Why do you support liberalism?

[manu1959]

Define..

There's a Huge Difference between, Classic Liberalism & Modern Liberalism.

not really.

there's a difference between progressivism and liberalism. and certain people think all democrats are liberals and all republicans are conservatives. technically, the republican party is reactionary.

and there are people who think anything that isn't to the right of atilla the hun is 'liberal'.

yes and there is a difference between conservatisim and neo con and certain people think all republicans are conservative and all democrats are liberals....techinally the democrat party are enablers...

and there are people who think anything that isnt to the left of lenin is a neocon....

 

[GilbertArizona]

I lean more towards liberalism over conservatism because i don't believe in government by golden rule. That is, I don't want those that have the gold making the rules. I see the government's role as establishment of a level playing field that is balanced in its fairness to business owners, workers, and consumers. I wouldn't care to go back to the days before the labor movement. I believe the government has a role in establishing standards regarding workers' safety, approving drugs that pharmaceutical companies wish to market, and environmental regulations to protect the air I breathe and water I drink.

 

[goldcatt]

I lean more towards liberalism over conservatism because i don't believe in government by golden rule. That is, I don't want those that have the gold making the rules. I see the government's role as establishment of a level playing field that is balanced in its fairness to business owners, workers, and consumers. I wouldn't care to go back to the days before the labor movement. I believe the government has a role in establishing standards regarding workers' safety, approving drugs that pharmaceutical companies wish to market, and environmental regulations to protect the air I breathe and water I drink.

It's a different view of freedom I think, that reocgnizes it's not only government that can misuse power and enslave people. It's a human trait. And for some things government is the best entity to provide balance - and protection.

 

[Eccgmike]

Define..

There's a Huge Difference between, Classic Liberalism & Modern Liberalism.

not really.

there's a difference between progressivism and liberalism. and certain people think all democrats are liberals and all republicans are conservatives. technically, the republican party is reactionary.

and there are people who think anything that isn't to the right of atilla the hun is 'liberal'.

Brilliant deduction Jillian. I love how you state your opinion as fact. I believe it would be accurate to describe Obama's entire presidency to date as "reactionary"

 

[Oddball]

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then ... we are not that kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal." [JFK September 14, 1960]

They don't apply the term "liberal", you do...The socialist wing to your party stole the term back in the 1920s, in order to obfuscate their true motives and ends.

If anyone has destroyed the meaning of the term, it's the most illliberal "liberals".

JFK said it best ...thank you

All JFK did was spout one giant platitude...Something else that modern "liberals" are fond of.

 

[editec]

I'd love to see some of the answers here.

Define liberalism, first.

I have a sneaking suspicion how you define that political philosphy and how I define it are somwhat different.

 

[editec]

Define..

There's a Huge Difference between, Classic Liberalism & Modern Liberalism.

Liberal/Progressive/Socialist/Democrat whatever you want to call it.

And that's the sort of half-assed poli-sci POV which make having a serious discussion pretty much impossible.

 

[editec]

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then ... we are not that kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal." [JFK September 14, 1960]

They don't apply the term "liberal", you do...The socialist wing to your party stole the term back in the 1920s, in order to obfuscate their true motives and ends.

If anyone has destroyed the meaning of the term, it's the most illliberal "liberals".

JFK said it best ...thank you

JFJK was a foreign policy hawk, an economic conservative and a social policy liberal.

So really, what was he?

He was JFK not some stupid label.

 

[editec]

I lean more towards liberalism over conservatism because i don't believe in government by golden rule. That is, I don't want those that have the gold making the rules. I see the government's role as establishment of a level playing field that is balanced in its fairness to business owners, workers, and consumers. I wouldn't care to go back to the days before the labor movement. I believe the government has a role in establishing standards regarding workers' safety, approving drugs that pharmaceutical companies wish to market, and environmental regulations to protect the air I breathe and water I drink.

Seems like you're a 1950s REPUBLICAN, then.

Or maybe you're a early 19th century Bull Moose Party supporter like Teddy Roosevelt

Kinda sucks to be an anachronism, doesn't it, Gil?

Know that you're in good company, though.

