Questionable Questions

The Smedley Log links to a political compass test. It’s based on the Libertarian Party’s "World’s Smallest Political Quiz". I promised a while back to not link to any quizzes for a while, so you might be scratching your heads at this post. Well, I’m not going suggest that everyone go take the test. I’m writing about it because I don’t like the way some of the questions are worded. There are a lot of instances of assumption, innuendo, and leading.

"I’d always support my country, whether it was right or wrong."

"Support" is a rather vague word in this context. A parent should always support his child, right or wrong. That doesn’t mean children should never be punished. Patriotism does not have to mean turning a blind eye to mistakes made by our country and those who represent it.

"The rich are too highly taxed."

Agreeing with this statement would seem to indicate that one favors the rich, ala the Republican Party. That may not be the case. For instance, I think the tax shelters and loopholes should be closed so that the rich wouldn’t have to be in a higher bracket to be taxed more. If there were fewer tax exemptions, a flat tax could easily replaced the revenue our current system generates.

"Abortion, when the woman’s life is not threatened, should always be illegal."

The wording of this question implies that only pro-choice folks will disagree. However, a staunch pro-lifer might disagree on the basis that there is no good reason for abortion.

"All authority must be questioned."

Questioning need not imply disobedience. In matters lacking obvious moral implications, one should understand why leaders do what they do before rejecting their authority. Serious breaches of morality, however, may require immediate disobedience.

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Most people take this to mean retributive justice. However, scriptural context reveals it be referring to proportionate justice. In other words, the focus is not on taking no less than equivalent action, but rather on taking no more.

"Schools should not make classroom attendance compulsory."

Is this about home schooling? What’s the context?

"Good parents sometimes have to spank their children, to teach them right from wrong."

"Have to" is a bit strong. Better: "Spanking is an acceptable means for teaching right and wrong to children."

"A significant advantage of a one-party state is that it avoids all the arguments that delay progress in a democratic political system."

At a strictly factual level, this may indeed be true. I think the best possible form of government is a benevolent monarchy. Since human nature makes that impossible, representative democracy is the best we can do. Also, progress is not always a good thing. Our legislative process was designed to be slow so wide swings of the pendulum and/or rash decisions might be avoided. Agreement with this statement would seem to be tacit support for either communism or fascism, which it need not.

"In a civilised society, one must always have people above to be obeyed and people below to be commanded."

I don’t think human nature would allow to be any other way. Someone must have final authority, if for no other reason than to break ties.

"Charity is better than social security as a means of helping the genuinely disadvantaged."

People volunteering to help the disadvantaged would be ideal, but since most people won’t, they must be helped by some other means. That doesn’t mean I think social security should be abolished.

"No one can feel naturally homosexual."

Disagreeing with this statement should not be the same as approving of homosexual behavior.

This entry was posted in essays, editorials, fisks, and rants, government, law, and politics, memes and quizzes and tagged on by .

About Funky Dung

Who is Funky Dung? 29-year-old grad student in Intelligent Systems (A.I.) at the University of Pittsburgh. I consider myself to be politically moderate and independent and somewhere between a traditional and neo-traditional Catholic. I was raised Lutheran, spent a number of years as an agnostic, and joined the Catholic Church at the 2000 Easter Vigil. Why Funky Dung? I haven't been asked this question nearly as many times as you or I might expect. Funky Dung is a reference to an obscure Pink Floyd song. On the album Atom Heart Mother, there is a track called Atom Heart Mother Suite. It's broken up into movements, like a symphony, and one of the movements is called Funky Dung. I picked that nickname a long time ago (while I was still in high school I think), shortly after getting an internet connection for the first time. To me it means "cool/neat/groovy/spiffy stuff/crap/shiznit", as in "That's some cool stuff, dude!" Whence Ales Rarus? I used to enjoy making people guess what this means, but I've decided to relent and make it known to all. Ales Rarus is a Latin play on words. "Avis rarus" means "a rare bird" and carries similar meaning to "an odd fellow". "Ales" is another Latin word for bird that carries connotations of omens, signs of the times, and/or augery. If you want to get technical, both "avis" and "ales" are feminine (requiring "rara", but they can be made masculine in poetry (which tends to breaks lots of rules). I decided I'd rather have a masculine name in Latin. ;) Yeah, I'm a nerd. So what? :-P Wherefore blog? It is my intention to "teach in order to lead others to faith" by being always "on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful" through the "use of the communications media". I also act knowing that I "have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors [my] opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and [I] have a right to make [my] opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward [my and their] pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons." (adapted from CCC 904-907) Statement of Faith I have been baptized and confirmed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I, therefore, renounce Satan; I renounce all his works; I renounce all his allurements. I hold and profess all that is contained in the Apostles' Creed, the Niceno- Constantinopolitan Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. Having been buried with Christ unto death and raised up with him unto a new life, I promise to live no longer for myself or for that world which is the enemy of God but for him who died for me and rose again, serving God, my heavenly Father, faithfully and unto death in the holy Catholic Church. I am obedient to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. That is, I promote and defend authentic Catholic Teaching and Faith in union with Christ and His Church and in union with the Holy Father, the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of St. Peter. Thanks be unto Thee, O my God, for all Thy infinite goodness, and, especially, for the love Thou hast shown unto me at my Confirmation. I Give Thee thanks that Thou didst then send down Thy Holy Spirit unto my soul with all His gifts and graces. May He take full possession of me for ever. May His divine unction cause my face to shine. May His heavenly wisdom reign in my heart. May His understanding enlighten my darkness. May His counsel guide me. May His knowledge instruct me. May His piety make me fervent. May His divine fear keep me from all evil. Drive from my soul, O Lord, all that may defile it. Give me grace to be Thy faithful soldier, that having fought the good fight of faith, I may be brought to the crown of everlasting life, through the merits of Thy dearly beloved Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Behind the Curtain: an Interview With Funky Dung (Thursday, March 03, 2005) I try to avoid most memes that make their way 'round the blogosphere (We really do need a better name, don't we?), but some are worth participating in. Take for instance the "interview game" that's the talk o' the 'sphere. I think it's a great way to get to know the people in neighborhood. Who are the people in your neighborhood? In your neighborhod? In your neigh-bor-hoo-ood...*smack* Sorry, Sesame Street flashback. Anyhow, I saw Jeff "Curt Jester" Miller's answers and figured since he's a regular reader of mine he'd be a good interviewer. Without further ado, here are my answers to his questions. 1. Being that your pseudonym Funky Dung was chosen from a Pink Floyd track on Atom Heart Mother, what is you favorite Pink Floyd song and why? Wow. That's a tuffy. It's hard to pick out a single favorite. Pink Floyd isn't really a band known for singles. They mostly did album rock and my appreciation of them is mostly of a gestalt nature. If I had to pick one, though, it'd be "Comfortably Numb". I get chills up my spine every time I hear it and if it's been long enough since the last time, I get midty-eyed. I really don't know why. That's a rather unsatisfying answer for an interview, so here are the lyrics to a Rush song. It's not their best piece of music, but the lyrics describe me pretty well.

