When Did Being 'Liberal' Become A Bad Thing?

Yesterday on Facebook, someone who shall remain nameless in this post, responded to a comment I’d made regarding Piers Morgan’s departure from the CNN lineup, and I paraphrase, “ ……… a blithering coward who has been only serving the liberals inn this country who want to take us all the way down into the pits of hell itself !!!” At the time, I took into accounting his possible misuse of the word ‘inn’ versus ‘in’ could have been an auto-correct error, as this sometimes happens to me – particularly when I’ve hit send prior to proof-reading my text. But when he responded further to my effort to subvert his aggression by refusing to engage in any further dialogue due to the level of ‘foolishness’ I was told therein, “Lady it is only you who are foolish and obtuse !!!”

Okay now …… bad grammar? That really pisses me off. For God’s sake, it should have been ‘is’ and not ‘are’. If you’re going to insist upon a duel of words based upon logic and intelligence, then at least take the time to get it right, otherwise you end up defeating yourself due to a lack of arsenal.

However, going back to his original statement, where supposedly ‘liberals want to take us all the way down into the pits of hell’ I have to ask, “When did being a liberal become a bad thing?”

If we take a trip back into time when our nation was first being settled beginning with the establishment of the original thirteen colonies, pioneers like Patrick Henry who was made famous by having said, “Give me liberty, or give me death,” executed a very liberal plan by breaking ranks with Mother England and traveling across the sea to inhabit an unfamiliar land populated by native Americans whose civilization was completely foreign in comparison with their own. With an uncertain future, their movements were both bold and decisive as opposed to maintaining the status quo handed down by the ruling monarchy and backed by the Church of England. Had it not been for such liberalism on their part, our nation might never have been born.

But don’t take my word for it. Instead let the definition of ‘liberal’ according to Dictionary.com speak for itself:

lib•er•al
adjective

1. favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.

2. noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform

3. of, pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism, especially the freedom of the individual and governmental guarantees of individual rights and liberties.

4. favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, especially asguaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.

5. favoring or permitting freedom of action, especially with respect to matters of personal belief or expression

What self-respecting American would take issue with any part of this definition? Whether speaking in terms of an individual’s accomplishments, private industry or government, progress is something we should all aspire to, and sometimes in the name of moving forward progress requires necessary reform. World and national affairs are fluid in movement, thus constantly changing. Therefore the need to amend, transform and revolutionize becomes a necessary evil in terms of maintaining economic stability. As much as some would prefer to believe, the United States is not an island, and as such our viability is interdependent with the stabilization of the rest of the world. As a self-professed liberal, I do not support a conservative agenda, but as a citizen who believes in the governmental guarantee of ‘individual rights and liberties’ I encourage those who express opposing opinions to do so without fear of reprisal whether that be on Facebook or the town square.

We live in a great country with a host of liberals to its credit who helped it become the most powerful nation on earth. I for one am proud to be of the same political party as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, as they have all had a hand in making us better than some might have imagined possible. But perhaps the most notable liberals of all were the spirited group of intelligent and thoughtful men who made up the first continental congress when they fashioned our United States Constitution some 238 years ago back in 1776. Their idealism coupled with the belief in a world much greater than that of their ancestors created the very freedoms that still make this country uniquely special in comparison to the rest of the world.

However, the most impressive liberal of all would have to be that of Jesus Christ, who bucked religious authority in the synagogues and in front of the Sanhedrin, as well as the established authority in the form of Rome’s Pontius Pilot and Judea’s King Herod. He more than anyone before him or since gave the world religious freedom through his submission to public torture and execution. A lesser being might have chosen salvation, even if it meant sacrificing the truth to do so.

Therefore, you conservative-minded individuals who claim to have cornered the market on ‘family values’ dating back to the days of Newt Gingrich and Jerry Falwell who gave rise to the so-called ‘moral majority’ movement that was born back in the eighties may keep casting your stones and dispersions at us liberals, because we wear a coat of armor that was forged by those who actively chose to be on the right side of history. Though we may not agree with you, and sometimes we may even choose not to engage in a battle of words, we support the rich diversity of culture and thought that continues to keep America strong.