I've been giving this some thought. I think the short answer is that I don't fit into any label except 'contrarian'. Whenever there's an accepted 'truth' of whatever stripe, my knee-jerk reaction is to question it and hopefully develop my own independent point-of-view (which is almost impossible, I freely admit because my thinking is influenced by my environment, my past experiences, etc).
When I lived in California (for over 20 years) I had trouble with some of the liberal ideas that were making their way into public policy. I really enjoyed being an active member of the Sierra Club, for their programs to introduce the public to the enjoyment of public lands. But, I was pretty much a black sheep for my strong disagreement with their public stance on a number of issues, including draining Lake Powell and demonizing the nuclear power industry. But, California is where I learned the power of and need for public activism when government seems to be tone-deaf on matters of public interest (federal, state and local). In Pacifica, CA, where I was married to the sister of the popular left-wing mayor (my brother-in-law), I actively supported his opponent (a thoughtful conservative) in the next election cycle because the left-wing activists in that town had just about destroyed its economy with their anti-growth, anti-business hippie mentality. Family gatherings were tense and eventually led to the end of that relationship.
I now live in a very RED state (Utah) where the politicians routinely favor private interests over public ones. Witness their fight to 'take back' federal lands so they can exploit them. Obviously, I have a strong reaction to the status quo here and have made myself persona non grata in a number of places because of my very public objections to what is going on.
I think, upon reflection, where I come from is the view that those in power and control will tend to abuse their power and it's my duty as an American to question authority and push back when I think it's necessary.
The more generous label for myself would be 'progressive'. But, I think I'm probably just a knee-jerk reactionary to the status quo.
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