Political influences

My friend Dave asks about my five top political influences. I’m not quite sure what to answer. I’m generally not very impressed with my own political opinions. I’m a Liberal Democrat in Sweden, a left-wing Democrat in the US and a Brownite in Britain. In Taiwan I don’t really know yet (but I’m all for better relations with the mainland). I guess I’m just your average bleeding heart liberal.</span>

But even bleeding hearts need a justification. What are the grounds for my beliefs? I could probably point to some people who influenced me, but what I can’t explain is why I found these particular people influential. What I can’t explain is what the grounds are for choosing a certain set of grounds. And what are the grounds of those grounds? What’s behind the reason we find certain reasons persuasive? I just don’t know.

Or am I making it too complicated?

My friend Dave asks about my five top political influences. I’m not quite sure what to answer. I’m generally not very impressed with my own political opinions. I’m a Liberal Democrat in Sweden, a left-wing Democrat in the US and a Brownite in Britain. In Taiwan I don’t really know yet (but I’m all for better relations with the mainland). I guess I’m just your average bleeding heart liberal.

But even bleeding hearts need a justification. What are the grounds for my beliefs? I could probably point to some people who influenced me, but what I can’t explain is why I found these particular people influential. What I can’t explain is what the grounds are for choosing a certain set of grounds. And what are the grounds of those grounds? What’s behind the reason we find certain reasons persuasive? I just don’t know.

Or am I making it too complicated?