Why Is ''Liberal'' a Negative Word?

Chron Watch ^ | 28 July 2004 | Lee Ellis

[Lando Lincoln]

Lando

[anniegetyourgun]

"I am optimistic that if we make a change now and restore our credibility and honor we will continue to be a country of hope."

Liberalism....where credibility means more than security....where honor means more than victory....where optimism means more handouts....and where socialism is the unspoken agenda.

[Piquaboy]

Maybe socialist would be a better one!

[Recovering Hermit]

My reply:

Shut up you stinkin' lib!

[Samwise]

True. I was a liberal when I was young. I believed in equal rights and freedom of speech. Those are no longer liberal beliefs.

[JennysCool]

That or fascist, take your pick.

[Samwise]

Rule 1 of Liberalism: Facts, logic, and consistency are irrelevant.

[KJacob]

I think the most telling point is that liberal is a negative word to liberals. They are the ones that run away from the word. Conservatives on the other hand are proud of what they are.

[najida]

Liberal is a bad word because:

Every liberal I know-
--Is an emotional flake (I am emotional too, but I don't let it run my life).

--Won't get their hands dirty taking care of their own (by that I mean they want the goverment to care for granny etc)

--Are without internal structure or self-discipline (Not that it is my strong point, but I am trying)

--Can't figure out how to fix any problem on their own.

--Don't understand concepts like sacrifice, hard work, self-reliance, work ethic, self-sufficiency.

--Believe that the government is corrupt, but they want more of it.

--Think big business is evil, but they expect everyone to have a job.

--Believe that the media tells the truth, and if it lies, it is in favor of the other side.

--Think there is one way, one truth, one path: Theirs. If you question this, they have a melt down.

--Sing Kum Ba Yah wayyyy too much

(All except for my baby brother, who is a capitalist, but won't admit it).

[netmilsmom]

Good Catch!
Here are my answers....(in quotes)

1. I would like to know why ''liberal'' is a negative word. I am a registered Democrat, vote, and try to lead a good life.
"All of us try to lead a good life. Some of us work hard while doing it"

2. I believe that I should help my fellow citizens whenever I can.
"I believe in the idea of a hand up and not a hand out. Also I believe in the freedom to help only those I wish to help. I would rather help the young couple, working hard to make it than the everlasting hand out person"

3. I believe that I don’t have the right to tell you how to believe. I support other people's rights to free speech, choice, and beliefs.
"I believe this as well, as long as it is not under minding the safety of my fellow American. I also believe that I can boycott those with whom I disagree and this is not censorship."

4. I believe that patriotism does not mean blind faith and I exercise my right every day to question and disagree.
"I do too. This is why I question your patriotism when you 'Support the Troops but not the War'".

5. I want to save our environment and protect our resources.
"I use my brain and understand that people are more important than animals or plants. Always."

6. I think everyone in this country should have guaranteed basic health care; it is the least we can provide as a country.
"Cool. Then you provide it. I'm having enough problems paying my taxes and providing healthcare for my own children. Besides, define basic."

7. I believe we have every right to defend our country but we must have honesty and a clear understanding of why we would put people in harm's way before flexing our strength.
"Of course this is only when a Republican is in office."

Why is this bad? Why am I labeled pessimistic? I am optimistic that if we make a change now and restore our credibility and honor we will continue to be a country of hope. I am a Democrat and I am progressive and ''liberal'' and proud to be.
"I was proud when I was that way too. Then I grew up."

[avg_freeper]

6. I think everyone in this country should have guaranteed basic health care; it is the least we can provide as a country.

Economics is the study of the allocation of SCARCE valuable resources that have alternative uses.

If all the worlds problems could just be solved by thinking them away ...

[KarlInOhio]

Why Is "Liberal" a Negative Word?

Because FDR changed its meaning from "someone who believes in individual liberty" to "someone not quite as totalitarian as Stalin, Hitler or Mussolini".

[stylin19a]

It seems "liberal" is a dirty word even to liberals.
They prefer to be called "progressives".

[KC_for_Freedom]

Good list, but liberals I know:

Run successful businesses but cheat on their taxes and vote for more welfare because someone they know is benefiting from it.

Believe there is a certain amount of income above which you should donate it all to the government, but they don't support any chairities because everyone should be forced to support the government run chairities. And above all, they don't give away their money to the government even though they say this is their belief.

Believe our defense budget should be spent on welfare because of the above points, and because they believe our enemies would not be enemies if we did not provoke them.

Believe our borders should be open to the world to hasten the time when all the world will be one socialist state.

[Billthedrill]

I believe that I don’t have the right to tell you how to believe.

...But you do believe that you have a right to tell everyone how to behave, and there's the rub. Points 5 and 6 bear this out - the classic (European terminology) liberal will work through consensus and the free market to protect the environment and provide health care - today's American "liberal" insists that it is a proper function of the state, and to be accomplished through legislation and coercion.

They don't even recognize that they're doing it. One slides into coercive mode out of a conviction that one knows better about what is best on a specific topic and that others must be coerced for their own good or the system simply won't work. That is how a nominally consensual system such as socialism moves very rapidly into authoritarian statism.

There are liberals - some of whom are on FR - who have not fallen into this trap and still believe in collective solutions that are entered into voluntarily, but these have been marginalized (in the Democratic party, at least) by an aggressive minority that intends to good by gathering power and ends up simply gathering power.

[vigilo]

Liberal is a euphemism for Socialist and everybody knows it. 'Liberals' don't believe they could ever be associated with the totalitarianism of Socialism, they think they are too loving for that, so they don't like being linked to Socialism under the name of Liberal. Of course, by it's nature, Socialism must always be totalitarian, but being continually at war with reality, Liberals don't want to believe that.

[Area Freeper]

[Mr Ramsbotham]

3. I believe that I don’t have the right to tell you how to believe. I support other people's rights to free speech, choice, and beliefs.

Of course this is what they say they believe. But liberals are responsible for PC speech codes, "hate crimes" legislation that criminalizes thoughts as opposed to actions, health care legislation that would outlaw free individual choice in medical treatments, and crippling taxation that stifles the ability of the individual to pursue his own personal road to contentment.

[CrazyIvan]

Liberal is a perfectly good word when used properly. Unfortunately it has become synonymous with socialist and social engineering which are diametrically apposed to true liberalism, which would mean to tolerate and let live. Of course, once a word has become attached to certain attitudes or people, it is becomes permanently tainted. For instance Gestapo simply means "State Police"

[Porterville]

because liberal stinks of crap