Forums > Social Discussion > Liberal
Login/Join to ParticipateHOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
Thomas Jefferson, in an 1824 letter to Henry Lee, characterized people as generally divided into two contrasting types, not liberals and conservatives, but "liberals and serviles." The latter, whom he labled aristocrats, "fear and distrust the people and wish to draw all powers from them into the hands of higher classes." The liberals, "democrats," he called them, "identify themselves with the people, have confidence in them, cherish and consider them as the most honest and safe...."
The English ancestry of the word "liberal" connotes generosity, but the Latin root, clearly, means free.
So when the word "liberal" is used to disparage an opinion, remember that "liberal" is the label of freedom, of trust, of generosity of spirit. When some groups try to privitaze the functions of government or undermine liberal protections like the Bill of Rights, those groups thereby show their lack of trust in the People and in open government. Remember that the goal of such selfish groups is to take power (and thereby wealth) away from the public. The goal of such illiberal groups is to put power and wealth into the hands of a more "trustworthy" class, a class which is very often their own little circle of friends. And such a goal is, by its very purpose, undeomcratic.
"Liberal" is the adjective of democracy, and those who debase the word also demean our nation and the freedoms which define it.
-Anonymous.
-Mike
Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella
A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura
Mand's Girl....and The Not So Shy One
2,723 posts
Location: Calgary, Alberta Canada
Whoa.
Thanks Lightning. I may well forward that on to some folks...if that'd be ok.
Solitude sometimes speaks to you, and you should listen.
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
It's not mine...
-Mike
Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella
A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura
.:*distracted by shiny things*:.
3,777 posts
Location: brizvegas, Australia
dang...and here i was going to give lightening a gold star! *teehee*
ah well...so lightning, why did you post it??
do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good to eat!
if at first you do succeed, try not to look too astonished!
smile! :grin: it confuses people!
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
Just thought it was interesting. *shrug*
-Mike
Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella
A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura
456 posts
Location: Hoboken, New Jersey, USA
Hey, if you know something and think people could use to hear it, post it. Just my opinion.
It's funny how 'liberal' has become a general pejorative. Guy on the radio reported that a driver yelled at him "get out of the way, you liberal!"
That's 'funny' as in 'peculiar', not as in 'makes me laugh'. I'm not laughing. I blame Fox News.
"If you didn't like something the first time, the cud won't be any good either." --Elsie the Cow, Ruminations
Mand's Girl....and The Not So Shy One
2,723 posts
Location: Calgary, Alberta Canada
*marge simpson - like mmmmmm"
It is very unfortunate that Liberal has become a dirty word. I've had one person at work tell me (this was about a year ago) that liberals were unpatriotic because of their stance on the war in Iraq. This same person said that it was impossible to support the troops and not the war.
Whatever. When people begin censoring me for my opinions, I get worried. Freedom of Speech...it's one of manythings this country is founded on. I will not blindly follow the leaders of this country as I do not trust them.
We're on a slippery slope, and I fear what might happen if the GOP retain control of the executive and congressional branches...
Solitude sometimes speaks to you, and you should listen.
912 posts
Location: Cheltenham
Thanks Lightning. I love that one.
"We have done the impossible and that makes us mighty" - Mal Reynolds
"I can't tell the difference between an electron and a cat" - Brother of a friend
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