Why is there suddenly so much misunderstanding about liberalism as in terms of political choice and personal philosophy?
Maybe it was always present and I never noticed. In any event, I find it rather alarming… especially because I see that there’s a great deal of misunderstanding even among liberals themselves and hell, if we don’t know who we are or what we represent… well, come on people, you KNOW that’s not good.
People on the far left vociferously decried the demise of bin Laden; their flatulent-filled invective called the president “Obomba-bomber” and accused him of being a war-mongering capitalist shit (I paraphrase). In some bizarre twist on Orwellian realpolitik, men like Gaddafi and bin Laden were transformed into victims of American tyranny and the President of the United States was the Darth Vader of the Second Front of a Neo-Arab Spring… or whatever (hard to know exactly what the hell they were talking about). Anyway, these posts generated a backlash of rage calling these folks out as “damn liberals.”And then she chews up the far-right and spits them out like the rancid fish they are. She goes on to describe a "stimulating rant" from a gal with "galloping dimentia" who has delusions that she's "a liberal (when in fact she’s really a raving anarchist)."
Damn liberals? Hell, there’s nothing liberal about those people.
Oh my, oh my. A writer after my own heart and can she write.
Will the real liberals please stand up? We need some help here; a little clarity would be a plus.
I decided to write an article explaining the true definition of liberalism but I’m modest enough to always know when I’ve been bested and, in my mind, John F. Kennedy wrote the best definition of a liberal (and by reference “liberalism”) that has ever been enunciated.To read Kennedy's definition of what it means to be liberal and the rest of this marvelous article in its entirety, please go here. I don't think you'll be sorry - depending on which way you swing, of course.
Looks like I'm a Liberal, or that would be Moderate by today's standards.
ReplyDeleteHeh...reminds me of the time a friend took a look at my overflowing recycling bin and said, "Wow, you recycle everything. You really ARE a liberal."
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link to the article. I'm proud to be a damn liberal!
I am quite prod of the designation. I wear it as a badge of great honor whenever I'm around my idiotic, delusional, knuckle-dragger Jonestown Rushpubliscum inlaws.
ReplyDeleteUh, "proud." I'm a liberal with a typo problem.
ReplyDeleteI think for awhile we liberals have been intimidated into not wanting to admit that we are in fact liberals. It has become a dirty word for those on the right as well as those on that other extreme. We have been met with scorn and name calling by both sets, enough so that we've almost become a silent majority. But I'm happy to report that we seem to be shedding our cloak of misplaced shame and are beginning to stand up and be counted. I see evidence of this on FB in responses to folks who tend to be Obama bashers. I don't bother with blogs from either extreme because, imo, they're equally hard headed and misinformed, so I can't really say what's going on in the Blogosphere.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of The Pragmatic Progressive Forum until it was shared on FB. But I'm thrilled to have found it and have added it to my roll.
And you betcha, I'm damn proud to be a liberal, probably more so these days than at any other time, if possible.
Great posts.... made me realize, and I am not kidding, that some of my 'Republican' friends are in fact liberals. they all voted for Obama (because they were smart enough to realize McCain-Palin was a joke/disaster)..... and they care very much about conservation, social liberties, justice, peace...... they are 'fiscal conservatives.... we have to stop bunching folks in categories.
ReplyDeleteI'm a proud liberal and NEVER was I afraid or ashamed to admit it! Now, if I was a republiscum, I would be in hiding...:-)
ReplyDeleteMisunderstanding about liberalism was mass produced by Republican strategists, starting about 1978, when Reagan decided on another run for the presidency. Thank the late Lee Atwater for much of it. It was a cynical, thoroughly dishonest but very successful effort to demonize liberals as stupidly in favor of always bigger government, always more wasteful spending, always more government meddling in people's lives and businesses.
ReplyDeleteBut the centerpiece of the right-wing demonization, with lots of help from the radical edge of the antiwar movement, was promoting the notion liberals believe Uncle Sam is an evil villain in international affairs, ever anxious to bomb and invade, the better to enrich the military industrial complex and exploit poor, hapless, freedom-loving people.
The demonization campaign succeeded to a remarkable extent. That success is partly why so many Democrats to this day seem like Milquetoasts who are afraid of their own shadow.
It must also be why, despite the glaring, long-running need to do so, so many Democratic politicians avoid defining themselves and their liberality to the public.
Skippers know the safest way to negotiate a storm is turn bow into the wind and ride through it. Most Dems seem intent on doing it other ways, too-often with predictably lame results.
That was fabulous! I'm still in the registration process at PL, so I can't leave a comment there yet, but I thank you so much for the link.
ReplyDeleteMy ex was very, very, very conservative but if he were still alive today I think he'd be a liberal - at least around me.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly Ron Chusid just put up a Pew Research report about politicals views beyond the labels.
http://liberalvaluesblog.com/2011/05/04/pew-research-center-looks-at-political-views-beyond-conventional-labels/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+liberalvaluesblog%2FMjjM+%28Liberal+Values%29
It might just be easier to go to Liberal Values on my blog roll.
SW: Thanks, as always, for putting things in an historical perspective. The Republican propaganda machine has been in the works for a long time, and as you say, they've been enormously successful.
ReplyDeleteAs for the radical extremes of the anti-war movement, I was always turned off by them, which may explain my distaste for the hard left these days. Maybe I'm just uncomfortable with extremes of all kinds.
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ReplyDeletedmarks: glad you agree with "you guys" but we're not discussing Ramsey Clark here - mainly because I don't care to get into this kind of shit.
ReplyDeleteThe shoe fits me to a T and it doesn't even pinch. I like to dictionary definition of a liberal as well.
ReplyDeleteCount me as one who never shied away from admitting my political identity: LIBERAL.
ReplyDeleteI push back at anyone who tries to denigrate that label.
Our Founding Fathers were LIBERALS. It was the conservatives who wanted to stay with King George and did not approve of the radical break with England.
Not only the far right, but also the media have turned the word “liberal” into a curse word. Even those on the left abandoned it for the label “progressive.” I am and have always been a liberal, and like JFK, I’m proud of it. I join you in your disdain for extremes on both sides.
ReplyDeleteI would much rather be called a liberal than a conservative.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm just glad all "you guys" are proud to be liberal. If I still drank, I would drink a toast to you.
ReplyDeleteHeads Up with apologies for having to even put this up:
ReplyDeleteAn internet troll—according to Wikipedia—is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion