My friend Scott asked this question “What is so wrong with being a liberal? and I have been pondering for a little while. I looked up the definition on Dictionary.com and these are the many definitions of Liberal:
1. favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.
2. (often initial capital letter) noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform.
3. of, pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism.
4. favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, esp. as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.
5. favoring or permitting freedom of action, esp. with respect to matters of personal belief or expression: a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.
6. of or pertaining to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies and monarchies.
7. free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant: a liberal attitude toward foreigners.
8. open-minded or tolerant, esp. free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc.
9. characterized by generosity and willingness to give in large amounts: a liberal donor.
10. given freely or abundantly; generous: a liberal donation.
11. not strict or rigorous; free; not literal: a liberal interpretation of a rule.
12. of, pertaining to, or based on the liberal arts.
13. of, pertaining to, or befitting a freeman.
So then I looked up the definition of conservative and here is what I found:
1. disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
2. cautiously moderate or purposefully low: a conservative estimate.
3. traditional in style or manner; avoiding novelty or showiness: conservative suit.
4. (often initial capital letter) of or pertaining to the Conservative party.
5. (initial capital letter) of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Conservative Jews or Conservative Judaism.
6. having the power or tendency to conserve; preservative.
I have called my self a moderate as I love things that are traditional: Christmas traditions, antique furniture, college homecoming, family time but I also love progress. I love my neighborhood that looks like the United Nations. I love that I can buy milk in the middle of the night. I love penicillin and antibiotics.
I think I have been afraid of being called a liberal because it has been used like a curse word by the media and other groups. But Scott really has me thinking and if the above is the definition of liberal then yes, I am a liberal and there is nothing wrong with that.
November 1, 2008 at 6:41 pm
So, I’ve been reading your notes. I have many questions, but one main question:
What about abortion?
There’s not too many liberals that are pro-life.
Love you, Girl!
January 18, 2009 at 12:04 am
Nothing is wrong with being liberal as it pertains to the amount of food piled on a Thanksgiving meal plate. Statements like free from prejudice or bigotry sound wonderful when generally applied. However, when you insert words like ‘tolerant’ after that very broad statement, it complicates a simplistic definition of liberal.
• I am not tolerant of abortion.
• I am not tolerant of same-sex marriage.
• I am not tolerant of homosexuality.
• I am not tolerant of forfeiting my 2nd amendment rights.
• I am not tolerant of higher taxes and bigger government.
As for definitions, I’m pretty confident the antonym of liberal is not conservative. To be conservative is not to be full of prejudice or bigotry. To be conservative is to be free from prejudice or bigotry without compromising your values…which leads to a cataclysmal difference.
If you are going to measure yourself by the definition of liberal and conservative, take definition #2 for liberal and definition #4, and then apply the political definition on top of it.
CONSERVATIVES – believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional American values and a strong national defense. Believe the role of government should be to provide people the freedom necessary to pursue their own goals. Conservative policies generally emphasize empowerment of the individual to solve problems.
LIBERALS – believe in governmental action to achieve equal opportunity and equality for all, and that it is the duty of the State to alleviate social ills and to protect civil liberties and individual and human rights. Believe the role of the government should be to guarantee that no one is in need. Believe that people are basically good. Liberal policies generally emphasize the need for the government to solve people’s problems.
(Taken from the website of a bi-partisan group: http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/other/conservative-vs-liberal-beliefs/)
Take a moment to review what appears to be a non-biased view of the key differences.
Using Dictionary.com as a marker, I would consider a woman to be liberal if she is pro-choice, anti-gun control, against same sex marriage, opposes long-term welfare and gives to her church freely and abundantly. The definitions for liberal is “10. given freely or abundantly; generous: a liberal donation.”
Before you start tossing around the phrase “I must be liberal”, please understand the political, social and fiscal definitions. Most liberals I know adhere to the following when talking to a conservative: “You need to be more open-minded and give-up that completely absurd stance you’ve taken.”
Since the question was asked, what about abortion? I know you addressed that question in a subsequent blog, but I wanted to at least touch on the subject.
Pro-Life – The stance that human life should not be taken by anyone. Pro – In favor of, Life – A living being.
Pro-Choice – The stance that you are not going to end a human life, but others can choose to end a human life. Let’s call it what it is…pro-choice means you are in favor of someone choosing to end a human life.
Your comments in the blog “My response to how I can be pro-life and a liberal” clearly indicate that you don’t see abortion as ending a human life. You stated that you “truly believe it is between me and God what I do with my body”. Have you truly bought into the notion that ending another human life that is inside your body is the same as doing something to your body? I agree with you that you have the right to choose what you do to your body. That is where believing that abortion is doing something to your body is fatally flawed. If you subscribe to the belief that your fetus is a human being, then making abortion illegal falls under the same category as making murder, child abuse, and spousal abuse illegal.
I am pro-life and have never held a fetus in a jar in front of an abortion clinic. Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water (sorry for that cliché). Pro-life doesn’t mean you have to be violent. It means I can stand up for abortion to be illegal by influencing, advising, legislating, etc. and not be tolerant of the act. (I will put aside my thought and comments about how making abortion illegal will just push abortions to the back allies. This argument is extremely flawed.)
Please don’t take my comments as arguing, but I am trying to convince you to switch your though process. I think your current stance sends a message that concerns me. Consider this “open dialog”.
(As a point of clarification, overturning Roe vs. Wade would not make abortion illegal. Roe vs. Wade was a federal decision by the Supreme Court to legalize abortions to some degree. Over-turning Roe vs. Wade would only send the abortion decision and debate back to the state governments. This would allow for actions such as putting the decision on the state ballots.)
January 20, 2009 at 2:57 pm
I am not willing to return discussion with “thoughtsfromafriend” if you are not friend enough to make yourself known. You can email me off the blog to let me know, I have an idea who it may be because there is a definite voice from a blog I read.