Eddie Valenzuela URP 463 Assignment 5 Philosophy and Planning This paper will discuss my political and ethical

philosophy and how they relate to the field of planning. My political philosophy has been developing for years upon years. One of my earliest memories of politics took place during an election year in middle school. The school was hosting an anonymous vote on the presidential race. During class one day, small paper voting slips were handed out with the names of both candidates on them. All we, the students, had to do was place a X or a checkmark next to the candidate we would vote for and place our slip in the ballot box in front of the class. The candidates were clearly marked as Democrat or Republican. In my household it was clear that my parents were both Democrats and were to vote for the Democratic candidate. With this in mind I was already convinced that I too was a democrat. When they began to pass the voting slips out, all the students around me started talking about voting for the Republican candidate and how he was the man for the job. This completely shocked me and frankly made me feel uncomfortable. This would also happen again four years later in high school when a class I was in discussed the next presidential election. With everything I was hearing about the candidates and their parties, it sounded like I was hanging out with my classmates parents. Im based this on the fact that at the time everything I knew regarding politics, I more or less got from parents. I believed they were just regurgitating what their parents said around the house. I wondered if I was guilty of this too. At

this point in time, there was no doubt that I considered myself a Democrat, yet more importantly, I considered myself a liberal. Was I a liberal because of my parents? Or was I a liberal because of my brains own rational thinking and other experiences not involving my parents? More importantly, would I be a liberal if my parents were conservative Republicans? I like to believe that I am a progressive liberal because of my own rationality, not because of my parents. My parents are Democrats, and from what I understand, they always vote for Democrats, but I would in no way consider them to be liberals based on some of their world views. Nonetheless, I can never fully discredit my parents influence on me. However, as I implied earlier, I am a lot more liberal and left-leaning than my parents would ever dream of. So ultimately, my political philosophy can be summarized by Immanuel Kants rejection of only empirical evidence and only rationality. Like Kant, I believe that we have to combine empirical evidence and reasoning. For example, I was born straight, so why couldnt someone be born gay? Especially when someone tells me they were born gay; why would they lie about that? Therefore, I believe there is nothing wrong with being gay and it is ridiculous to not allow them to marry someone they love. Even if they werent born gay, reasoning and the things I have seen throughout my life tells me that depriving someone the right to marry someone they love, gay or straight, is wrong. Essentially, I almost feel that liberalism and the Democratic Party is for those people who have morals and care for others, while conservatism and the Republican Party are irrational, lack morals and do not really care for others-- only their own self-interest. This political philosophy would follow me to the planning profession. As planners, we want to give a voice to the voiceless. We cannot think of our own interest; we want to make sure that everyone is looked after and included in our thought process. Everyone should have

equal rights and representation regardless if youre Republican or Democrat, rich or poor, white or black, gay or straight, Christian, Muslim or Atheist. Like most, my political and ethical philosophies are closely related. The main ethical philosophy that I try to live by, day after day, is the golden rule. I treat others the way I want to be treated. If I feel a lapse in judgment is going to occur, such as doing something like embarrassing a friend as a joke, I try to ask myself, would I want this to happen to me? Usually the answer is no, I definitely would not want this to happen to me. Once I realize that, I refrain from embarrassing my friend or from doing whatever it was I was going to do. I also feel that the veil of ignorance, articulated by John Rawl, is a good way to live life. By stripping away everything that we are given that might put us in advantageous situation, we are left as equals. From there, we can determine a fair way to determine what the principles of justice should be. I feel that this is a good way to determine societys morals. Otherwise people will be biased in choosing principles that benefit them in their current situation. These ethical philosophies will guide me towards being a good planner. However, I think it is Kants views on morality that will be most important to me in the planning field. His view on utilitarianism, just because something gives many people pleasure doesnt make it right. The mere fact that the majority, however big, favors a certain law, however intensely, does not make the law just (Sandel, 2009; 106), and his view that moral actions only have moral worth if they were done for the right reasons, lay out perfect guidelines for planners. We must make the right decisions for the right reasons while keeping in mind those who dont have a voice.