"Liberal," a bad word?

elder999

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My parents-as I’ve said time and again-marched on Selma and Washington. Not for themselves, but, like many people of many races in this country of ours, for others. I won’t catalogue my Dad’s career in New York politics, but I will say that he was a lifelong Democrat, senior Protestant Chaplain for the Prison System of the State of New York, and, well, a liberal (notably with a small “L”) and that most of the things he and others like him achieved in his life were inarguably good things.

Liberal, however, has become a bad word, and it should be. :angry:

What has happened? I’ll tell you what I see, from my perspective, now. Radical leftists who are not liberal at all, hijacked the liberal, equal rights movements that we knew in the 60’s and early 70’s. They have slowly put their Marxist and atheist philosophies into place, so that nowadays, people think they are liberals. They aren’t.

I can give you an example, using only three words: Hillary Rodham Clinton. She is a radical leftist, not a liberal. They demand conformity, not liberal, independent thought. They confuse equality with bland sameness. A recent letter to the editor of a local paper proves my point. The writer criticized the paper for having the “Best Of Santa Fe”, as elitist, and said “we’re all the best.”


Well, no, we're not.

Thieves, child abusers, rapists, murderers, etc. are not the best. Selfish, insensitive louts are not the best. Incompetent clods who perform haphazard, shoddy work are not the best. If you ever need a surgeon or a good attorney, you’ll find out soon enough that they’re not all the best. Why is that so difficult for some people to see? Their vision of our future is the drab grayness that characterized life in the Soviet Union, East Germany, and every other place that these people’s destructive philosophy has held sway.

To have an opinion that contradicts their political correctness is not judgemental, intolerant or racist. It is just common sense. Here is another example. Once, in a bookstore, someone asked me if I’d read a new book on display. I replied, “Oh yes, it’s a very good book, just like all her work. She’s a hero of mine”. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I was almost physically spun around. There, facing me was a person I’d never seen before. She reminded me of a female Janet Reno. She snarled, “It’s heroine, it’s heroine, not hero”. I was too stunned to respond, but not too stunned to quickly back away. This is why I’ve tried giving up politics and sometimes call myself a recovering Democrat. (Hey, you “neo-conservatives”: it’s interesting that the neo conservative movement began in the Democrat party-another hijacking)

Liberal politics have been co-opted by these dour, humorless, severe, Stalinist commissars of politically correct conformity. Religion in this country is, for the most part, no better, being controlled by 21st Century Inquisitors. The Republicans are the same, only in the other direction, being dominated by radical rightists. This is why I say that politics and religion don’t have the answers, but are instead, the root of the problem. When they try to take your personal power, resist. Don’t give in. When they attack you, take that as a sure sign you’re doing something right. Not long ago, I wrote that saving the world is easy, but saving yourself is hard. Keep that in mind as you ponder the solutions to the problems in the world today.
 

CoryKS

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I like this post very much. It speaks to a pet peeve of mine, which is when people use wrong or misleading terms to define their positions. How can someone who supports gun bans be a "liberal"? If one fights to keep abortion legal, doesn't that make one a conservative? The absolute worst is when somebody describes themself as "progressive". Is it possible to be any more self-congratulatory?
 

CoryKS

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One more thing, I think that "liberal" should not be a bad word. I just think that it needs to be used correctly, to describe people and policies that truly are liberal. Socialists need not apply.
 

Mariachi Joe

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My parents-as I’ve said time and again-marched on Selma and Washington. Not for themselves, but, like many people of many races in this country of ours, for others. I won’t catalogue my Dad’s career in New York politics, but I will say that he was a lifelong Democrat, senior Protestant Chaplain for the Prison System of the State of New York, and, well, a liberal (notably with a small “L”) and that most of the things he and others like him achieved in his life were inarguably good things.

Liberal, however, has become a bad word, and it should be. :angry:

What has happened? I’ll tell you what I see, from my perspective, now. Radical leftists who are not liberal at all, hijacked the liberal, equal rights movements that we knew in the 60’s and early 70’s. They have slowly put their Marxist and atheist philosophies into place, so that nowadays, people think they are liberals. They aren’t.

I can give you an example, using only three words: Hillary Rodham Clinton. She is a radical leftist, not a liberal. They demand conformity, not liberal, independent thought. They confuse equality with bland sameness. A recent letter to the editor of a local paper proves my point. The writer criticized the paper for having the “Best Of Santa Fe”, as elitist, and said “we’re all the best.”


Well, no, we're not.

Thieves, child abusers, rapists, murderers, etc. are not the best. Selfish, insensitive louts are not the best. Incompetent clods who perform haphazard, shoddy work are not the best. If you ever need a surgeon or a good attorney, you’ll find out soon enough that they’re not all the best. Why is that so difficult for some people to see? Their vision of our future is the drab grayness that characterized life in the Soviet Union, East Germany, and every other place that these people’s destructive philosophy has held sway.

To have an opinion that contradicts their political correctness is not judgemental, intolerant or racist. It is just common sense. Here is another example. Once, in a bookstore, someone asked me if I’d read a new book on display. I replied, “Oh yes, it’s a very good book, just like all her work. She’s a hero of mine”. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I was almost physically spun around. There, facing me was a person I’d never seen before. She reminded me of a female Janet Reno. She snarled, “It’s heroine, it’s heroine, not hero”. I was too stunned to respond, but not too stunned to quickly back away. This is why I’ve tried giving up politics and sometimes call myself a recovering Democrat. (Hey, you “neo-conservatives”: it’s interesting that the neo conservative movement began in the Democrat party-another hijacking)

Liberal politics have been co-opted by these dour, humorless, severe, Stalinist commissars of politically correct conformity. Religion in this country is, for the most part, no better, being controlled by 21st Century Inquisitors. The Republicans are the same, only in the other direction, being dominated by radical rightists. This is why I say that politics and religion don’t have the answers, but are instead, the root of the problem. When they try to take your personal power, resist. Don’t give in. When they attack you, take that as a sure sign you’re doing something right. Not long ago, I wrote that saving the world is easy, but saving yourself is hard. Keep that in mind as you ponder the solutions to the problems in the world today.


