What's In A Name?

I've mentioned before that I find it hard to describe my political philosophy in any of the accepted terms.

As a younger person I happily (and correctly) identified myself as a liberal. Now - whether because of age and wisdom or changes in the political atmosphere or both - I shun the term as well as the mindset.

I've also been reluctant to label myself conservative. While there are many aspects of conservatism that I agree with, I find myself repulsed by the inherent judgementalism of those who believe a person must be Other-directed to be sincere in their ideology.

So I was amused and interested to read Meghan McCain's article on The Daily Beast. (Did I just write that I found Meghan McCain interesting and amusing?) Ms. McCain took, and passed, the Republican Purity test with a score of 8/10. I happen to agree wholeheartedly with Meghan's assessment of the test's existence:

"Any organization asking for “purification” from something just feels innately creepy and a little sinister."

But, to satisfy my own curiosity, I took the test. And scored higher.

Oh, my...

So I took another test. This one was the Nolan Political Quiz. It asks ten questions, and plots you on a graph according to your answers. Where'd I end up?

Almost exactly where I expected I might.