Liberty and Liberal?

Question

Liberty and Liberal both derive from the same latin work Liber, meaning free independant and unrestricted, both carry similar definations in modern English.

How can one love liberty yet dislike liberals when they both stand for the same thing?

Answer 1

I actually did a blog post this morning about this. A TRUE liberal believes in the individual’s right to his own life, liberty, and property, and his right to be free from physical coercion in his personal and economic activities. Most of those called "liberal" by todays society are not "liberal". It has become a buzzword to attack those who disagree with us, like "neocon".

Answer 2

I love you mock linguists. Yes, the two words are derived from the same root and yes, the dictionary definition of liberal is a good thing and being liberal with your own money, time, and talents is also a good thing. However, the modern political definition of liberal and liberals is a far cry from the dictionary definition. Modern "liberalism" is filled with people who are actually anti-liberal. The American Left Wing (I actually prefer to ues the term leftists over liberals) is filled with Luddites (anti-technology), smoking police, eating police, and public worship squashers. There is a wing dedicated to stealing money from one class and giving it to another that did not EARN it. These people also wish to cap wages through taxation essentially declaring that they know how much money a person/family should be "allowed" to make. While they champion "rights" of a libertine nature in some aspects like homosexual union, and marijuana use, they rail against other libertine "rights" like tobacco use. These same people wish to determine who gets medical care and for what reason by turning it over to some vast bureaucratic engine that will make you wait a week to get a broken arm set because a favored class needs a hangnail removed. Does that sound like a liberal group of people? I haven't even touched on the restrictions they wish to place on us because we may or may not be causeing damage to the environment. Some of them even want to force abortions, sterilization, and death on us to thin out the population. Killing "surplus" population so you can continue going to Martha's Vinyard parties certainly must be a non-liberal act. So, I ask you once again, does that sound like the actions of a "liberal" group of people? Political liberals are totalitarians in the guise of protectors of the little guy. We have to crush them and their warped ideology because if they succeed, you won't even have Yahoo answers to complain on.

Answer 3

Good question. I don't know. I grew up in a house full of Republicans, but soon realized that my own beliefs conflicted with the rest of my family's beliefs. We talk politics all the time, but we keep it civil. Nobody should be judged because they don't believe the same things you do. The thing that drew me to being a liberal is that I am open minded and accept people for what they are instead of trying to change them into what I think they should be. I don't hate conservatives, just have trouble relating to their beliefs. I have trouble with anyone that tells others how they should live their life.

Answer 4

Liberalism is ok when it is practiced.

But todays America's liberals, are not real liberals.

They are against change of all types and devoid of new idea's or solutions to problems.

Conservatives offered many new programs and initiatives the last 6 years, and liberals always fought against them, with never an original idea or solution to offer in return.

In reality the liberals of today are Stalinists and Marxists. Their belief that government is the solution to all problems and no wealth show be privately owned is what drives todays liberals.

They are also anti-American. They believe America is the worlds problem and the world would be better off without America in it.

Liberals are all for forsaking the poor weak and downtrodden if America's military is involved in keeping them alive, but insist on keeping America's poor weak and downtrodden in their miserable existance because of 'political correctness', (New Orleans and any urban city).

Answer 5

Use of words, today, is very subjective. And it has been a cause for puzzlement - for me - to see such attacks under the guises of 'conservative' and 'liberal'.

My initial reaction, and what I would have thought would have been the thoughts of Americans - was that 'liberal' is a better way of thinking than 'conservative'. (Please folks, eliminate the associated parties from your minds at this point, and just focus on the words themselves...) How could a country, like America, become so forward and progressive without liberal thinking? Conservative thinking suggests the safe and restrictive. There is no possible way America could have grown to be a super power without liberal thinking...instead of slow and steady.

Answer 6

Garbage. They don't stand for the same thing at all. Here's another good example of a LIBERAL abuse of the truth. Here's the def of liberal - I particularly like the part about "lacking moral restraint" -
1 a : of, relating to, or based on the liberal arts b archaic : of or befitting a man of free birth
2 a : marked by generosity : OPENHANDED b : given or provided in a generous and openhanded way c : AMPLE, FULL
3 obsolete : lacking moral restraint : LICENTIOUS
4 : not literal or strict : LOOSE
5 : BROAD-MINDED; especially : not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or traditional forms
6 a : of, favoring, or based upon the principles of liberalism b capitalized : of or constituting a political party advocating or associated with the principles of political liberalism; especially : of or constituting a political party in the United Kingdom associated with ideals of individual especially economic freedom, greater individual participation in government, and constitutional, political, and administrative reforms designed to secure these objectives
- lib·er·al·ly /-b(&-)r&-lE/ adverb
- lib·er·al·ness noun
synonyms LIBERAL, GENEROUS, BOUNTIFUL, MUNIFICENT mean giving or given freely and unstintingly. LIBERAL suggests openhandedness in the giver and largeness in the thing or amount given . GENEROUS stresses warmhearted readiness to give more than size or importance of the gift . BOUNTIFUL suggests lavish, unremitting giving or providing . MUNIFICENT suggests a scale of giving appropriate to lords or princes .

Answer 7

You might want to read "The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America" by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge to see how far to the right American politics has swung. This is not a good thing, nor a bad thing, but it does bring into question the terms "conservative" and "liberal."

Answer 8

Liberals are just labeled.
That is as bad as the "Free thinkers" of the Red party or Green party now.

Its just a pigeon hole- if you don't follow a party. I use one of the labels provided Democrat or Republican and use my liberal politics to my advantage. Its not what you say- its what you do.

Actions speak louder- so look at voting records and your issues and observe that "party" people have their own agendas as well and sometimes that are yours!

Answer 9

Good point. Too bad nobody who has the hatred of liberals that is based on an active fantasy life would ever agree with you.

Answer 10

Just like the word gay, liberal does not mean the same thing anymore. The orginial meaning of gay and the proper use was "Happy" it still means that but the word is not used anymore to define an emotion. It is used to define a sexual orientation.

Liberal which meant free, and liberty, now means hateful, restrictive, socialist