When ignorant fools attack liberals and liberalism, do they forget what it has given us?

Question

Without liberals and liberal thinking, we would still be a British colony, singing "God save the king.". Blacks would still be slaves, Women wouldn't have the right to vote, in fact they would be, by law, considered nothing more than the property of their husbands.

Without liberal thinking the Magna Carta would never been signed. And there would be no Democracies, anywhere in the world. Do conservatives forget that nearly all our founding fathers, including Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Thomas Paine, were all liberal thinkers?

Or is it rather that those on here today care not about the things Liberalism has given our nation, and instead with to deflect criticism from their elected leaders who call themselves "conservatives"?

Answer 1

You are exactly correct of course. Except that first, they don't even know what liberalism is--they've been taught its a "bad thing" and use it as a swear word.

And they haven't forgotten, exactly--they neverlearned any real history in the first place.

Answer 2

The word liberal has changed meanings so many times throughout history. The better word to use in this situation would be progressive. It was progressives who freed the slaves (interestingly enough they were republican), progressives who wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Magna Carta. Our forefathers were progressive and liberal to a degree but more progressive.

They didn't want government to control the lives of the people it should be the other way around. A radically different idea than what passes for liberal today. They wanted a government the people could be proud of not one the people want to overthrow. They wanted people to control their own lives. Sounds a little like libertarian to me if we have to put a label on it and I would call that progressive ideas instead of liberal ideas.

Liberals want the government as big as possible and running the show. Liberals want the government to do things they can't and keep people quiet who they can't shup up themselves. Liberals want the government to do their work for them. These are not the ideas of progressives or our forefathers, these are the ideas of todays entitled liberals who think anyone who makes a buck and wants to hold on to it should be taken out back and shot.

Answer 3

I very much sympathize with your statements.

I get really annoyed with loud, outspoken women dog feminists. It is like "hello, it is because of efforts and sacrifices of feminists that you can even speak your opinion, in mixed company, without your husband whipping you."

Nobody less than Margaret Sanger fought for us to have contraception that is at the vanguard. At her time it was probably fertility awareness or a prophylactic of lamb-skin, nowadays it is the pill, et. al.

.... and they have the nerve to put down these sisters who fight for us, both then and now.

Both "liberals" and "conservatives" alike have profited from all kinds of revolutions in the areas of human rights, hygiene and education. Both take it for granted.

However, "liberal" is a very weak word. In economic terms, the classic republican free-market advocate and fiscal conservative is actually liberal.

It is hard to apply today's standards to yesterday's way of life. For example: Who were the big arguers for emancipation, and later for women's suffrage? Later, Brown vs. Board of Education . . .

Perhaps the word you are looking for is "progressives" and not "liberals."

Answer 4

Evangelical Christians were the main force in the fight against slavery in the 1800s. The philosophies of the loyalists in the Revolutionary War era were much the same as the anti-war liberal crowd of today, negotiate, avoid a fight at all costs, accept our lot with the government, etc.

The first states to allow women to vote were Wyoming and Alabama, hardly liberal bastions.

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were revolutionaries, not liberals. Both were rich businessmen and landowners, hardly what liberal philosophy espouses. Thomas Paine was a paid hack, much along the same lines as Maggie Gallagher and Anderson Williams, neither of whom garners much praise from the "liberals" these days.

Answer 5

Although I somewhat agree, there is one GLARING FACT that you omitted . And that is that Liberalism WAS a respectable viewpoint until only recent years . Liberalism is responsible for many things that are destroying our country and it's overall VALUES . We're bombarded with the craziest and the most damaging notions from todays far left liberals, and even the Democratic Party has allowed itself to be hijacked by these dangerous notions .

The Germans saw it and awoke .
The French saw it and awoke .
And now you'll witness just how many Americans have been awakened in the 2008 elections !!

Answer 6

So maybe you can help me out here, would any of those men from the past be in favor of signing into law cutting babies out of women and killing them? Would they be in favor of us losing wars? Would they be making anti-war anti-american speeches overseas? Would they be calling our troops things like nazies, terrorists, poor, stupid and lazy? Would they stand in the way of economic growth and let energy prices sore to pander to a bunch of eco-activists? Would they meet with allies of our enemies in an attempt to undermine Washingtons foreign policy?

Todays unprincipled secular liberal doesnt even resemble the electable democrats we had in the mid-20th century. When you start drawing comparisons of todays unamerican liberals to patriots and heroes of American history, the only one that looks ignorant and foolish is you.

Answer 7

Any bank is worse than a standing army.Thomas Jefferson.A social republic is governed by democratic states.Liberals are dangerous people.Kind and gentle.People who like to fight are fighting.The USA economy runs on domestic services.Be intelligent or be stupid.

Answer 8

The basic problem is that those who dislike liberals like grande johnson assume all liberals are like the extremist communist wackos that lead the liberals. Just like most liberals think all conservatives are like the wacko extremist fascists that run the conservative side.

Both sides have let those who represent them become degenerate idiots instead of thinking "Well that is one wacko Lib/Conserv" everyone has now been trained by those in power to think "well because of that one wacko ALL people everywhere, of all time who call themselves same thing are just as wacko" because it enables those in power to remain in power

Answer 9

They don't care. Liberalism and liberal thinking doesn't turn a profit for them. They would rather carve up the Constitution and Bill of Rights to please their small base of bigoted, war mongering, bible beating constituents if it will keep them in office.

Answer 10

Thomas Jefferson would've thrown Jane Fonda in the river. BTW,your girlfriend Jane is asking questions on Y/A promoting her new movie.