Who are liberals? what do they stand for?

Question

also are they advocates?

Answer 1

Liberals, for the most part, believe that the Federal Government should be in charge of most all decision making, basically saying we highly educated and well bread politicians know how to spend your money better than you do.

An example, the Liberals want a National Health care program so that everyone is covered. Sounds like a good thing, right? Then think about it, and look around the world at countries that have such programs. Your choices will be even more limited than they are with Private Insurance, you add another layer of beaurocracy to the already too large Federal Government, you increase the need for higher taxes, and the quality of health care goes down. At the moment, I know at least my local hospitals don't turn anyone away because they lack insurance. However, they will usually be billed, some will try to pay with resources they dont have, some will get lower credit ratings.

Liberals don't want to interfere with freedoms? That's BS. It depends on what freedoms you are talking about. In this case both parties are guilty of hypocrisy, but I think the Liberals are more guilty. Yes, the Liberals don't want the government telling a pregnant woman to carry her child to term, let's give credit where it's due. However, liberals do want to take away your right to bear arms, they don't want you to have a choice about smoking cigarettes, as stated earlier, they want to control your health care, they want to impose all manner of restrictions and penalties on businesses. Liberals make nice speeches that sound nice about good intentions and we must do it for the children, but in truth, we need balance. Liberal ideas are welcome, but they need to be balanced with reason. Liberals seem to believe a utopian society can exist, realist know differently.

Liberals tout "tax the rich to feed the poor", but the rich include me, who makes less than $70,000 a year, and too often, the poor are those who have decided they don't want to work. With the shift in congress back to Dems, if the Dems win the White house in 2008, prepare to see the value of the US dollar take a nose dive

Liberals say they are tolerant, but that is only if you agree with them. If you espouse Conservative ideas, liberals attack en mass. Labeling them in a most non open mindedness fashion.

This is not to say conservatives don't have their problem issues as well, but I had to add a dose of truth after some people posted that Liberals are all that is good and right and truthfull in this country and Conservatives are all evil warmongering money grubbing souless A$$holes

Answer 2

Liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value.[1] Liberalism has its roots in the Western Age of Enlightenment, but the term now encompasses a diversity of political thought.

Broadly speaking, liberalism emphasizes individual rights. It seeks a society characterized by freedom of thought for individuals, limitations on power, especially of government and religion, the rule of law, free public education, the free exchange of ideas, a market economy that supports relatively free private enterprise, and a transparent system of government in which the rights of all citizens are protected.[2] In modern society, liberals favor a liberal democracy with open and fair elections, where all citizens have equal rights by law and an equal opportunity to succeed

Answer 3

Liberal, like the term conservative, is a misused term to blanketly describe people who happen to have a different opinion about an issue than yourself--and many narrowminded people use the terms very loosely to label or brand people in a mean spirited, derogatory way.
I consider George Bush to be an extreme liberal--he wants to grow big business bigger, and create bigger profits, no matter what the cost. Most people, on the other hand, consider him to be a conservative-using the term to describe his views on smaller government (except for business benefit) and less social programs to help the poor, aged and needy.

Answer 4

Most Americans are liberal in their views, though the haters have made it sound like a dirty word to many.

America itself is a liberal idea.

Liberals tend to believe in equal rights -- women and people of color and people who aren't Christian are all human, and deserve equal treatment under the law, equal rights, and equal educational and economic opportunity.

Liberals believe in liberty, that is, people, not the government, should make decisions about their own lives.

Liberals believe government should serve the people (not just the few people who own everything, but all of the people).

Liberals tend to believe in protecting the environment, in education for all, to the level that they're capable of achieving, and in progressive taxation (people with no money shouldn't have to pay taxes, people with most of the money should pay more taxes, with a graduated scale for all of those in between).

Social Security was put in place by a liberal.

Liberals tend to be anti-war, unless we are attacked (and when we are attacked want to go after the people responsible, not a completely different group of people altogether).

Liberals believe that the money that the government takes from us should be spent for, as the Preamble to the Constitution put it "to promote the general welfare" of us all.

Answer 5

Look up who won the last elections. Then read about them on the House and Senate web sites. In general Liberals want less Government in our life, not more like Conservatives. They also want less national debt not more like Conservatives. They also protect and defend the Constitution. The Conservatives think the Constitution is there's to use to take rights from all Americans..
Such as habis corpus. Conservatives also think it's ok to tap phone and Internet mail without a warrant.

Answer 6

I think the dictionary says it best:

"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."

In other words a liberal is a person who supports open ideas that increase an individual's rights, freedom, and a progressive change of society. This is in contrast to conservative which is support for unchanging traditional values. The biggest difference is conservatives don't want change, preferring to believe that there are a number of items that never change in values and society. Just what should and should not change depends typically on the person speaking.

Many on either side of politics have traditionally used the labels conservative or liberal to abandon the values that conservative and liberal stand for.

Answer 7

I'm a liberal. People have the rite to the persuit of happiness in this country and the rites of free speach and expression. stop to think about it. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and all of the names at the bottom of the Declaration of Indipendence were liberal too.

Answer 8

Liberals are good and bad. They're good because they want the government to stay the hell out of people's personal lives which the government should. However they're bad because they tend to care about lazy people who want government handouts.

Answer 9

Liberals will advocate for almost anything that allows for lack of responsibility on the part of the doer.

Answer 10

Liberals live off the rest of us.
They don't work, and spend their time protesting against the USA.
It's a sad thing.