 

[PubliusInfinitum]

Define..

There's a Huge Difference between, Classic Liberalism & Modern Liberalism.

not really.

there's a difference between progressivism and liberalism. and certain people think all democrats are liberals and all republicans are conservatives. technically, the republican party is reactionary.

Uh... Counselor... Robespierre called and she wants her non sequitur back...

ROFLMNAO! But setting that aside... would it be untoward to point out that using your own reasoning... your REACTION here... would constitute your bona fides as a supporting member of the Republican Party... and your chronic appeal to Leftist reasoning and your just as chronic appeal that such appeals are mainstream demonstrates your Progressive bona fides... and your use of that archaic obscurance; which FTR was invalid in 1790... and remains so today... demonstrates your bona fides as an imbecile.

and there are people who think anything that isn't to the right of atilla the hun is 'liberal'.

Take a moment and explain for the board, the traits of The Hun, formerly known as Attilla... which demonstrated their 'right-thinking'....

Now to my fellow board members, I will only remind you that jillian here boasts enjoys boasting, or at least she used to enjoy boasting of her status as a licensed attorney.

I challenge her not so much as a means to better understand her position; but more as a means to demonstrate that what Jillian is, is an IMBECILE...

Meaning that the point here is to position the Counselor in such a spot where she has little choice but to pretend that she didn't see the challenge; or otherwise ignore it... in which case she CONCEDES to me... that she's an imbecile... OR to PROVE she's an imbecile through whatever lame attempt she may employ to demonstrate the ATH was a "RIGHTY".

Enjoy...

 

[PubliusInfinitum]

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then ... we are not that kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal." [JFK September 14, 1960]

They don't apply the term "liberal", you do...The socialist wing to your party stole the term back in the 1920s, in order to obfuscate their true motives and ends.

If anyone has destroyed the meaning of the term, it's the most illliberal "liberals".

 

[AquaAthena]

I'd love to see some of the answers here.

Avatar, here are two thoughts about libertarianism that I had bookmarked, but don't recall the sources. I bookmarked them some time ago because they represented the direction I would like to see my country take. If you want to know more, check out RonPaul.com. [these following thoughts did not come from there, though]

"No, a libertarian world isn't a perfect one. There will still be inequality, poverty, crime, corruption, man's inhumanity to man. But, unlike the theocratic visionaries, the pie-in-the-sky socialist utopians, or the starry-eyed Mr. Fixits of the New Deal and Great Society, libertarians don't promise you a rose garden. Karl Popper once said that attempts to create heaven on earth invariably produce hell. Libertarianism holds out, not the goal of a perfect society, but of a better and freer one. It promises a world in which more of the decisions will be made in the right way by the right person: you. The result will be, not an end to crime and poverty and inequality, but less of most of those things most of the time--often much less."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"LIBERTARIANS support maximum liberty in both personal and
economic matters. They advocate a much smaller government; one

that is limited to protecting individuals from coercion and violence.

Libertarians tend to embrace individual responsibility, oppose

government bureaucracy and taxes, promote private charity, tolerate

diverse lifestyles, support the free market, and defend civil liberties."

 

[Oddball]

Define..

There's a Huge Difference between, Classic Liberalism & Modern Liberalism.

Liberal/Progressive/Socialist/Democrat whatever you want to call it.

And that's the sort of half-assed poli-sci POV which make having a serious discussion pretty much impossible.

Not half-assed at all...It's emblematic of how the progressive/socialist/"liberal" has to sully the language, in order to maintain the front that they're something other than the subversives that they certainly are.

Both Rand and Orwell were right.

 

[PubliusInfinitum]

Define..

There's a Huge Difference between, Classic Liberalism & Modern Liberalism.

Liberal/Progressive/Socialist/Democrat whatever you want to call it.

Well..

Like any sort of Philosophy has it's "Good" Parts.. (Not Mentioning Extremist Philosophy's, Like Communism nor Fascism.)

But what do i think of em? I have nothing against them really.. I just don't approve of it, I understand why people would be inclined to be a Liberal/Progressive etc, but it's not for me..

