Americans use “liberal” differently than it is used in most of the rest of the world, and in history as well. A true “classic” liberal believes in laisez-faire economic policies, free markets, the seperation of church and state, meritocracy, and a gradualist approach to social reform.
It’s been a long struggle, but we’ve finally got there after two decades of radical, left-wing government led by the likes of Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair.
Well, we do give up a certain freedom in order to have roads: if the government wants to pave a highway through your front yard, then that’s what they’ll do. “Emminent domain.” But everyone wants their roads, so then that’s just gonna have to be one freedom lost we live with. Until somebody invents the transporter beam, that is.
I’d say more, but it’s further off-topic.
OK, at the most knee-jerk level (one I only rarely opperate on, but you want the emotion, I’m thinking):
Socialist: Grossly inefficiant charity, taking my hard-earned money that I’d only waste on clothing, feeding, housing, and eductating my family, and giving it to someone else. Yeah, I know, not really the case, but that’s the initial reaction that boils up out of the more primitive portions of my brain.
*Liberal: Poorly thought-out social experiments, large, wasteful government, inability to accept responsibility, unable to trust anyone but themselves, resulting in a tendancy to seize control over everyone else’s lives. Again, I know that’s the not the real story, but that’s what haunts the shadows of my mind.
The funny part about all this is, I actually inhabit what amounts to the middle ground, politically speaking. My beliefs run from center-right to center-left, depending on the subject, with the ballance hanging slightly right-of-center.
Where am I from? Well, I was born in California; Grew-up in California, Colorado, and Maryland; Have lived in California, Colorado, Conneticut, Massachusetts, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Delaware is currently home. I’ve also been around the world a couple of times, spending significant amounts of time on the Pacific Rim, Southwest Asia, and the Mid East.
Not to mention how the fed govt will begin to dictate how your state must be run in order to qualify for any federal funding (speed limits, drinking age, etc.)
Back to the OP…
When I hear “liberal,” I think of someone very willing to spend money…someone else’s money.
Twice!
Mods? A little help, please?
True, the American definition of Liberal is quite different from everyone else’s. An American Liberal is generally for greater government control. They have a tendency to follow socialist economic theories, which go against the founding principles set forth in the Constitution. They like to tax and spend, regulate commerce, and exceed their Constitutional authority on a regular basis. They don’t do it because they’re evil; they do it because they believe the government exists to provide social services. That’s not a bad thing. However, if they want to provide Medicaid, welfare and the like, they should operate at the state level where they would have the authority to do so.
Why is the right to bear arms so important that it is the second amendment to the Constitution? A disarmed society is a powerless society. That’s just the way of things. Look at Nazi Germany to see it in action.
Contrary to popular belief, we don’t have a right to “free” medical care. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Someone has to pay for it. The reason medical care is so expensive in the United States is because there are so many ancillary costs involved: indigent care, malpractice insurance, administration costs, etc…
The real question to be put is who knows better how to run your life? You or the politicians who live hundreds or thousands of miles away? Liberals that I know lean toward the politicians.
“Liberal?”
That’s just an Americanism, meaning “left-wing”.
FTR, “Conservative” is American for “right-wing”.
Socialism is what you have in Sweden, or on a kibbutz.
(Oh, and I’m an American-Israeli, currently living in New York.)
As someone from a socialist country, where the main political patry is the Liberals, this has been an interesting perspective.
Thanks for it, it was enlightening!