Time To Elect A Liberal - Yeah, I Used The Word

John McCain tells us that Barack Obama is the most liberal senator in the United States Senate. That's debatable, but more important, when did being called a liberal become an insult?

We've tried conservative rule for the last 8 years and for 28 of the last 40 years and where has it gotten us? In every single area of American life: the economy, foreign policy, the environment, civil rights, we are worse off today than we were before conservatives took over.

So I'm putting in a vote for liberalism. Yep. It's a word I am not ashamed to use. You can have "progressive." I'm a liberal. Here's Webster's definition.

Liberal - from the Greek word eleutheros and French liber, meaning free.

Liberalism - a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of man, and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties.

Liberal shares its root with the word Liberty, as in "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Liberalism is the very definition of our American way and we should be ashamed that we've let talk show hosts and politicians use extremist language to denigrate it. Our founders were, after all, revolutionaries. In an 18th century world dominated by monarchy, the very concept of our democratic republic was liberal. Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin et al? Liberals!

Conservatism - the tendency to prefer an existing situation to change.

Conservatives are ruled by and rule by fear; fear of change. Had our founding fathers been conservatives, we wouldn't be here. We wouldn't have fought for our independence, ended slavery, given women the right to vote, guaranteed civil rights for all regardless of race or religion, risen from the Great Depression, or even expanded our nation from sea to shining sea. We wouldn't have Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance or the FDIC.

Liberals have been historically stronger on both the economy and national defense. The GDP of the United States has grown twice as much under liberals as under conservatives and the stock market has out performed by an even larger margin. Under liberal leadership, not only have the wealthy prospered, but workers have gained more rights, higher wages and lower unemployment. And lest you buy into the nonsense that liberals are weak on defense, it was liberals that led us to victory in both world wars, while conservatives resisted entry into World War II, preferring to ignore the threat of Hitler and Mussolini.

The liberal agenda you've been warned about? A strong economy and national security, civil rights, public education, worker's rights, equal opportunity, voting rights, environmentalism, retirement protection, health care. Far from being scary, it's a list of all we hold dear.

Barack Obama's a liberal? So what. McCain's old ideas do not work. He and the conservatives "prefer the existing situation" and want us to continue the failed "trickle down" economic policy of Reagan and Bush. Continuing failed policies? Insane. If John McCain wins on Tuesday, it will be because fear once more seized the day. We must remember, as a great liberal president once told us, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

So stand up and be proud, liberals. Liberals believe in the individual's boundless ability to achieve and, throughout history, liberal leaders and scientists have given us the tools to do great things. But, no need to look back. As always, we liberals are focused on the future! Fearlessly.

Comments

[Janet A]

Sadly for us the Liberals are a small party compared to main options of Conservative and Labour... they are the 'third' party, a merged Liberal Democrats, the blending of Liberals and Social Democrats... they have some very sound ideas but our present voting system ('first past the post') tends to stop them making headway. They have always promoted 'proportional representation', which in Scotland (Scottish Parliament - result of devolution 1998) we now have, and is a far fairer way...

A little wordplay... when I first looked at your quote on the definition of Conservatism, "... the tendency to prefer an existing situation to change..." I placed the intonation in the wrong place, therefore I read it as they would 'very much' like the present situation to change, (to/for a better one!) That's Liberalism for you!

Liberalism is something to be proud of.

Great post Bruce.

[ouroborous]

I think you missed an important point: Bush et al are hardly conservatives.

I know that Republicans have been tossing this idea (that Bush isn't a conservative) around for a while now, mostly in a transparent attempt to save the party by sacrificing an unpopular president. However, the attempt is clear for what it is when you look back on some of these same pundits -- the Bill Kristols of the world -- who just a few short years ago, when Bush was at the peak of his popularity, were comparing him to the conservative saint, Reagan.

However, Bush has *never* been a conservative in the original sense of the world; he's always been about big government -- government spending has risen more under Bush than ever before -- foreign interventionism (anathema to the original conservative ideals of isolationism), and big business. Bush has gleefully overridden states' rights (another conservative mantra) on issues like the Schiavo case and pot legalization.

Bush has never been a conservative. But then again, most Democrats haven't been liberals, either -- the Democratic party since Clinton has been about lobbying and big business (I'm talking about the party here, not individual Democratic voters; for the record, I tend to vote almost straight-ticket Democrat).

I think that the new world order is one in which familiar, tired old labels like "liberal" and "conservative" are less relevant, and we need to start electing our representatives based upon their merits, not their labels.

[Jesster]

Never under-estimate the power of being able give names to things and then defining what the name/word means. The right wing has spent decades sliming the word "liberal" and linking it to every evil thay can think of .

But I think the stinky taint they've painted the word/concept with is starting to wear thin. Why is it that we are waging wars, causing so much death and despair in the name of the "noble goal" of creating socalled "liberal democracies with transparency"???

Why, if liberal democracy is such a good thing, worth so much carnage, blood and treasure and sacrificing our own values - yet somehow it's a bad thing here in this country?

It reminds me of an Archibald McLeish (poet and statesman) poem that goes something like:
"Freedom when men fear it's use, but love it's useful name... is cause for shame."

[gbw1954]

Liberal got that top billing when the demographic was explained as elitists living in fake America with anti-American tendencies. Maybe it had to do also with campaigns that pitted fear and hate against hope. What right thinking person would ever choose hope of better days. Guess I am a liberal... and like a tailor made suit it fits well, is comfortable and something I can wear proudly every day. Get out the vote we need more liberals!

[pgoody]

"Had our founding fathers been conservatives, we wouldn't be here." Right On!!!!!

[SeniorTour]

Mr Tenenbaum
Your point of view is always right on. Like your other articles, this one contains multiple statements that I want to commit to memory for the next time I get into a "discussion" about Dem vs Repub, liberal vs conservative. Thank you.

[Democrab]

Without the liberal mind, Obama would be a slave and Hillary wouldn't even be able to vote.