Liberals...?

Question

I see a trend on here of people putting down "libs", so I just gotta know, what do you, the American public use as criteria for branding someone as such? And please, no copy and paste definitions, I'm out to see where what lines are drawn by the public. Thanks...

wow... this is looking like people have drasticly different definitions depending on their alignment on the political spectum. Interesting...

Answer 1

Labels are interesting.

Take the word Liberal.

Our American democracy is a liberal democracy. One of our strongest features is our devotion to liberty for the individual.[liberty is the root of liberal}

Growing up many years ago in another liberal democracy I defined liberal as a country where everyone had equal opportunity to work hard and make a good life, where distinctions by race, class, religion etc. were replaced by distinctions by merit, hard work, contribution. Every individual had the right to seek one's own life career, follow one's own religion, and seek to achieve one's own definition of personal success, including the right to seek and own property.

A liberal country had compassion for those who were less fortunate, the govt tax authority could be used to mitigate poverty and other ills, and the govt was limited in its interference with individual rights, subject to the law of the constitution and will of the people to perform its limited but vital functions.

The use of liberal by republicans as a pejorative term is uncomfortable. Both Democrats and Republicans are liberal in the basic sense and in the sense of the constitution.

I believe that the basic political divide is not liberal and conservative but :those who believe more good can be accomplished by greater govt involvement, and those who believe that more government involvement is counter productive and dangerous to liberal society.

We are all liberal and conservative. Liberal in our committment to freedom and conservative in our determination to preserve the good in our society.

So lets try new labels to define our leanings. say "Statist and Non Statist". I appreciate these don't have easy resonance, but they are surely closer to the nature of the divide, and leaves, as usual, more than half the people in the middle.

Answer 2

I'm not even sure anymore but I do have this to say...
What I find most amusing, is when someone throws a label on another person, ignoring both the meaning of the word and the fact that the person being labeled doesn't agree.
When people can make up whatever meaning they want for the words and labels they throw around, those words become meaningless. Which devolves the entire conversation to mindless shouting.

Answer 3

There's plenty of bashing go around from both sides-- let's be honest.

Branding someone a liberal:
- One who wants more social programs to help poor, etc.
- one who wants to try and level the playing field for those on the lower end of the socio-economic scale (e.g. min. wage, various rights) or in the minority
- Focus on the collective and less on the individual - when it comes to entitlement programs.
- Focus on the individual when it comes to civil rights-
- One who trys to advance civil rights, maintain civil liberties and LESS governement intrution when it comes to personal matters.
- Usually anti-big business
- Usually wants to take more from the "rich"
- Pro-labor, anti-management. Organized labor (unions) are traditionally liberal leaning
- Usually wants more Government regulation of business
- Often are environmentally concious but can be too extreme (e.g. no hunting)

I like how some say that liberals think they should tell you how to live yet we also see conservatives doing that very thing when it comes to who you want to be with, if you have a family or not, sex education/conseling, drugs, etc. etc.

Answer 4

Liberals are those who seek to raise the velvet rope only for specific demographics for the purpose of wooing them as voters.
If "libs" were really as "progressive" as they claim to be, they'd be as vocal on matters of mental and physical disabilities as they are about gay marriage. The reason they're not? Because those who are most severely mentally ill don't vote, so screw them.

Answer 5

Before we start, I'm a moderate Republican and I'm not sorry I voted for Bush both times.

Now to the question...I think that many liberals tend to be unreasonable. They don't want to discuss; they don't want to hear or even consider the truth. Really, they are not unlike ultra conservatives in the way the approach subjects. Currently, they are anti-anything about the present government.

Answer 6

Liberals are people who think they know what's best for everyone else. They think more and bigger government (led by themselves of course) can solve all the ills of the world. They see themselves as "benevolent leaders" who will take care of us - the poor unwashed masses. They deign to share their enlightment with us, but of course, they have to boil it down to the lowest common denoominator so we can marvel at their intellect.
Not exactly "cut and paste", is it?

Answer 7

I am a Democrat, a patriot and an American,,,, I won't be branded by Islam, or Bush or fiscal conservatives, the right wing, neoconservatives, the GOP, or the Republican party.

Answer 8

Repubs use 2 common themes:

Liberals want to redistribute money, which is ironic as that is what conservatives have been doing for the rich since Bush has been in office!

Liberals are socialist, or communist, which is exactly the opposite of what the majority believe!

Haven't we been through that with Sen McCarthy?

Answer 9

they don't know... for some it's a simple as all democrats... for others it's everyone that talks bad about Bush... and for others it's just the hippies in san franscisco...

it varies almost from person to person... so it's almost impossible for them to discuss it rationally...

Answer 10

I'm a male 60 years old. I'm a right Republican. But let me make one think clear, I voted for Bush! Now I'm sorry that I did. I'm not sorry to be a Republican.