Liberal

[TuxThePenguin]

I know from hearing from comentators in the US that "liberal" is a dirty word in the US. This isn't the case in England. As a social liberal myself I am glad of this.

http://www.wordreference.com/definition/liberal

a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties

"tolerant of his opponent's opinions"

What is it about liberals which scares Americans so much?

I'm most interested in hearing responses from moderate republicans.

 

[FadingWhispers3]

From a conservative standpoint, there are several things which make liberal politics seem dangerous. Note that both liberal and conservative in America today is a collection of many things which on the face are utterly unrelated except that 'winner takes the cake' forces cooperation against a 'common enemy.'

Welfare versus Individualism:

Supposedly, a conservative value is self-sufficiency much like a romantic images of settlers carving out an existence without a hand from anyone muchless the government. The idea of supporting the poor is not repulsive by itself, but because of control. Ie. does the person who earns the money control how much and which cause to give to or does the government.

Traditionally, conservatives believe in 'power to the people' in this sense. Individuality would be expressed. To allow government to mandate some standard, then, would seem like a move towards 'communist' states where supposedly honestly earned wages were redistributed not out of personal choice but by fiat.

Gun control versus Personal Protection:

The argument for guns is mostly twinfold: one is the right to bear arms and the other is for protection of family, etc. The first argument is a old one and dear to the American tradition. It is the idea that if one day the government or a foreign entity attempts to impose tyranny upon the people that they have the means to defend themselves. The first step of an oppressor, of course, is to disarm the people who otherwise might challenge a reign.

The second argument is that there are areas where to rely on police to arrive ontime is unreasonable... guns are needed to ward off criminals. The idea of gun control is seen as dangerous because it appears to infringe upon the ideal of lawful and mature citizens having free access self-defense whether from the government or a more local threat.

There is more to it than this...

 

[llucas]

Just my take...

Welfare vs. Individualism

Being a liberal myself this is a touchy spot. I am entirely empathetic to the idea of personal control...which is why I don't feel that welfare should be just another tax added to our pay checks. The fact is we as a country have more programs and bizarre budgeting issues than most are aware of, or care about for that matter. It would be tremendously easy to finance some proper poverty aid if we were to reevaluate the way our money is being spent now. Currently our elected federal officials are payed in excess of 150,000 dollars a year. They recently even passed legislation to give themselves a pay-raise. To me this seems mildly ridiculous considering the incredible fiscal issues facing our government today. Welfare is something that doesn't need to be another cost, just reallocate the silly things we're spending money on now...

Gun Control

This is just a touchy spot in general. I am a liberal, but this does not mean I'm condoning a slew of new laws to make guns nearly impossible to obtain. I simply want to see enforcement for the laws we currently have in place. Guns are too easy to get, but it's not because we don't have enough laws...

 

[DailyBlessings]

I'd like to point out that "liberal" is not a dirty word for all Americans, just those of certain political leanings. Judging America by its news stations is unlikely to produce a balanced view.

 

[Achichem]

Let start here,

Liberalisms presumption that something is wrong
Liberalism supposes that long-standing structures of society are flawed and in need of reform and change. I consider such thoughts unhealthy, depressive and pessimistic! When I look to pinnacle times in peacetime American (world) history or even my own life, I do not see either radical change or quick progressions but slow and long-standing extension of growth rooted in the idea that ‘things are good, but they can be better, so what are we going to do?’ and thats what conservatism stands for, and liberalism against.

Liberalism (unless counteracted by great leadership) approach to war (conflict) is much the same, and it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. It says ‘there a better way’, or ‘we can negotiate’ or ‘we can adapt our standards’ in other words "we can change" or in my terms: “we could lose much, so please don't hurt us; I’m all for restraint and peaceful solutions to, but when founding principles are engage we need to act, and strongly! Like before I find the conservative approach far more realistic and well founded, which is one that we will win at all cost, we know we will lose much and we accept that, and whether you have an upper hand or not you are going to change! Truth be told, I find the conservative approach the turn the other cheek solution, as then you accept loss; well with the other one, which many see as turn the other cheek, you are just cowering in fear.

In short, Liberalism wants to make a perfect system as soon as possible without the help of what is, and like Lao Tse would tell us, when you try to be perfect you will be found with much fault, but when you accept that you are not perfect and work, then the universe will make you strait.

 

[The_Unknown]

Liberal: More taxes, more Federal control, pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage, anti-war etc

 

[Ninja Turtles]

Liberal: More taxes, more Federal control, pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage, anti-war etc

That's rather stereotypical and doesn't really lend much to the discussion.

I could do the same and it would serve no purpose:

Conservative: More corporate control, human rights for the "select", pro-death (death penalty, war, etc.), anti-personal rights, etc.

 

[McCracAttack]

[Opinions]

This might be one angle. Liberals want change which they view as progress and improvement. Conservatives view these changes as miss directed and want to go back to "the way things were". When you combine this view with the forever reoccurring idea that society has suddenly entered a downward spiral you start to see why liberals would become unpopular. Conservatives view most recent changes as negative while liberals want still more change thereby leading the nation even further down the wrong path.

[/Opinions]

Feel free to post a conservative counterpoint. I won’t be offended; at worst I’ll learn something.

 

[Arnold_Philips]

^I agree with MCA the most.

 

[rachelness]

Liberal: More taxes, more Federal control

That isn't liberalism.

 

[Voegelin]

A liberal (who would not be liberal enough for MoveOn.org) on the differences:

"The central conservative truth is that it is culture, not politics, that determines the success of a society. The central liberal truth is that politics can change a culture and save it from itself."
--Daniel Patrick Moynihan

More here:

The Politics of TS Eliot

George Irbe: Leftists

You are correct about "liberal" being a dirty word in America. This is a fairly new development--a result mostly of the coercive, hugely expensive and failed policies of Lyndon Johnson. Democrats running for the first time and who describe themselves as "liberal" can be elected but mainly in regional races.

Many who are Republicans today were liberal Democrats once or had parents who were liberal Democrats. That form of liberalism began to die out with the assassination of JFK and did die with the death of RFK.

 

[llucas]

I don't feel that Conservatism is as stable an idea as some people seem to think. Economically, we're screwed. People can dance around it, but our dollar is worth very little anymore. Constitutionally, the president wants to change it!!! How is that letting our government go through natural growth and not forcing change.

I think there is some kind of horrid misconception about the idea of liberalism. If anything it's an attempt to maintain the status quo and insure that no one person is left behind. I apologize if it's not the mercurial regressive policy of our current administration. But we have to adapt to new world situations every day... Throwing faith and money at it has done nothing but make us laughable and poor.

 

[SallyNow]

Liberal: More taxes, more Federal control, pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage, anti-war etc

That's rather stereotypical and doesn't really lend much to the discussion.

I could do the same and it would serve no purpose:

Conservative: More corporate control, human rights for the "select", pro-death (death penalty, war, etc.), anti-personal rights, etc.

There's the problem: insults are beloved more than truth. Liberal is a dirty word because of the negative associations that the other side have put on it. The same can be sometimes said of the other side. It's all semantics.