For those who are not "liberals"?

Question

I am not American, so I am not too familiar with the politics in the US. But what I always heard is that America stands for freedom, is a free country etc. So, liberty meaning freedom, how come the term liberal can have a negative meaning for you? How can any American claim he/ she is not liberal? Not being liberal litterally means you are against freedom, so where do you stand, fascism?

As for democrat and republican, these concepts are not contradictory. I mean maybe in the US they refer to opposed parties, but no one can say it is wrong to be democratic=to believe in democracy, or that it is wrong to support the republic. But even if the term liberal is used as opposed to conservative(normally the opposite should be progressionist or sth), isn't it weird to say you are not liberal? It litteraly means you don't support freedom. Maybe liberals contort the concept as well, but non-liberals make a good a priori concept sound bad!

Answer 1

The term liberal has been turned into an epithet by right wing talk radio. It's a case where the opponents, conservatives, have redefined their opposition. In the 1950's through the 1980's liberals were usually Democrats who believed in social change, progress, individual freedom and rights, separation of church and state and equal opportunity. Conservatives were usually Republicans who believed in maintaining the status quo.

Answer 2

Not being liberal isn't being against freedom.

Economic liberalism means that you want people to be able to get welfare if they don't feel like working. It means that you tax and spend and let the government handle quite a bit of your money for you. Conservatives think that the individual knows how to spend their money better than the government. Certain things (roads, schools, etc) need to be paid for by the government, but other things that the government wastes money on (Bridges to nowhere, committees to study teen sex habits) are unneccesary.

There are many more ways in which liberals and conservatives differ, but that is the one that most people associate the divide with. Other issues that divide would be letting people do whatever they want with their lives, illegal or not. (marrying a goat would be a liberal agenda) Conservatives believe that the laws were clearly defined in the Constitution and that you should have little or no interpritation of what they were trying to say, or how what they said in the Constitution could possibly benefit you, or what the Constitution was possibly hinting at.

Conservatives play by the rules, liberals try to break them...

I know it's long, but thanks for reading this.

Answer 3

Okay, but how can we not all say we are "Republicans" because the country is a Republic. Or for that matter, we are all "Democrats" as well, because the US is a democracy. Does that mean republicans are against a democracy; or democrats are against a republic? Liberal/Conservative are just terms to describe your beliefs; they do not apply literally...and if you really knew the truth of it here, you would know that Conservatives stand for "Freedom" more than the liberals...

Answer 4

Liberal does come from the words liberty and liberate. Today, however, people who refer to themselves as liberals generally favor government solving all or our problems. Conservatives like me, believe that it is not government's job. We, as individuals need to do for ourselves.

Conservatives look to our Constitution (Article 1, Section 8) where the specific areas delegated to government are spelled out. Everything eles should be done at state or local level, or by the individual. The conservatives believe that the essence of freedom is the limitation of government.

We believe that the purpose of government is the protection of life and property. That is why conservatives are opposed to abortion. The "right" to kill your unborn is not in the Constitution. It was invented by a supreme court that has a history of misinterpreting the Constitution. The right to keep and bear arms (Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights) is constantly under attack by the liberals.

The neo-cons (who sometimes masquarade as conservatives) are for big government, as long as it is efficient. They favor foreign entanglements, undeclared wars and "free trade", which makes American workers compete with slave labor from China.

FDR is the patron saint of liberals. What did his New Deal consist of if it wasn't fascism. Government controls over industry, price controls, telling farmers what to plant and what not to plant. Locking Americans of Japanese ancestory in concentration camps. And look at how he persecuted anyone who opposed American entry into WW2 like the America First people.

Fascism, Communism and modern day liberalism are all advocates of big government. Conservatives favor limited government and the maximum of freedom.

Answer 5

Liberal and Liberty are not the same thing. Liberalism refers to the defense of individuals rights. That means, generally, more involvement of the government in all aspects of our lives. More legislation, more red tape. Lieberals believe more in having everyone help each other-the wealth should be more distributed. The opposite is Conservatism, which means, generally, less involvement of the government in all aspects of our lives. Conservatives believe moreso in Capitalism and Entrepreneurialism-meaning that they will, in theory, attempt to work as hard as they can to earn wealth and do not wish to be obligated to share. Understand that both are valid, but I personally have become disheartened at paying so much in taxes to help people that do not even try to help themselves. I am a conservative but I am not a fan of Bush or politics in general.

Answer 6

To us the term liberal is :
One who thinks they can improve the world if only they have enough money.
Tax money.
Force a group to support another group, rather than educating them so they can be self-sufficient,earn a living and pay their share of taxes.
They beleive that all good things flow from government .

Answer 7

I am a democrat from the US and I too am confused by the way the word "liberal" has been contorted into this highly-charged term.

It has been turned into a highly political term that has no meaning any more, for me at least.

Answer 8

I will tell you what I think it means as far as religion. I have heard that a liberal church is a church that gives the attendants what they want instead of what they need. For example a liberal pastor may be afraid to speak against the sin of homosexuality even though he knows the Bible condemns it.

Answer 9

Liberals are socialists despite whatever their name may sound like. That's it in a nutshell.