Yes, I’m a white, straight, male, Christian liberal and here is why I am liberal.
1. I believe a country should take care of its weakest members. A country cannot call itself civilized when its children, disabled, sick, and elderly are neglected. Period.
2. I believe healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Doesn’t mean Obamacare is the “end-all, be-all” but I have yet to hear an argument that "letting people die because they can't afford healthcare" is a better alternative. Hospitals treat emergencies even if victims can’t pay today, yet we won’t treat victims before they need emergency care unless they can afford it? How does that make sense?
3. I believe education should be affordable and accessible to everyone. It doesn't have to be free but 78% of kids from the highest income quintile attend college vs 28% from the lowest income quintile. Your parents wealth should not limit your educational attainment.
4. I don't believe your money should be taken from you and given to people who don't want to work. I have literally never encountered anyone who believes this. Ever. I just have a massive moral problem with a society where a handful of people possess all of the wealth. The top 1% own 30% of everything and the top 10% own 70% which is a historic imbalance. The richest 400 Americans own more than the bottom 150 million. Fair wages, lower housing costs, universal healthcare, affordable education, and the wealthy actually paying their share would go a long way toward alleviating this. Somehow believing that makes me a communist to righties.
5. I believe companies should be required to pay their employees a decent, livable wage. Somehow this is also interpreted as communism even though a livable wage was a capitalism reality 50 years ago for blue collar Americans. Neither minimum wages nor overall wages have kept up with inflation.
6. I am not anti-Christian. Like I said, I am a Christian. All I ask is that non-Christians be allowed to be non-Christians if they want. Let’s all do our own thing without the government playing favorites.
7. I don't believe LGBT people should have more rights than you. I just believe they should have the *same* rights as you.
8. I don't believe in open borders just because I don’t think the answer is a 1,000 mile 50 ft high concrete wall. I believe in compassion for qualified asylum seekers and a solution for DACA and Dreamers. I believe there are far more humane ways to handle undocumented immigration than our current practices (i.e., detaining children, splitting up families, ending DACA, etc). Illegal immigrants are not qualified for welfare already so stop with the scare tactics.
9. I don't believe the government should regulate everything, but since greed is such a driving force in our country, we NEED regulations to prevent cutting corners, environmental destruction, tainted food/water, unsafe materials in consumable goods or medical equipment, etc. Just kind of seems like common sense when the alternative to government regulation is companies having their bottom line drive safety decisions.
10. I believe systemic racism and misogyny in our society exists and needs to be addressed so we can start dismantling everything that's causing people to be marginalized.
11. I am not interested in coming after your guns. What I am interested in is sensible policies, which is mostly background checks and a provision for those in mental health crises.
12. I do believe there is a place for so-called political correctness which I prefer to think of as social politeness. If I call you Charles and you say you prefer to be called Chuck I’ll call you Chuck. It’s the polite thing to do.
So, I'm a liberal.
(I didn't write the above from scratch but majorly edited a similar post to reflect my personal beliefs. Please feel free to do the same with this post).
1. I believe a country should take care of its weakest members. A country cannot call itself civilized when its children, disabled, sick, and elderly are neglected. Period.
2. I believe healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Doesn’t mean Obamacare is the “end-all, be-all” but I have yet to hear an argument that "letting people die because they can't afford healthcare" is a better alternative. Hospitals treat emergencies even if victims can’t pay today, yet we won’t treat victims before they need emergency care unless they can afford it? How does that make sense?
3. I believe education should be affordable and accessible to everyone. It doesn't have to be free but 78% of kids from the highest income quintile attend college vs 28% from the lowest income quintile. Your parents wealth should not limit your educational attainment.
4. I don't believe your money should be taken from you and given to people who don't want to work. I have literally never encountered anyone who believes this. Ever. I just have a massive moral problem with a society where a handful of people possess all of the wealth. The top 1% own 30% of everything and the top 10% own 70% which is a historic imbalance. The richest 400 Americans own more than the bottom 150 million. Fair wages, lower housing costs, universal healthcare, affordable education, and the wealthy actually paying their share would go a long way toward alleviating this. Somehow believing that makes me a communist to righties.
5. I believe companies should be required to pay their employees a decent, livable wage. Somehow this is also interpreted as communism even though a livable wage was a capitalism reality 50 years ago for blue collar Americans. Neither minimum wages nor overall wages have kept up with inflation.
6. I am not anti-Christian. Like I said, I am a Christian. All I ask is that non-Christians be allowed to be non-Christians if they want. Let’s all do our own thing without the government playing favorites.
7. I don't believe LGBT people should have more rights than you. I just believe they should have the *same* rights as you.
8. I don't believe in open borders just because I don’t think the answer is a 1,000 mile 50 ft high concrete wall. I believe in compassion for qualified asylum seekers and a solution for DACA and Dreamers. I believe there are far more humane ways to handle undocumented immigration than our current practices (i.e., detaining children, splitting up families, ending DACA, etc). Illegal immigrants are not qualified for welfare already so stop with the scare tactics.
9. I don't believe the government should regulate everything, but since greed is such a driving force in our country, we NEED regulations to prevent cutting corners, environmental destruction, tainted food/water, unsafe materials in consumable goods or medical equipment, etc. Just kind of seems like common sense when the alternative to government regulation is companies having their bottom line drive safety decisions.
10. I believe systemic racism and misogyny in our society exists and needs to be addressed so we can start dismantling everything that's causing people to be marginalized.
11. I am not interested in coming after your guns. What I am interested in is sensible policies, which is mostly background checks and a provision for those in mental health crises.
12. I do believe there is a place for so-called political correctness which I prefer to think of as social politeness. If I call you Charles and you say you prefer to be called Chuck I’ll call you Chuck. It’s the polite thing to do.
So, I'm a liberal.
(I didn't write the above from scratch but majorly edited a similar post to reflect my personal beliefs. Please feel free to do the same with this post).
