Why are the US the only country where the word "liberal" has negative connotations for many people?

Question

It is a mystery to me, the US calling themselves the "land of the free", but at the same time denouncing the lovers of freedom or generous people, which is the meaning of "liberal".

And please keep your venom to yourselves, I'm genuinely interested in how that came about, when it started, why it is still going on.

And most of all, why nobody else seems to be finding it weird.

Answer 1

It's really no mystery. The pseudo-cons pretty much hi-jacked the news media a long time ago. There are 10 pseudo-con pundits on TV for every one liberal pundit. And their favorite thing to demonize is "the liberals". They will tell you that all liberals vote the same way, feel the same way, talk the same way, and want the same things (usually things that NO American would want)... They'll tell you that "the liberals" want mandatory abortions, they'll tell you that "the liberals" want to take away your guns and give them to terrorists, they'll tell you that "the liberals" want to end heterosexual marriage... Whatever it takes to get the bumper-sticker philosophy crowd to follow them.

It works, the ones that don't know it are the same ribbon-shaped-magnet sporting indoctrinated sheep who listen to them.


You'll notice a lot of the bumper-sticker talking points echoed again and again in this thread:

"Libs want the government to solve their problems"
"Libs are socialists"

etc... etc... etc...

Answer 2

Because it is easier for the right wingers to rule that way.

Look at FOX news. It is full of factual inaccuracies that people exposed to media elsewhere in the world can see through.

'Liberalism' has been responsible for many changes regarding civil rights. Examples as noted before include abolishing slavery, voting rights and of course civil rights.

It is important that people have freedom, but we also live in a society. Freedom and living amongst others has to have a balance. Liberals in general wish to have a society that cares, one that respect's freedom but offers help for those who are not able to get the best out of freedom of choice.

Some people do not want that as it means paying more tax. And I think that it is these people who are bad for the country. It is not enough to ask what your country can do for you, but also what you can do for your country. As painful as it is, you can help your country best by helping it pay to help it's citizens.

Also, in the UK for example, 'Liberal' can apply to those who support political party called the Liberal Democrats which again changes the meaning of the word.

In summary, the reason 'liberal' is becoming a bad term in the USA is because the right wing media (mainly Fox News) wants it to be.

Answer 3

PROPAGANDA......

The tactic of smearing someone who disagrees with you on anything into something very evil.

Imagine this as an example, If someone opposes building a new highway that I think is needed in my community, I could say "those darn liberals are always blocking progress,,,and want to waste tax dollars on frivolous things"

or if someone is against a war that I want....I could "say there go those liberals again....those cowardly spineless traitors"

or if the person wants to build a new jet fighter for the 21st century , I could "there goes another liberal wanting to spend more and more tax payer money"

or maybe the person opposes labeling meats by country of origin " I could say there go those libs again wanting to poison americans"

the point is whoever disagrees with me is a lib.

and soon .....the name lib is a bad thing.

now in a normal country with clear thinking people....and even here in the USA, some clear thinking people see the world liberal as a good thing..it means you are informed, likely well educated, and care about freedoms of citizens, and do not want a police state, and are a proponent of open and transparent government.
It also means that you are a compassionate person who cares not just about yourself but also your neigbor.....and it means you actually follow the teachings of christ the way he told us to behave towards our fellow man.

Answer 4

Bill Maher did a great New Rules segment on his show where he mentioned the fact that liberals have "taken back" the word liberal, now they need to take back the word elite. I believe that the word liberal has been misused by people like Bill O'reily and Rush Limbaugh so much that it has become a negative connotation much like the word "French" did for a short period. Liberal can also be defined as wanting change, whereas Conservative can be defined as not wanting change. So in fact it was Liberals who abolished slavery, while it was conservatives who wanted it to stick around for awhile longer.

Answer 5

You seem to forget that "conservative" also has become a negative term even in Europe.

The new American liberal is neither liberal nor open minded. Freedom of speech applies only to them and anyone disagreeing with a liberal is a bigot, racist, homophobe, or warmonger. They advocate government control of speech and thought and will work feverishly to defeat any attempt at a fair debate of ideas. Just take a look at the very public attacks on scientists who dispute Al Gore's belief that there's an overwhelming consensus on global warming or that the science is final.

Just take a look at how liberal activists behave and you will understand why "liberal" has become a bad word. They are the ones who protest. They are the ones who burn American flags. They are the ones who throw things at conservative speakers. They are the ones who try to drown out speakers with differing views. They are the ones who spit on American soldiers. They are the ones who slash tires to prevent opponents from driving people to the polls. They are the ones who insist that requiring identification in order to vote is racist.

Of course the conservative has plenty of baggage as well since conservatives really conserve nothing. But since conservatives are attacked with great regularity on blogs and the media, we are probably already familiar with their faults.

Answer 6

It is part of a propaganda campaign by conservatives that has been going on for a while. Designating the opposition liberals as somehow evil and denigrating the term served to make it unacceptable for a while but things have changed. People have caught on to the tactic and now proudly announce that they are liberals.

Answer 7

It's only the land of the free if you jump in the Mayberry Machiavelli\Pseudochristian Virtuecrat conga line.

Newt (the HMO lobbyist did a great PR campaign in th 90's to solly the liberal name

Answer 8

It is not only the USA. It is becoming increasingly smelly in Britain - and about time too.

Answer 9

The US masses do not know what liberal means. Period!

Answer 10

"Liberal"'s definition today means something negative because people associate it with teen druggies and punks, hippies, etc. which of course is NOT TRUE. I am liberal and I am proud to be liberal.