The sad thing is when people don't lean towards a particular political orientation based on what they believe but choose what to believe based on their political orientation.
Uh, no. Political views are - presumably - matters of choice. Also, they're prone to regular change. In both regards, they are categorically different from distinctions of gender, race, orientation, etc.
Political positions are not necessarily opinions. Opinions and preferences are not facts. Pretending they are is either stupid or disingenuous. Where did this attitude originate?
What annoys me most about this kind of position that I haven't seen addressed enough is the assumption that politics is some kind of grocery basket of personal taste where positions on issues are all independent opinions.
Anyone who thinks about politics seriously and argues politics with people needs to base their opinions on something besides personal preference. This means trying to develop moral and logical principles and goals on which to base positions. When people do this, opinions on many topics will be highly correlated.
My point was more general around how people with different political viewpoints see the world differently but if you want to focus on that particular example then go ahead I guess.
I think of political opinions as more concrete expressions of deeper values, just like other tastes and tendencies. So while they may generally correlate, a specific political opinion will be the result of several competing values, lived experience and other influences.
So yes, they are somewhat separate, and IMO they can shift quite wildly, given the same set of core values.
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