believe I can add my voice to a collective effort to govern our country.

Over the last several years, I have seen trends in the Republican party -- like the blurring of the boundaries between church and state -- that worry me. In comparison to the principles that I perceived inside the Democratic party, I felt it was important for me to become part of the party that most embodied my world view.

I’ve quoted this line before but when I was a boy the rock band Rush had a song called ”Freewill“ with the lyric, ”"If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.“ Ultimately, I felt that ”choosing not to decide“ was abdicating power to a set of principles I did not support so I ”made a choice.”

Now it’s up to me to make of it what I will.