Radical?

OK, I will admit to some radical personal beliefs. Probably the biggest is that I am against owning pets. Almost like ALF level disagreement to pet ownership. And probably 99% of the people out their think my ideas or opinions about it are "radical".

Or just as radical my ideas on prisoners and taxes. It seems that going to jail doesn't really do much to rehabilitate a person away from further criminal activity. In my mind while they are there they should be serving the rest of the population who are not criminals. Basically there shouldn't be a speck of trash anywhere, nothing un-painted, no graffiti, no weeds, no nothing left undone that is simple manual labor to clean and beautify a city. Not slavery while doing you're time but service for the greater good of the community and for no profit.

Taxes. I've been poor. I've been "rich". Folks with less income use more public services. If taxes provide those services then they should pay more. As my household has to pay 39% of its income in federal taxes, so should every other income bracket. You want fairness? There ya go, pay the same percentage I do.

Like I said, what lots of people would consider radical beliefs. But how is that a lot of my other beliefs were main stream, traditional and even somewhat conservative 30, 50 years ago and are now considered to be less so.

*Pledge of Allegiance in schools, each and every day.
*Belief in God and regular church attendance.
*That alcohol, tobacco, gambling, drugs, prostitution and such are all wrong. In a moral sense, as I do disagree on how these things are legally dealt with.
*Majority rule. Whatever the 51% want, the other 49% gotta play along.
*It's OK to own a gun, whatever kind you want.
*Marriage is between a guy and a girl. Let domestic partnership suffice for same sex couples and reserve marriage for its traditional definition.
*Capitalism good. Communism and Socialism bad.
*It is OK to compromise.

It is that last one I think is key. So much of what people feel and say and do today seems to be absolute. Those who scream "tolerance" are often the very least tolerant. There has to be reconciliation, understanding. Compromise is not weakness. It's having enough strength in your ideas and beliefs to include a portion of others within it.

Most of my friends really don't believe the same way I do. Most of them wouldn't even think I believe this things and would be surprised at my stating them. And yet we're often still able to successfully be friends. There is right and wrong. But there is room for all of us as well.