Do your values, lifestyle, or worldview confuse others? Or… yourself? Sometimes who we are just doesn’t fit into a clean box.

Recently I had a talk with some of my old friends about our political and social backgrounds, and I had identified myself as written in the title: politically progressive, yet socially conservative.

Admitting that out loud to my very diverse friend group (with one of the women there agreeing to having a very similar worldview) got me to thinking about it a few days later. I wondered if what I had said was true, and if it was, to what extent.

You see, I’ve consumed a wide array of political media from all across the spectrum, and for the past five years I have situated myself in the more progressive space online. (The people I watch don’t believe the Democratic Party to be progressive, to give you some idea of their sentiments). I believe in equity, justice, climate change, gender financial equality, corporate regulations, government aid for those who need it, along with a myriad of other talking points and values. One of the most important would be secularism– the separation of church and state, the freedom to exist without any imposed religion.

Yet when I assess my day to day choices and my overall lifestyle, the image of an extremely progressive woman does not surface. In horror, I gasp at how terribly–dare I say it?— conservative I am. I believe in God, do not believe it right to indulge in alcohol or drugs, find it most suitable to engage with a limited number of sexual partners (as it fosters a healthier mind and body), and my idea of fun is relaxed and generally solitary (writing, reading, going on walks, eating, etc.).

In my pondering, I thought to myself, “Is this some sort of lame hypocrisy? Do I really believe in what I claim?”

Living in a world with a relaxed morality after centuries of imposed, restrictive obedience to social norms and customs permits a citizen to burden and impose upon themselves whatever subjective morality they choose. It is not a singular choice, but a series of them, flowing in and out of rooms labelled this virtue and that virtue throughout the rest of one’s life.

Isn’t that what truly “makes America’s great?” I would say so. People are not as simple as their labels, and I would hate to live in a world where individuals were forced to be, much less forced to be stuffed into the same room.

So after a bit more thinking and this tiny ramble… I wouldn’t think it right to call myself a hypocrite. I want to live in a world filled with options, bustling with all types of people, rich with a variety of worldviews and experiences. And I’ll sit, ankles crossed, drinking my virgin strawberry daiquiri taking it all in.

~Sammicakes