What is a Liberal?
The Real Definition of What a Liberal is and What We Believe
I am also a Democrat.
To some Americans, being a liberal Democrat automatically makes me anything but patriotic and somehow radical.
But I am patriotic and I'm not radical.
I just want what is best for my country and my fellow citizens.
In struggling to defend my liberal point of view on forums across the Internet, I searched for the right words to explain why I am a liberal and what that means. Then I found words that described exactly what I wanted to express.
In September of 1960, when John Fitzgerald Kennedy made a speech called "A Liberal Definition".
From that speech, I borrow these words to define what a liberal is and what I believe.
"But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal.""
To break down and explain better my personal beliefs, let's look at this statement.
I look ahead, to the future, to the nation that I will live out my life in and toward the nation that my children will know. I look far enough head that I hope for great things for my children, for their children, and for all those who come after them. Although I am a devoted student of history, I think that our focus must be on the future and to do so, we must solve the problems of today before tomorrow arrives.
New ideas are the lifeblood of a nation. Without new ideas, we might still be a nation of 13 states, we might still be wearing long skirts and bonnets, and walking down dirt roads. That may be extreme but we need new ideas. Things that we now take for granted were once new ideas, things like a 40-hour work week, overtime pay, working women, vacation, solar power, Social Security, suburbs, free education for all children, and equal rights.
If we don't care about the welfare of our fellow citizens, then we become a backward, selfish society. That's why issues like health, housing, education, civil rights, employment, and civil liberties are vital to our national success. Unfortunately the Homeland Security Act alone has done more to undermine some of these civil liberties than anything else since they were established by our founding fathers. Housing is a big issue at this time with the mortgage crisis and record high foreclosures. Civil rights is still an issue and the education of our children is of utmost important. No Child Left Behind is failing our children; we need something better to prepare them for our joint future.
I believe that we can work with our allies abroad in every area. Some of our current problems could benefit from a joint effort on things like fuel prices and inflation.
Like JFK I am proud to be a liberal.
Just as I am proud to fly Old Glory from my front porch each day.
Published by Joetown
Writer and mom View profile
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16 Comments
Post a CommentGreetings Joetown. An open and inviting article. What some here seem to so easily ignore, is that what you may consider important for our "national success" often runs counter to my own success, or that of my family, and serves to violate my natural rights. I wish to be a decent dutiful citizen, but the more 'the nation' interferes in my personal affairs, the weaker that desire becomes. No corporation or private entities, excepting my parents, have ever forced me to do anything. People and businesses are relatively easy to avoid and survive without; our governments are not easy to avoid, and the complications continue to increase. Governments do not give us rights, they only serve to proscribe and limit them, often only providing material gain to those in government.
As for special interests, the only reason we even have special interests is because our government gives away so much money to every single congressman's pet project and it pits Americans against each other because we're all looking for a little milk once the fat pig (Government) rolls over for all us baby pigs to suck at. Government steals money from one group to give to another. It's inevitable that someone is going to feel resentful. You want to divide a country? Nothing works better than government projects that help a handful of people. (and the only federal government spending which actually helps everyone in the entire country is military spending to protect from ill intending foreign countries). When 70% of government revenues to a redistributive project go to pay the bureaucrat with his non-wealth producing job (provides no actual good or service) and only 30% make it to the intended group, I'd rather put my money in a charity which has always been far more effective with it's
As for government "protects us from the abuses of large corporations, wealthy special interests, and ill intending foreign powers."
Government does nothing BUT help large corporations, wealthy special interests(along with poor special interests) and ill intending foreign powers.
For example, many conservatives are against unnecessary regulations. Many liberals think that helps big businesses but in fact, many times, big businesses lobby for more regulation because it makes it tougher for smaller businesses to enter into the industry and hence, less competition for the big companies.
To Anna who responded to AnnieM,
I cringed and had to walk away from the computer in all honesty when I read this line: "Conservatives decry the very Government that guarantees our personal freedoms..."
I am a libertarian but as President Reagan said, the essence of conservatism is libertarianism. Anyway, I think John Locke, Thomas Paine & the American founders would be rolling in their graves if they thought this was the majority opinion in our time.
Government does not guarantee our freedoms. Human beings "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights". These rights are given to us by God because we EXIST and "whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it." "Governments are instituted among Men" and no man gives another man his freedoms which means no man can take away another man's freedoms.
As for government "protects us from the abuses of large corporations, wealthy special in
I appreciate the cordiality and clarity with which you express yourself. This allows for reasonable discourse. Nicely done. 8-)
I am a liberal. I care about other people, not just myself.
Sorry for so many comments, and for the fact that they're backwards. I had a bit to say. ;)
This thread is a perfect example of reasoned discourse. Remember that there are more than Conservatives or Liberals... there are those of us who can see the logic of both "sides" and will vote for those persons that can do the same.
liberty or property, a crime. I am for conserving the environment and exploring alternative energy sources. I am not, however, a global warming puppet.
I believe that most people feel the same way. We have been pit against one another by politics and deceptive media.
It is very important for us, as a nation , to remember that our government is a government of the people, for the people, and by the people.
Don't vote for a candidate based on party alignment, race, gender, or because MTV, Oprah, or Paris Hilton told you to, vote for a candidate based on how closely they resemble your ideas. Vote for the candidate that wants to uphold our Constitution. Vote for the candidate that believes government serves its people, not the other way around. Vote for the candidate that YOU want to vote for, not "the lesser of two evils".
I commend all of you that have posted previously. All of you were passionate about your beliefs while still being polite and listening to the ideas of the others
Conservatives decry the very Government that guarantees our personal freedoms and protects us from the abuses of large corporations, wealthy special interests, and ill intending foreign powers. If, in the US, you cannot support a government of, by, and for the people, then what can you support?
We have tried unregulated trade and what we have discovered is freedom of corporations to pollute, abuse their work forces, and blackmail entire states (Enron). Deregulation means freedom for big businesses, not freedom for individuals. We have tried to shift the responsibility of health care to corporations. Instead, we have unaffordable basic health care and a population of uninsured at 40 million and growing.
Conservatives say they are against government control, but the Bush administration, under a very conservative regime has increased government control manyfold by invading our telephones, our computers, and our bank accounts -- all in the name of the War on Terror.