New World Man He's a rebel and a runner He's a signal turning green He's a restless young romantic Wants to run the big machine He's got a problem with his poisons But you know he'll find a cure He's cleaning up his systems To keep his nature pure Learning to match the beat of the old world man Learning to catch the heat of the third world man He's got to make his own mistakes And learn to mend the mess he makes He's old enough to know what's right But young enough not to choose it He's noble enough to win the world But weak enough to lose it --- He's a new world man... He's a radio receiver Tuned to factories and farms He's a writer and arranger And a young boy bearing arms He's got a problem with his power With weapons on patrol He's got to walk a fine line And keep his self-control Trying to save the day for the old world man Trying to pave the way for the third world man He's not concerned with yesterday He knows constant change is here today He's noble enough to know what's right But weak enough not to choose it He's wise enough to win the world But fool enough to lose it --- He's a new world man...
2. What do you consider your most important turning point from agnosticism to the Catholic Church. At some point in '99, I started attending RCIA at the Pittsburgh Oratory. I mostly went to ask a lot of obnoxious Protestant questions. Or at least that's what I told myself. I think deep down I wanted desperately to have faith again. At that point I think I'd decided that if any variety of Christianity had the Truth, the Catholic Church did. Protestantism's wholesale rejection of 1500 years of tradition didn't sit well with me, even as a former Lutheran. During class one week, Sister Bernadette Young (who runs the program) passed out thin booklet called "Handbook for Today's Catholic". One paragraph in that book spoke to me and I nearly cried as I read it.
"A person who is seeking deeper insight into reality may sometimes have doubts, even about God himself. Such doubts do not necessarily indicate lack of faith. They may be just the opposite - a sign of growing faith. Faith is alive and dynamic. It seeks, through grace, to penetrate into the very mystery of God. If a particular doctrine of faith no longer 'makes sense' to a person, the person should go right on seeking. To know what a doctrine says is one thing. To gain insight into its meaning through the gift of understanding is something else. When in doubt, 'Seek and you will find.' The person who seeks y reading, discussing, thinking, or praying eventually sees the light. The person who talks to God even when God is 'not there' is alive with faith."
At the end of class I told Sr. Bernadette that I wanted to enter the Church at the next Easter vigil. 3. If you were a tree what kind of, oh sorry about that .. what is the PODest thing you have ever done? I set up WikiIndex, a clearinghouse for reviews of theological books, good, bad, and ugly. It has a long way to go, but it'll be cool when it's finished. :) 4. What is your favorite quote from Venerable John Henry Newman? "Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt." 5. If you could ban one hymn from existence, what would it be? That's a tough one. As a member of the Society for a Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas, there are obviously a lot of songs that grate on my nerves. If I had to pick one, though, I'd probably pick "Sing of the Lord's Goodness" by Ernie Sands.

2 thoughts on “Questionable Questions

  1. h2

    Like any quiz, it’s a little narrow.
    Kind of like most IQ (or any other sort of standardized) tests.

    I think the value I saw in this test was more about how the results categorize people. It might be nice to see people changing the way they look at politics in this country, especially with how poorly our labels seem to fit most of the time.

    I did scratch my head a little at some of the same questions you’re quoting here — but then, I’ve done that with every one of this sort of standardized test I’ve ever taken.

    Oh, by the way, I think both of the “electable” candidates are horrible choices too. It always seems that in our quest for marketability, we settle for mediocrity. That’s what really makes me scratch my head.

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