reclaiming liberal.
I'm not sure when it happened, but somewhere over the past 10-20 years the word 'liberal' was co-opted by right wing politicos for their own personal gain. 'Liberal' has taken on a whole new connotation in the realm of AM radio talk shows and 24-hour cable news networks. No longer is it just a term to describe one's political leanings, to be called liberal is akin to being branded with a scarlet 'A'.
"Bleeding heart liberal."
"Wacko liberal."
"Liberal media bias."
"Liberal agenda."
If you read your daily newspaper's letters to the editor (or Ann Coulter's column), you'll find sneers like this and worse.
But I don't blame conservatives or Republicans for this. Credit them for being savvy in the political realm. I blame Democrats and liberals for conceding on this seemingly small point and retreating to the 'moderate' higher ground. The lefties were getting called out for a fight and they balked.
Enough is enough.
It's time to reclaim 'liberal'.
For years I've claimed to be a moderate, which is not untrue. But to be moderate is to not be conservative. Being conservative isn't bad, mind you; unless you take it to the extreme and live to only knock down and defeat political ideologies different than yours.
Calling out a liberal has become a rallying cry of right-wingers these days. It seems a pointless sport, if you ask me; but it's one that's bearing teeth.
The National Rifle Association has a list of anti-gun and gun-control advocates published on its Web site.
Fox News filed and later dropped a lawsuit against Al Franken.
In the days following the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the Bush administration went public in its distaste with Bill Maher's remarks and warned that "people need to watch what they say."
The righties are coming, and they want a pound of liberal flesh. And for too long, too many were willing to give it up.
Enough is enough.
Today, I shed my moderate skin and proudly tell you that yes, I am a liberal.
I am liberal-minded in my views. By saying that, it means that I weigh each issue separately from the others. It means I don't jump up and scream just because your views are different than mine. It doesn't make me wrong. It doesn't make me right. It doesn't make me a Democrat. It doesn't make me anti-Republican. I will never, ever, ever pull the lever for one party and one party alone. I will never look to Michael Moore or Phil Donahue as my bread and butter for news.
It also means that I will listen to those whose views differ from mine. I've always found more comfort in speaking with people from different ideologies rather than attending an anti-Dubya circle jerk.
My favorite analogy is this: there are several types of doctors in this world; each is skilled and educated. But I'm not going to go to a podiatrist if I have chest pains.
In a perfect world, we could agree that there are conservatives in this world; and there are liberals in this world. We could agree that neither ideology has all the answers but, through discussion - NOT DEBATE - we may arrive at some level of consensus in effectively deal with an issue.
In a perfect world.
Instead, we have too many people believe every word that falls out of the extremists' mouths.
I am a liberal and proud of it. I am not bound by the chains of confining ideologies; nothing could make me feel freer.
"Bleeding heart liberal."
"Wacko liberal."
"Liberal media bias."
"Liberal agenda."
If you read your daily newspaper's letters to the editor (or Ann Coulter's column), you'll find sneers like this and worse.
But I don't blame conservatives or Republicans for this. Credit them for being savvy in the political realm. I blame Democrats and liberals for conceding on this seemingly small point and retreating to the 'moderate' higher ground. The lefties were getting called out for a fight and they balked.
Enough is enough.
It's time to reclaim 'liberal'.
For years I've claimed to be a moderate, which is not untrue. But to be moderate is to not be conservative. Being conservative isn't bad, mind you; unless you take it to the extreme and live to only knock down and defeat political ideologies different than yours.
Calling out a liberal has become a rallying cry of right-wingers these days. It seems a pointless sport, if you ask me; but it's one that's bearing teeth.
The National Rifle Association has a list of anti-gun and gun-control advocates published on its Web site.
Fox News filed and later dropped a lawsuit against Al Franken.
In the days following the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the Bush administration went public in its distaste with Bill Maher's remarks and warned that "people need to watch what they say."
The righties are coming, and they want a pound of liberal flesh. And for too long, too many were willing to give it up.
Enough is enough.
Today, I shed my moderate skin and proudly tell you that yes, I am a liberal.
I am liberal-minded in my views. By saying that, it means that I weigh each issue separately from the others. It means I don't jump up and scream just because your views are different than mine. It doesn't make me wrong. It doesn't make me right. It doesn't make me a Democrat. It doesn't make me anti-Republican. I will never, ever, ever pull the lever for one party and one party alone. I will never look to Michael Moore or Phil Donahue as my bread and butter for news.
It also means that I will listen to those whose views differ from mine. I've always found more comfort in speaking with people from different ideologies rather than attending an anti-Dubya circle jerk.
My favorite analogy is this: there are several types of doctors in this world; each is skilled and educated. But I'm not going to go to a podiatrist if I have chest pains.
In a perfect world, we could agree that there are conservatives in this world; and there are liberals in this world. We could agree that neither ideology has all the answers but, through discussion - NOT DEBATE - we may arrive at some level of consensus in effectively deal with an issue.
In a perfect world.
Instead, we have too many people believe every word that falls out of the extremists' mouths.
I am a liberal and proud of it. I am not bound by the chains of confining ideologies; nothing could make me feel freer.
