Liberals and Liberalism (Congress, independent, carry, election)
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Modern or neo-liberalism seeks to enslave people to the state and create a collective. There is a form of self-loathing involved in all of it along with a sense of arrogance that there is one class that can rule and the rest can be serfs or are too stupid to rule. This goes against the principles of liberty.
Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally liberals support ideas such as capitalism (either regulated or not), constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights and the free exercise of religion
I see so many neo-liberals today who believe none of this. They believe in the repression of religion, regulated business (not capitalism), the wish to destroy the Constitution, elections that a tilted and human rights that apply not to all, but to a select few, mostly whom they see as victims. One of the major hypocrisies of modern liberalism is the broad sense of division (Class, ethnic, intelligence etc.) that they wish to apply but at the same time, maintain the collective state. Their views are typically not one of acceptance or tolerance. A liberal tends towards raw knee jerk emotion whereas a conservative may apply common sense and intelligence.
So you can see that the modern liberal is a far cry from the past definition. Probably why so many liberals call themselves progressive when in fact they are nothing but regressive.
If only the "liberals" were actually like that. If that is the definition of liberal, and I believe it is, then me thinks the liberals should chose another label.
They are admirable qualities..... except none of the so called liberals on this forum or in the public eye show anything resembling open mindedness or fairness
And if you ask any liberal, they will say exactly the same thing about conservatives... guess everyone thinks it's "intolerance" or "close-mindedness" when somebody doesn't agree with them, huh? I am a so-called "liberal" who's tolerant of everyone who is generally respectful, and open-minded to anyone/anything that doesn't victimize other people. So if you're going to claim NO liberals show these traits, you could at least provide us with some examples - rather than just hurling insults, which can easily be applied to both sides of the political fence.
I think the first problem is that modern definitions have been turned inside out, so regardless of what people claim to believe, or what others perceive them to represent ... they are more often wrong, on both sides. Then, we have a significant degree of self delusion .. dishonesty ... and outright cluelessness which muddies the waters that much more.
Contrary to what most everyone have been taught to believe all their lives ... liberalism in it's fundamental form is a "Right Wing" ideology ... not at all leftist in nature. This is so antithetical to what most people believe, they just tune out. Nevertheless, that is the fact of the matter, and it can be proven beyond any degree of reasonable doubt.
Liberal comes from the root latin word "Liber", which means "free", and the latin word "Libertas" is the root word for our English word "Liberty". The term liberal, therefore defines the person who's ideological leanings are toward liberty and freedom, and is most accurately represented by today's libertarian and constitutionalist viewpoints. This can be referred to as "Classic Liberalism" or "Jeffersonian Liberalism", and does fit the description offered by the OP to a reasonable extent.
However, we live in a world of opposites today ... and I often refer to this condition as "Orwellian" because of the shear volume of people who truly believe, literally, that left is right. In order to understand these terms and their true meanings (not the backward version that has been injected into the minds of the masses for the purpose of causing the very confusion that exists), we need to first define left and right, OKAY?
Left------------------------------Center------------------------------ Right
Does this simple visual cause anyone confusion? We have on the far left "Left" and on the far right, "Right" ... and right in the middle we have "Center" ... correct? OKAY .... next ....
Left-Authoritarianism-------------------Moderate--------------JL---------Anarchy Right
On this visual we see that to the far right, there is no central government at all, or complete freedom or liberty from government control. The green "JL" represents "Jeffersonian Liberal" (Classic liberalism) which espouses very specific and limited central government authority as defined by the constitution, with emphasis on individual liberty and rights of the people, with individual States holding all powers not clearly assigned to the Federal government (read: 10th Amendment). This is the strict "Constructionist" view that the original intent of the constitution be adhered to (this also reflects a "Conservative" ideology - or more strict adherence to constitutional prescriptions) . As you move left, you come upon the center or "moderate", where the federal authority increases, and those constitutional restrictions are less strictly adhered to. (often, modern liberalism refers to the constitution as a "living" document, that must remain flexible, and reinterpreted to better fit modern times).
So, as you move along the line, each step left defines an incremental increase in central government authority and, by definition, less individual rights and liberty, with the far left representing total "authoritarian government control". And this "authoritarianism" can be labeled several different ways .... communism, marxism, socialism, monarchy, and Fascism (often incorrectly confused with being right wing in nature). By the same measure, as you move right, you are decreasing central government authority, with increasing levels of individual liberty.
By this measure ... Modern Liberalism = Left = Less Individual Liberty and more authoritarian control. And this is the exact opposite of "Classic Liberal Ideology" which emphasizes more liberty and less government control. Therefore, Conservatism = Right = Classic Liberalism and less government authority.
Consequently, you are either a false liberal (the new backward definition of liberal) that embraces authoritarianism in whatever form, or you are a classic liberal which also defines a "conservative", or a libertarian, or constitutionalist. How about that !!!! ???? Is smoke coming from your ears yet?
