Your words ring true to me and remind me of the teachings of Lao Tzu some thousands of years ago.

As you yourself mention, we ought to divorce ourselves from the idea that belief of the role of the state in the lives of people must conform to either liberal or conservative, either republican or democrat, either x or y, either black or white, either this or that. Otherwise, we would be obliged to peg Lao Tzu and Cincinnatus and the like with American titles, which of course would be foolish and a waste of time. :)

These labels are convenient and over the last several decades in American politics, they have come to trump one’s own opinions and ideas on political topics for discussion. Either you’re in with one group, or out of the other. And in this day and age, we need to focus far more on the important, big picture concepts that play into the fundamentals of human nature over being “pro-this” or “anti-that”.

Here’s my favorite quote from Lao Tzu: “As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honour and praise. The next, the people fear, and the next the people hate. When the best leader’s work is done, the people say, ‘We did it ourselves.`”