The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines a liberal as a person "who is open-minded or not strict in the observance of orthodox, traditional, or established forms or ways". The Compact Oxford English Dictionary defines a liberal, in a political context, as "favouring individual liberty, free trade, and moderate reform". Liberal also means "willing to respect and accept behaviour or opinions different from one's own" and "favourable to individual rights and freedoms".
Isn't this the very essence of what it means to be an American? Wasn't this what the founding fathers fought for? America was the world's first liberal democracy. Liberalism was offered as the rational alternative to hereditary despotism, and corrupt government on behalf of vested interests and the privileged few. It subsequently lead to the birth of republics and constitutional monarchies all over the world.
A classic liberal was someone who believed in free markets, personal freedom and the rule of law. All the things the Republican Party says it stands for. But American government, under both Democrats and Republicans, has come to stand for political patronage, pandering to vested interests, gerrymandering and blatant vote buying at all levels. More alarmingly, we are now seeing serious erosion of individual liberties, and challenges to the separation of church and state.
At the same time the political hate-mongers have changed the meaning of the word. Liberal has become a derogatory term for the "looney left". Liberals are demonized, variously, as academics who are completely out of touch with ordinary people, wealthy intellectuals who champion the poor but refuse to give up anything of their own, or anyone who favors tolerance to an extreme, or political correctness over common sense. Liberals, collectively, are blamed for everything that is wrong with America.
Is this distortion of the language the result of ignorance, or is it part of a campaign to undermine and corrupt America's ideals? It is probably a combination of both. I doubt that any of the "liberal bashers" have any idea of the dictionary definition. But in the result they have made intolerance acceptable, fostered hatred and division, and diverted attention from the evils of corruption and abuse of power.
Most of those who claim to be liberal do not know what the word means either. Most are not champions of free markets or free trade, quite the contrary in many cases. A true liberal believes in reform of institutions that no longer work, not in socialism or paternalism.
For the record, Thomas Jefferson was a liberal, Benjamin Franklin was a liberal, John F Kennedy was a liberal, and Martin Luther King was a liberal. And so were most great Americans between.
Isn't this the very essence of what it means to be an American? Wasn't this what the founding fathers fought for? America was the world's first liberal democracy. Liberalism was offered as the rational alternative to hereditary despotism, and corrupt government on behalf of vested interests and the privileged few. It subsequently lead to the birth of republics and constitutional monarchies all over the world.
A classic liberal was someone who believed in free markets, personal freedom and the rule of law. All the things the Republican Party says it stands for. But American government, under both Democrats and Republicans, has come to stand for political patronage, pandering to vested interests, gerrymandering and blatant vote buying at all levels. More alarmingly, we are now seeing serious erosion of individual liberties, and challenges to the separation of church and state.
At the same time the political hate-mongers have changed the meaning of the word. Liberal has become a derogatory term for the "looney left". Liberals are demonized, variously, as academics who are completely out of touch with ordinary people, wealthy intellectuals who champion the poor but refuse to give up anything of their own, or anyone who favors tolerance to an extreme, or political correctness over common sense. Liberals, collectively, are blamed for everything that is wrong with America.
Is this distortion of the language the result of ignorance, or is it part of a campaign to undermine and corrupt America's ideals? It is probably a combination of both. I doubt that any of the "liberal bashers" have any idea of the dictionary definition. But in the result they have made intolerance acceptable, fostered hatred and division, and diverted attention from the evils of corruption and abuse of power.
Most of those who claim to be liberal do not know what the word means either. Most are not champions of free markets or free trade, quite the contrary in many cases. A true liberal believes in reform of institutions that no longer work, not in socialism or paternalism.
For the record, Thomas Jefferson was a liberal, Benjamin Franklin was a liberal, John F Kennedy was a liberal, and Martin Luther King was a liberal. And so were most great Americans between.