Now this can be easily verified by simply analyzing the policies and demands of left wing "liberals" which constantly call for more government interference and regulation, be it in the form of federal protection policies for special interest groups .... the demand for tighter regulation of firearms ... more federal regulation in environmental protections ... more restrictions on tobacco ... government mandates for health care ... more federally administered entitlement programs ... and more taxes to pay for all of that .. etc., etc., etc. And again, as you increase federal authority, individual liberty decreases, and you head toward total authoritarianism and complete loss of individual liberty.
So when a true conservative liberal charges these modern day fraud liberals with being proponents of an authoritarian "nanny state" ... the accusation is absolutely, positively correct in every sense of the meaning. Modern liberals want the federal government to impose new definitions for "marriage"; greater control over education with national standards; more federal control over free speech (in the form of hate speech laws); more gun restrictions; increases in police state policies like the expansion of the Department of homeland Security and TSA; more oppressive regulations by the EPA; federal mandates for health care; etc. This is the antithesis of freedom and liberty, and the more we adopt "Progressive Liberal" policies, the closer we come to total loss of freedom and total authoritarian government.
So, now, everyone should be able to figure out who and what they REALLY are ... and not continue on with this "Orwellian" left = right ... and ... up = down self delusions.
Now, the likely first response is going to come from liberals who don't want to admit that they are authoritarian communists, socialists, fascists, and will immediately start with "But what about the conservative republicans and their policies of ... blah, blah, blah ...." I can hear it already. And the answer to that is that there is no such "Unicorn" in the republican party any longer (save for Ron Paul). True "Conservatives" (limited government) have no representation in either party today. That's the answer. Both parties represent authoritarianism disguised in their own brand of rhetoric to keep the sheep bickering about their selfish, pet social issues, while both parties quietly tighten the noose of authoritarian government around all our necks. The only difference between the left and right these days is that the left screams "tighter ... tighter ... the noose isn't tight enough yet" ... while the so called conservatives haven't the foggiest notion that their champions of "liberty" are just bold faced liars who serve the same financial interests as the democrats, with the only real difference being political rhetoric.
So at the end of the day, the majority can be described as 1) Leftist Liberals who are in every sense, authoritarians by any other label .. pick one ... communists, socialists, fascists .... or 2) Right wing republicans who are simply idiots who think the republicans will reverse the trend toward total authoritarian government. They won't ... there is no Calvary charging over the hill to save us ... we can only save ourselves ... which is not likely to happen with people too confused to even recognize left from right, or up from down.
That may sound harsh ... but sometimes the truth hurts, and one look around suggests that George Orwell was actually an optimist.
Last edited by GuyNTexas; 08-17-2012 at 11:12 AM..
Attacking "liberals" and "liberalism" is a popular past time with some contributors to this forum. It's an obsession with them. Reading these criticisms I thought I may have misunderstood what being a "liberal" really meant ... so I looked up the definition:
This definition included in Wikipedia is essentially the same as I'm seeing in online dictionaries. So, if this is what a "liberal" is and stands for ... it strikes me that any loyal American would embrace the principles and be congratulated for doing so.
This is the definition of liberalism on Wikipedia? Who wrote it, LBJ?
I would revise it using these words:
Pro-Abortion, Anti-Christianity--generally not religious, Biased against White Hetero Sexual, Christian Males, Pro Gay Marriage, Supports Affirmative Action, Pro Union, prone to living next to the coastal areas and the Great Lakes, Anti-Gun, Supports the excessive Taxation of successful people, Pro-Welfare and Anti-Military.
Really? Which party did Senator "KKK" Byrd belong to again? Who was Clinton's mentor? Bigotry and intolerance is still alive and well in the Democratic Party, it does not matter how many times they change their label to try to hide that fact.
Now please explain why prominent Southern Democrats Strom Thurmond, Jesse Helms, Trent Lott, and Phil Gramm -- among many others -- found it necessary to switch to the Republican Party. Is it because they found the Democratic Party too racist?
The origin of "left" and "right" as political labels, if I'm not mistaken, is with the French parliament in the 18th century. The men on the left side of the chamber were supporters of revolution - liberty, equality, fraternity and all that - while the men on the right were supporters of altar and throne, the old order.
So in terms of etymology, most Americans are leftists, not being fond of monarchy, aristocracy, or the establishment of religion.
Pro-Abortion, Anti-Christianity--generally not religious, Biased against White Hetero Sexual, Christian Males, Pro Gay Marriage, Supports Affirmative Action, Pro Union, prone to living next to the coastal areas and the Great Lakes, Anti-Gun, Supports the excessive Taxation of successful people, Pro-Welfare and Anti-Military.
And I thought you righties were supposed to be the rational, sensible ones. That childish outburst is approximately 99.44% fact-free.
Is Jimmy Carter anti-Christianity? Is he, as a heterosexual Christian male, biased against heterosexual Christian males? Is he, as a Navy veteran, anti-military?
If the answers to those questions are all "No," then you must be forced to concede that Jimmy Carter is not a liberal -- which begs the question, who then IS a liberal?
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