The Youth Rights Movement’s Political Leanings - Part 1
I had meant to do an entry on this topic for a while now, but after spotting a blog entry suggesting a link between NYRA and Socialism, I think now is a particularly appropriate time to discuss the issue.
The author of the above came up with the idea of a NYRA/Socialism link because of one of our volunteers - Svend la Rose, who is an active member in the Socialist Party. After a bit of a search however, he reached this conclusion:
It doesn’t appear that the NYRA is a socialist organization, only that they appear to be open to people with different ideologies. However, if anyone knows better or has any other information, leave a comment.
He is quite correct, and I’m glad that an outsider, especially one who seems to have it out for us, reached that conclusion. He cited this poll from the forums. He missed apparently another poll that was both simpler and more widely participated in. He also missed this poll of the 2004 contenders for the White House. Of course maybe I hurt my case by providing those other polls, as they are more tilted, but for the sake of honesty I feel obligated to post them and then discuss the results.
It should first be noted and stressed that all the above polls are just informal polls on the forums. The vast majority of members are not included in these polls. However like all polls, they may well be representative of the whole. That being said, the results of those polls show quite clearly that the two largest political groups in NYRA are libertarians and liberals (or ‘progressives’).
So am I dismayed we aren’t split right down the middle into perfectly balanced political camps? Yes. However when I put the results in perspective, I don’t lose sleep over it. In my experience here in DC with all the many organizations I come into contact with, it is very rare for an organization to be even close to as mixed as NYRA. Even among groups that claim the title of non-partisan are overwhelmingly staffed by one side or another. The organization whose office I share is 100% Democrat(as far as I can tell), though the organization doesn’t do anything partisan. In my experience even organizations that are 80%-20% are exceedingly rare, most are tilted even more. Most non-profit friends of mine really have to search their minds to even name a Republican or Bush supporter they know “I think my cousin might have voted for Bush…”
So in light of that, our breakdown over the 2004 election with 6 Bush voters, 10 Kerry voters, 11 Badnarik voters, 5 Nader and 3 Cobb voters is quite revolutionary. The political poll is equally revolutionary when you consider that many of the folks who labeled themselves “independent” are in fact staunch Bush supporters. Our ranks are far more balanced than most any non-profit out there who works on political issues and claims the title of “non-partisan”. One year the NYRA Board was quite famously balanced, with two Democrats, two Republicans, two Libertarians, and one Socialist. Obviously such a neat balance doesn’t always happen, and isn’t the case now, but I think it speaks quite clearly to the organization’s openness to different political viewpoints. A culture that we have worked hard to maintain over the years.
It should also be noted that to discern the tilt of an organization you don’t often need to go much further than its head. Were I a rabid Democrat or Republican it would be much harder to see the organization as totally unbiased. Instead however I am politically independent, and I attach myself to no party fully. I do have my leanings, but they are split into many different camps, as even the title of this blog seeks to demonstrate. If there is bias to be found in this organization, I’m very much not the source of it.
While we are far more politically balanced that most every political group out there, we are still pulled in two general directions. The two biggest groups in NYRA are liberals/progressives and libertarians. Why is that? That is a tougher question. A question that actually I think I’m going to wait to answer, as I don’t have enough time at the moment to finish thinking and writing about it. So until that time comes, I turn the question over to everyone else. Why does NYRA lean liberal and libertarian?
September 27th, 2005 at 7:43 pm
NYRA attracts many libertarians because it youth rights is a natural extension of the libertarian philosophy, when taken to an extreme. NYRA has attracted many liberals, particularly in leadership positions, because we have a strong Berkeley chapter that throws off the stats. Also, some liberals (more than is the case with Republicans, but still not many) are willing to accept new ideas. We have a few Republicans, though they wouldn’t call themselves such, and I’m glad they are around. I can not decide if they are attracted to youth rights because it is a left over ideal from some time when they were guided by more sound principles, or if their passion for youth rights is derived from the source as their support for the Iraq war.
Another interesting question is this:
Why do we get more support from Republicans on the Drinking Age, and more support from Democrats on the voting age?
I say because there is a (dying) libertarian strain in the Republican Party, that seems truly willing to grant Americans some political freedom that protectionists deny to them. The voting age, however, may be seen as some farce to create new Democrats (as Councilman Oddo has said in his foul and ignorant way.) Democrats see this as expanding the franchise, doing some thing good for young people - and most importantly, expanding liberty in a way that does not call public safety in to question.
September 27th, 2005 at 7:45 pm
typo. I said “it” and “youth rights” when the terms are redundant.
September 28th, 2005 at 12:40 am
More political diversity makes us more open. It’s a good thing.
(Hehe, I sound like Martha Stewart! Eek!)
October 11th, 2005 at 2:42 am
In my honest opinion, NYRA swings libertarian and progressive simply because many conservatives are Republicans and many of them believe in Judeo-Christian “values”. One of those being about honoring fathers and mothers but many of the conservative family value people like to take things like that and basically put an age with a law or “will of God”. God never said honor mom and dad till you are 18, God said honor thy father and mother. Jesus may very well have been pro youth rights. He said “Suffer the Children to come onto me”. This was said after adults were yelling at kids who wanted to talk to Jesus that they were getting “in the way, and wouldn’t understand what he was talking about. Things like this lead me to become less religious and see through what I perceive is a conservative Christian hypocracy. There are numerous other reasons I could probably find if I wanted to dust off the ole B-I-B-L-E. But I don’t want to.
To save time I will just sum up and say that because conservatives vote their religious beliefs, most of the time, and those beliefs, no matter how skewed, have them believe that certain segments of the population need to be controlled by other segments, it is hard for conservatives and Republicans to give rights to those they believe are going against God’s will, for instance gay rights(marriage, adoption). Conservatives forget that not everyone follows their set of morals. Libertarians and progressives (at least socially issue wise) believe that everyone should be treated fairly under the law, but with the understanding that we are all different individuals open to making up our own minds about our choices in life and that those choices will differ. Republicans, at least the conservative ones, feel everyone should follow THEIR moral code because that is from God and their God is the only god etc. etc. Okay, I am sorry for rambling but this is why I am a proud libertarian and supporter of youth rights. And after going to and from the Republican party twice in my life, I feel I have some insight into this from a Republican standpoint.
Damn, Alex, now I know how you feel. I don’t want to put myself in such a small box and call myself one party or the other. I know what I believe and individual rights are first and foremost on my list of political fights.