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| Leave it to conservatives to label intelligence a mental disease. |
For as long as I've been alive, one of the great asymmetries of American politics has been that mainstream Republican Party politicians proudly call themselves "conservative" whereas Democratic Party standard-bearers are reluctant to wear the "liberal" label.
But this chart from the Pew Center indicates that the time may be right for a change — with self-identified liberals now outnumbering self-identified moderates among rank-and-file Democrats, we should expect to see more Democratic elected officials coming out as liberals.
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I remember all too well how back in the 80's Ronald Reagan, Jerry Falwell, and others on the conservative side would spit the word out like it was a curse or something.
Even back then my whole attitude was well if these assholes hate that word then it must be the right thing to be. And I still feel that way today.
So let me just roll out the welcome mat for all of our new, or newly open, members and say that both you and your radical progressive ideas have found a home.
P.S. Oh yeah, I am also still openly calling myself an Atheist, so you all let me know when you are finally comfortable with THAT title and we will have ourselves a wild, and very liberal, drunken bacchanal.
A few years ago I decided I was done with putting a false face out at work and elsewhere. I began telling people that I was a "happy agnostic" and that I was a proud liberal. The liberal concept seemed to confuse the work folks more than the agnostic part. Now at 62 I have looked into my bag of fucks and discovered I was out of them. I am proudly telling people that I am both those things now. If they don't like it they can bite me.
ReplyDeleteI dont think anyone should pat themselves on the back for being a liberal. It is simply the right way to treat other people.
ReplyDeleteI'm a lifelong liberal from a proud liberal family and I don't drink or bacchanal. Drinkers drink, not liberals.
ReplyDeleteI used to call myself a Liberal but now I call myself a Progressive.
DeleteBut I'm probably both.
mlaiuppa, I share your thoughts: The term Progressive sets my Secular Humanist way of looking forward apart from the Regressives' yearnings for the so-called good old times, which where Anything But...
DeleteI have never called myself a liberal. I have always called myself a left of center moderate, which some mistake for having no opinion at all.
ReplyDeleteYet I have decided to vote for Bernie Sanders, who is most assuredly very liberal. And like you G, Sanders has never backed away from the label. He wears it proudly. I am voting for Bernie because our country has gone so far to the right, I don't even recognize it anymore. So, with Bernie in the White House, perhaps our country can get back to the center. And if the country goes more to the left than I like, that will be fine. Better left than right any day of the week.
As for your religion, or lack thereof, that is your business. Having been raised by the two most wonderful people in the world, who happen to be atheists, I have no problem. My dad is gone now, but I thank my mom all the time for not brainwashing me into any religion. I returned the favor with my own kids and did not raise them in any religion.
Plato opined that no child should be exposed to religion until adulthood. In that manner, that child will choose religion, or not, of their own free will. So, Amen to that, eh?
The drunken bacchanal (I had to look that word up) sounds good. You should invite your commentators to participate in this event. I might be up in Alaska on business next September. I like single malt scotch.
Although I am still agnostic, I do introduce myself as a BIG OLE liberal!
ReplyDeleteI do have a select vein of conservative running through me, but when push comes to shove, I have the heart and head of a liberal.
The Rabid Right still spits out Liberal as a dirty epithet.
ReplyDeleteYou've all read it.
Libturd.
Libtard.
Of course, the reason being that when the right can't hold their end of a debate (You know, because the facts are a Liberal plot) they always sink to name-calling.
My niece made some crack at Christmas dinner about all the "libs at school" and proceeded to disparage them. I noticed my daughter leave the table for a long, long stay in the bathroom.
DeleteFrom a long line of progressives- or as Mom (94) always says, vote Democratic and vote often.
I would have said right then and there 'What did you say?" I would have mad(e) it very clear just by my look at my niece that I DID NOT Want that talk at my dinner table. She needs to learn alot more at school then how to call others names.
DeleteMaybe it's time to start fighting fire with fire?
Delete"Cons" does seem fitting.
Our group who frequent Gryph's wonderful blog has become a bit of a family for me. Even with all the anonymous posters we have gotten to know each other in a special way.
ReplyDeleteWe have come together for the sole purpose of exposing Sarah palin for all the hideous words and deeds she has foisted upon her fellow man and woman. OK so I smoked a little pot.
Everybody is in a huge hole in the ground.
ReplyDeleteThe Liberal says he's going to stick his head above the hole and see what's out there, but the Conservatives all shout NO!
The Liberal asks the Conservatives why, and they answer,
GOD HATES THAT!
But the Liberal climbs up and sticks his head out and tells everyone that it's ok, it's great!
And the Conservatives beat the Liberal and put him in jail.
And then the Conservatives pray to God to forgive them for allowing a Liberal to peer above the top of the hole.
Then a Progressive climbs out of the hole and walks away.
Never understood the difference between a liberal and a progressive. Both words signify freedom of thought.
DeleteThe reason I do not call myself a liberal any longer is this: The term seems to have been converted to Libertarian by those who are anything but liberal except in their worship of weaponry. They actually are "laissez faire" capitalists who, if permitted/elected would result in this nation becoming even more of an oligarchy than we already are, with the top dogs beating all others into submission. May those of us who are forward looking to a more equal society i. e. Progressives live long and help others to prosper...
DeleteI think one of the problems of this country is the education-for-profit system. People no longer understand English - all the "freedom" organizations are conservative. Oh, the irony. George Orwell would have a laugh.
DeleteI think the reason people are hesitant to call themselves liberal while conservatives don't have the same qualms is because conservatives are monolithic in their views. They're all one big block, whereas much of liberalism is an amalgamation of everything Conservatives are against. To have a single label that covers a wide range of issues just feels weird.
ReplyDeleteBeing liberal does not mean your views have to be monolithic. It means you are open to other ways of thinking and being that are not necessarily your ways of thinking and being. One agrees to disagree.
DeleteI always tell people that not only am I a Liberal, I am a Flaming Liberal.
ReplyDeleteYes, I am!
DeleteOT-http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/09/police-training-reform-research
ReplyDeleteRead it.
Maybe the people who don't call themselves liberal because of the way the right wing has chosen to try to make it a dirty word, should proudly take it back to its original meaning:
ReplyDelete"Liberalism is a political philosophy or worldview founded on ideas of liberty and equality. The former principle is stressed in classical liberalism while the latter is more evident in social liberalism."
Because I am not a big fan of labels, I subscribe to the Groucho Marx notion of not wanting to be a member of any club that would have me as a member. My beliefs tend to be all over the map, thus a specific label doesn't accurately define me or my beliefs, but for want of a better expression, I'll call myself a liberal. What I am sure of is I am not a conservative.
ReplyDeleteDuring the 2014 midterms many liberal candidates tried to pass themselves off as conservative-lite. Instead of supporting the party and the president, they tried to fool conservatives into believing they were one of them. Rather than going down to defeat by standing firm for liberal ideas, they waved the white flag and went down anyway.
Conservatives have managed wonderfully to wrap conservatism in religion and patriotism in order to shame,
demean, and render suspect all those who don't swear allegiance to their dogma and their purity tests, claiming some god given right to their expressions of moral superiority and certitude. And yet too often liberals have been apologetic and uncertain about their beliefs, as if somehow they might win a little conservative love and respect.
It's challenging being a liberal in a conservative state like Alaska, but I will not abandon my beliefs just because a majority of voters support conservatives. Time for more liberals to write letters, campaign, picket, display a bumper sticker, and vote.