I'm a Conservative, with a hint of Classic Liberalism. And no, not the Conservative Palin and Hannity make it out to be.. I actually despise those two Nuts, The Real Conservatism.

Big difference between, Neo-Cons and Conservatives.

Well...

Now here is a WONDERFUL opportunity for a true Conservative to specifiy their beliefs...

One would have thought, given the emphatic nature of your position; that you'd have taken just a moment to have demonstrated this vast distinction; wherein you see yourself as a teeny tiny bit like those Classic Liberals of the American foundation... and A LOT LIKE and the embodiment of a TRUE CONSERVATIVE... which in and of itself pretty well tells the story... but this promises to be fairly entertaining so let's play it out and see where it goes.

Anywho... Now you passed up a TERRIFIC opportunity to define what you BELIEVE represents TRUE CONSERVATIVE PRINCIPLES! Which you stated that you also believe are DISTINCT, for the most part, from The American Founding principles...

In so doing, you also went out of your way to cast dispersions upon and setting yourself and your beliefs distinct from those who you claim are something called 'NEO-CONS'.... Without defining what that means... and how YOUR UNSTATED BELIEFS are different from these dreaded NEO-CONS...

So in short, you've set yourself distinct from the Classic Liberal and WHOLLY AMERICAN Principles of the American founding and the ethereal beliefs of "THE NEO-CONS"...

Could ya take some time and clear this up for us? What do you believe "TRUE CONSERVATIVISM" represents... and how is this distinct from the immutable principles of the American founding? And what is a NEO-CON? What do THEY believe and how is it different from what YOU BELIEVE?

 

[Political Junky]

Define..

There's a Huge Difference between, Classic Liberalism & Modern Liberalism.

Liberal/Progressive/Socialist/Democrat whatever you want to call it.

Well..

Like any sort of Philosophy has it's "Good" Parts.. (Not Mentioning Extremist Philosophy's, Like Communism nor Fascism.)

But what do i think of em? I have nothing against them really.. I just don't approve of it, I understand why people would be inclined to be a Liberal/Progressive etc, but it's not for me..

I'm a Conservative, with a hint of Classic Liberalism. And no, not the Conservative Palin and Hannity make it out to be.. I actually despise those two Nuts, The Real Conservatism.

Big difference between, Neo-Cons and Conservatives.

Well, besides Fascism being the opposite of Communism?

 

[teapartysamurai]

I support liberalism, because it's funy defeating them in debates.

Kind of like shooting really stupid fish in a really stupid barrel.

 

[Modbert]

Of course, troll thread gets troll responses. Big surprise.

 

[AquaAthena]

Liberal/Progressive/Socialist/Democrat whatever you want to call it.

And that's the sort of half-assed poli-sci POV which make having a serious discussion pretty much impossible.

Not half-assed at all...It's emblematic of how the progressive/socialist/"liberal" has to sully the language, in order to maintain the front that they're something other than the subversives that they certainly are.

Both Rand and Orwell were right.[/QUOTE]

Yes! [in bold above]

"If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. I think conservatism is really a misnomer just as liberalism is a misnomer for the liberals -- if we were back in the days of the Revolution, so-called conservatives today would be the Liberals and the liberals would be the Tories. The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is." -RONALD REAGAN, Reason Magazine, Jul. 1, 1975

 

[Avatar4321]

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then ... we are not that kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal." [JFK September 14, 1960]

How is it your "new" ideas are the same ones that always fail?

I don't think JFK would be anymore.

 

[Avatar4321]

Liberal/Progressive/Socialist/Democrat whatever you want to call it.

Well..

Like any sort of Philosophy has it's "Good" Parts.. (Not Mentioning Extremist Philosophy's, Like Communism nor Fascism.)

But what do i think of em? I have nothing against them really.. I just don't approve of it, I understand why people would be inclined to be a Liberal/Progressive etc, but it's not for me..

I'm a Conservative, with a hint of Classic Liberalism. And no, not the Conservative Palin and Hannity make it out to be.. I actually despise those two Nuts, The Real Conservatism.

Big difference between, Neo-Cons and Conservatives.

Well, besides Fascism being the opposite of Communism?

And by opposite you mean the opposite type of socialism/totalitarian government.