What is the benefit of being a liberal? What does it mean to be a Liberal?

Question

I keep seeing postings saying that Conservitives are totally bad and liberals are good.. WHY????

I know that conservitives would rather teach a man how to make money then to just give him money. Liberals would rather just give it to him, especially if he votes for them.

Answer 1

Liberals are closer to socialists. They believe in big government (that is, high taxes) so that everyone is "taken care of". They also believe that whatever you believe is okay.

For example, I have personal experience with Sweden, where the payroll taxes are double what they are in the US. But the social benefits are higher too.

Do you want everyone to have the same opportunities, whether they want to work hard or just goof off? If you say yes, that's liberal. If you say no, that's conservative.

Currently in Holland, a new political party wants to legalize child pornography. That is an ultra-liberal view. "Whatever turns you on," is the ultimate catch-phrase of the liberals. If that's you, then you are liberal.

If you believe in hard work, and making more money and being more successful than your lazy neighbor; if child pornography makes you sick, then you are a conservative.

You choose.

Answer 2

Those postings are posted by progressive liberals. That is even farther left then a normal liberal. Normal? well, A very wise statesman made the statement some years ago that: "if by the time you are 20, you aren't a liberal, then you have no heart. But if by the time you are 40, you aren't a conservative, then you have no head." There is a bell curve that is as old as time. At the top of the curve are the three "C's", Centralist Common sense Conservatism. Half way down on the right are the over

conservatives, half way down the left are the moderates. At the bottom right are the extreme conservatives and at the bottom left are the liberals. Half way out the right wing are the ultra conservatives the same as half way out the left wing are the progressive liberals. The two ends are the fanatics, on the right, the religious fanatics and on the left the anti-religious fanatics.

When ever that curve has slid too far in either direction, that society has fallen. The Romans, Greeks etc. are historical examples of this.

Answer 3

In the beginning, (called the Preamble), the Constitution said:

Let there be a government "to ensure domestic Tranquility, to provide for the common Defense, to promote the general Welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty". And it was good.

And then, over a couple hundred years, we got politics and political parties, and it wasn't very good.

And the conservatives said, the first two shall be the most important: domestic Tranquility (conformity with 'traditional' ways) and Defense.

And the liberals said, yes but we think it's more important to promote the general Welfare, and ensure the blessings of Liberty.

And there were conservatives, and liberals, and they fought each other in the halls of government over which of the purposes spoken in the Constitution shall have the greatest merit. And it wasn't good at all.

Originally, conservatives wanted small government, with the majority of spending going for defense. Liberals wanted to be Robin Hood, taking from the rich to give to the poor, in the spirit of promoting the general welfare. Both worthy goals -- just different values as to which of the Constitutional mandates are more important.

Recently, conservatives have wanted large intrusive government, to ensure tranquility by controlling everything. It's sad to see them turn away from their original calling. And it's no longer about teaching a person to make money. It's about teaching those who have money how to keep it, and those who don't have money are on their own.

But it's just as sad that the liberals have forgotten that it is a common interest in liberty that held that party together. They too have lost their way, just as the conservatives have.

I'm neither a Democrat nor a Republican, and I think both parties have the wrong ideas about where government should be going. They both started out upholding different aspects of the Constitution, but both have lost sight that the reason for all of this is to build a world that we can enjoy and live our lives, not at the expense of freedoms but to preserve freedoms.

Read the constitution, and see how many times "general Welfare" is part of the responsibility of the federal government. Then decide why you are opposed to welfare. Then figure out how to fix it. That's what both liberals and conservatives should be doing.

Answer 4

Liberals by in large are socialist and or the Labor party. They believe that the government is the answer for everything. They do not believe in individual rights and that every thing is community based. They believe in the redistribution of wealth through taxes and entitlement programs. Liberals also believe in moral relativism which means that if you believe that 2 plus 2 equals 5 then who are we to say that you are wrong.
They also believe in disarming law abiding citizens and that the U.N. should be the government over the whole world. They support Abortion they are against Christianity while accepting every other religion. Basically they are against everything as you know it and to turn the world upside down.

Answer 5

Some silly answers. Conservative & Liberal are not really good descriptions of American political philosophy.

