why i'm not a centrist

Should we start with how the concepts of left and right are nonsense?

It wasn't a thing at the beginning of US politics. It happened a little later, during the French Revolution. Supporters of the king would sit to his right during the National Assembly, and the revolutionaries sat to his left. We would recognize the polarization that set this in action; they changed seats to avoid the slurs and insults of the opposition.

Let's not dwell on the French Revolution too long, it's as fascinating as a car crash.

It makes sense for a society to cleave itself into opposing camps when confronted with a truly divisive question, with only two apparent choices. It doesn't make sense when society stretches to confront more than ten disconnected divisive questions, some of which appear to have infinite solutions.

On this shaky foundation, 'centrism' might mean a variety of things, depending on context. It could be a desire for a moderate approach to one or more divisive issues, such as abortion. It could mean a mix of perspectives from the left and right; whatever quantity is needed to break loyalty to one tribe. It might be an aesthetic aversion to divisive rhetoric. It could be cover for an unpalatable or unjustifiable position (often support for Trump). It could even be an awkward desire for entertainment devoid of smug political messaging.

At best, it is an understanding that the correct path is often unclear and that vigorous debate is needed to discover the way.

If we are trying to draw a line from the French assembly to modern times, the spectrum is an indication of how comfortable one is with traditional structures of authority. Self-described centrists or independents might be loathe to throw in with one party, but they have some comfort with the existing government structure (capitalistic liberal democracy), and probably conform to popular views around religion and relationship structures. This is why, under pressure, centrists tend to veer right. (I'm referring to average voters here, not audience-captured media personalities.)

Traditional structures of authority aren't doing a direct power grab, at least not yet. The current primary objective of the right is to weaken the central government as much as possible, on the assumption that local governments, religions, businesses, and families will rush to fill in the vacuum. This is starting to break down, in response to the leftward swing of big business.

'First do no harm' is a laudable approach to politics. In polarized times, if the right doesn't plan to create new laws, and resists political expansion, well, I can see why they gain the support of the center.

If the right rejects the small government approach and slides towards theocratic nationalism, it's time for the center to bail. The way I read current Supreme Court decisions, that time has already arrived.

*****

I'm not on the left, as constituted these days, because of the bleak religious overtones. Certain words, foods, and other behaviors are forbidden. Society is stratified into a caste system of intersecting combinations of race and gender, some to be considered sacred, others scorned. Everything is broken and doomed, and the best you can do is to be open about the mental illness you are struggling with.

I'm not on the right, because the only appealing aspect it has is the critique of the left. I like freedom. Faith, family, and tradition sound boring to me. If I was walking through the woods and came across Chesterton's Fence, I would blow it up to see if it was hiding a cool secret path.

Although this stance puts me closer to the Libertarians, fully unregulated capitalism seems like a mistake. Tyranny can come at you from any direction.

And I'm not in the center, because I'm not trying to fit my entire perspective into a tweet. As you can see, I'm willing to type out 662 words to really flesh out my views.

Call me 'unaffiliated' instead. Sounds more rebellious.