From: Mitchell, Jerry (3337) (Jerry.Mitchell@esavio.com)
Date: Tue Aug 28 2001 - 08:15:06 MDT
> E. Shawn Russell wrote
>
> > I liked this test much more that the WSPQ, as it is much more
> > comprehensive. I am a: Economic Left/Right: 2.50
> > Authoritarian/Libertarian: -5.49; in other words, I am (as
> I knew) a
> > slightly right-wing libertarian --two points to the right,
> and five up from
> > the bottom.
>
> I couldn't take this test! I had to give up after only four
> questions!
> Here they are: (for each, your only choices are strongly
> agree, agree,
> disagree, and strongly disagree)
>
> 1. If globalisation is inevitable, it should primarily serve humanity
> rather than the interests of trans-national corporations.
>
> Well, Jesus! The assumption is that the interests of the
> trans-national
> corporations are antithetical to those of humanity! Good grief! Was
> the WSPQ (World's Shortest Political Quiz) this loaded, and I simply
> couldn't recognize it because I'm a libertarian? This is scary!
>
> 2. I'd always support my country, whether it was right or wrong.
>
> And what does **support** mean? Defend physically, or refuse to
> criticize? Clearly the answer that the test tries very, very hard
> to get out of one is "disagree", or "disagree strongly".
>
> 3. No one chooses their country of birth, so it's absurd to be
> proud of it.
>
> Absurd? While this question isn't as absurd as the first two,
> this is hardly the right word here.
>
> 4. Our nation has many unique virtues.
>
> Perhaps not such a bad question.
>
> 5. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
>
> Okay
>
> 6. Jews surely have to take some of the responsibility for
> their persecution over the past 2000 years.
>
> So how can one possibly answer that if he or she believes
> that Jews must take a small share of the responsibility,
> say five or ten percent? Why, one must then *agree*, because
> that's what the word "some" means. But then one is immediately
> implicated, (or self-implicated, depending on one's temperament)
> as an anti-Semite.
>
> 6. The growing fusion between information and entertainment
> is a worrying contribution to the public's shrinking attention span.
>
> So does "worrying" mean that one wishes to regulate it? Luckily,
> I gave up on this quiz two questions back, and don't have to think
> about it.
>
> Seriously: I do *not* remember anyone complaining about the
> tendentiousness of the questions on the former quizzes. PLEASE
> say so if you *did* have any problem with those earlier quizzes.
>
> Lee
>
I agree, those questions were highly loaded. I was gritting my teeth the
whole time seeing what they were implicating behind the questions, but not
given a way to answer that I felt reflected my true beliefs.
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