Conservative technically would mean you want to change things back to the good ole days, but republicans don't really want to do that. They favor forward-looking change. Their agenda is based on individuals being responsible & taking care of themselves with as little govt involvement as possible. Technically, that's more correctly called libertarian.

Liberal technically would mean you favor individual freedom even when it’s bad for society, that you’re scared of govt tyranny & so favor weak federal & state govts but a strong court system to keep everything in line. People with those views are actually more likely to vote republican or libertarian. Democrats actually tend to support a more socialist philosophy in which they fear an innately evil corporate-industrial complex of modern robber barons that secretly controls & manipulates society to enslave the workers for their own selfish enrichment. In response they believe govt should be big & strong to stand up to these robber barons, that business should be massively regulated, & that labor unions should be more powerful than management. They believe that all individuals are equal & that the only reason the poor are disadvantaged is because they are victims of these robber barons, and as such taxes & social programs should be structured to redistribute wealth from those that have earned it to those they think have been victimized.

So just to sum up, Republican philosophy is more libertarian than conservative, and Democratic philosophy is more socialist than classically liberal. These labels are confused because the two current parties have shifted philosophies so often in their history as to have almost nothing to do with their original founding.

Answer 6

The benefit of being liberal is that you are not a Conservative republican. The idea of being a good liberal is to help people as a group as a "society" where as republicans tend to be more for people doing things and surviving on their own. Liberals also tend to be more expecting of new ideas such as gay marriage. Where as republicans drag their feet and call it "keeping family values" and so forth. Conservatives also tend to base a lot of their political agendas on religion and liberals I feel try to make decisions on what is best for the country.

Answer 7

In Australia, the Liberal Party are the conservatives! Work that out. Liberal, in my view, means being less influnced by the past. Conservatives use the past to carry out future actions. Almost like the Liberals are pessimistic or negative about the past whereas the conservatives are proud or happy with it. Why are the Liberals "good"? Depends who you ask really.

Answer 8

the military teaches, you are only as strong as your weakest link. to me that applies to my county.

I choose my side because
*I want healthcare for the poor and working poor and families just getting by.
*I do not believe that the private sector gives a **** about me or wants to help me out.
*I believe education is a not a privlage but a right. I believe my side is best suited to help the next generation of thinkers.
*I am a follower of Christ....I have sworn my oath to God to help the least among us, without judgement.
* I believe in civil rights and social equality. If you ask most white republicans they can see no reason or responsibilty for the past....but that is a load of crap to me.
I is my job to right the wrongs of my ancestors past.
*FDR fought the Nazi's and Japan....after the war we reconstructed those countries right. We are more humane towards helping the surviors of war.
*I am not a F@g meaning i am willing to pay taxes for the benifit of all society....I could never understand why they feel thier they don't owe their share to the country.
*I would rather give my children air to breath than some big corparation the right to pollute it without law.
*As a follower of Christ i must look out for all people, and do not discriminate because there is a border.....

Answer 9

Conservatives don't want to teach a man how to make money, they want it all for themselves.

To teach a man how to make money would just increase the competition and that is undesirable. Better to keep the opposition in the gutter, that way they will only bother you for the price of a cup of coffee and not become a threat

Answer 10

Being a liberal means you are not hindered by logic and facts when arguing a point in public. It means never having to apologize for false or retarded statements because your feelings and emotion give you a free pass on everything. Basically being a liberal means never having to account for anything you have ever done or said.

Answer 11

"To think that Conservatives are slaves to Corporations is just simply PURE ignorance, or Pure stupidity. I tend to think the 2nd is more and more true."
Wow, never seen any post as ignorant as this one. Do you ever read any? Look up donations to Conservative Republicans.
As to your question, liberals are Godly, Conservative Republicans are not. That is fact. Liberals see need for change, Republicans think their is no need for change.
Never in the History of our Country have we ever had more debt than under Conservatives, Government has also never been bigger than now under Conservatives. Our Country is now owned by other countries. Look up Halliburton (soaring profits) and look up the contributions to Conservatives by that Corporations. You need to read more and watch FOX less. Also turn off Rush, half of what he says is un Godly lies the other half is half truths.
If Bu$h were a godly man why would he lie with every word from his mouth. Bu$h has killed 300,000 civilians in Iraq is that a example of "love thy neighbor as thy self"?