Great post, I could not have said it better:asian:
 

Eternal White Belt

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Even liberals don't want to be called liberals anymore. They prefer the term "progressive", which is also a misnomer. Personally, I just refer to them as - Demonicrats.
 

bydand

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Elder999 this is a great post. I'm sure you are going to get flamed for it, but somehow I doubt that possability really bothers you in the least. Very nicely said.
 

michaeledward

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I see no evidence to back up your assertions.

For instance:

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I was almost physically spun around. There, facing me was a person I’d never seen before. She reminded me of a female Janet Reno. She snarled, “It’s heroine, it’s heroine, not hero”.

What exactly are you basing your determination that this female is liberal, or arguing a 'liberal' position? It seems that you are projecting onto the woman a political position without any substantiation. Is there a substantial difference to be considered between the masculine 'hero' and the feminine 'heroine'?


You state that Hillary Rodham Clinton is a radical leftist, but argue the attributes to the plural; "they demand conformity". Good argument would demand that you specify where she demands conformity.

And, lastly, you again present a position, to which you ascribe 'liberalism' without any support.
The writer criticized the paper for having the “Best Of Santa Fe”, as elitist, and said “we’re all the best.”

Don't confuse poor thinking from letter to the local paper with the idea of liberalism.

How do we know this writer is not describing the Republican hubristic attitude. On this very board, if you look back a couple of years, you can find several instances where we who opposed President Bush should move to another country. From those assertions I derived an arrogance, Americans are the Best, and if I don't agree, I was invited to leave.



One of the premises of the American experiment is 'equality of opportunity'. This I believe is a very liberal position. That all members of our community get to participate with the same rules, and same opportunities. I disagree that the liberal position is that of equality of result.

Each American gets to start at the same point in the game. Through individual endeavor, some may progress further in the game; achieving more success. But those that achieve should not be allowed to change the rules to favor themselves and their progeny.


One last thought, Frank Lunz has made it his vocation over the past two decades to find 'Words that Work', and in doing so, has allowed the Newt Gingrich "Last Resort" Republicans to slander words such as liberal. Perhaps the negative connotation you are seeing in the word, is more the fault of the Republican Right, than the Radical Left.
 

Ray

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Is there a substantial difference to be considered between the masculine 'hero' and the feminine 'heroine'?
While the English language has lost much of the gender in different parts of speech, I kind of like nouns like: actor, actress; hero, heroine; and there are others. It helps to narrow the scope (imaginary conversation: "Did you like the actor?" "Do you mean the male actor or the female actor?") and in my mind enriches the languages as does words for differing shades of colors...

Of course we lost many of the words which were plurized by adding "ren" (we retain child/children, brother/brethren...by anology: sister and sistern [little joke]).
 
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elder999

elder999

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I see no evidence to back up your assertions.

Don't have time to answer in detail right now, or really think that I have to, however:
What has happened? I’ll tell you what I see, from my perspective, now. Radical leftists who are not liberal at all, hijacked the liberal, equal rights movements that we knew in the 60’s and early 70’s. They have slowly put their Marxist and atheist philosophies into place, so that nowadays, people think they are liberals. They aren’t.
 
OP
elder999

elder999

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IOne last thought, Frank Lunz has made it his vocation over the past two decades to find 'Words that Work', and in doing so, has allowed the Newt Gingrich "Last Resort" Republicans to slander words such as liberal. Perhaps the negative connotation you are seeing in the word, is more the fault of the Republican Right, than the Radical Left.


I'll start with this last, because it's important to point out that the very meanings of the words "liberal" and "conservative" have morphed several times across generations. Heck, I could get a whole other post over how the BuSh administration has changed the meaning of conservative, or at least how his policies are a huge departure from conservatism of even the Barry Goldwater definition.

In fact, I did:The Conservative Case Against BuSh:)
 

Touch Of Death

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I like this post very much. It speaks to a pet peeve of mine, which is when people use wrong or misleading terms to define their positions. How can someone who supports gun bans be a "liberal"? If one fights to keep abortion legal, doesn't that make one a conservative? The absolute worst is when somebody describes themself as "progressive". Is it possible to be any more self-congratulatory?
Liberal means forward thinking. An assault weapons ban for the inner city is forward thinking... honest.
Sean
 

Andrew Green

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The more I see of American politics the more I end up with the belief that the 2 parties are basically using the same tactics, to slightly different goals.

Conservatives want to protect you from terror, and international competition. Keep big business happy and the money flowing.

Liberals are, as you say, anything but. They want to protect you from yourself. "The children" being a frequent needer of that protection.

Both want to control the way people live, using a false sense of fear and a promise of protection from the evils of the world.
 

jdinca

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The more I see of American politics the more I end up with the belief that the 2 parties are basically using the same tactics, to slightly different goals.

Conservatives want to protect you from terror, and international competition. Keep big business happy and the money flowing.

Liberals are, as you say, anything but. They want to protect you from yourself. "The children" being a frequent needer of that protection.

Both want to control the way people live, using a false sense of fear and a promise of protection from the evils of the world.

Well put. I consider myself a conservative and my biggest knock on Bush is that he's stunningly liberal when it comes to fiscal policy and government. He's spent an ungodly amount of money and has significantly grown the size of the federal government. Yet this caused an argument with a liberal friend mainly because what he spent the money on wasn't what the liberal wanted him to spend the money on.
 
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