Are you liberal, progressive, non-conservative, or reality-based?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Conservatives think they can nullify any criticism by pointing to something that similar that “liberals” may have done, even if it’s not remotely as egregious. But even so, I don’t think the majority of Americans who would deign to oppose the conservative line on some issues necessarily self-identify as “liberals” and thus face any loss of credibility to the conservative counter attack.

Now some of us here may still stand up and embrace the label of “liberal” despite to approbrium that gets heaped upon the term. But others prefer a different moniker. “Progressive” has been popular for a while now, but “reality-based” has really taken off in recent years–the gift that keeps on giving. I’ve been using that one as well as “non-conservative”, which is pretty basic since it’s not about what your are but what you ain’t.

Then again, there always “moderate”, which is nice and reasonable-sounding and suggests a certain distance from the left as well as the right. Likewise with “centrist”, which is a concept I become obsessed with so much so that so as far as I knew at the time I was coining the term. But I quickly concluded that the first rule of being a centrist is, don’t label yourself a “centrist” or anything else, because as a centrist position solidifies, it begins to depart from the perfect ideal and becomes subject to its own credibility-destroying partisanship.

So many prefer to not embrace any political label at all. So how do the rest of y’all self-identify? You can certainly be more than one, or none, or something else. And what about people you know? And I’d also like to see the results of recent surveys.

2

I prefer liberal. As FDR said “I welcome their hatred”. When polled about 40% of the nation say they are moderate, 40% conservative and 20% liberal. however when polled on the issues, the public tend to lean more liberal (renewable energy, universal health care, humanitarian aid to foreign countries, public financing of elections). I think its more because people react to the label, not because they’ve given the issue much thought. Then again, when asked, most people say ‘the bible’ is their favorite book despite something like only 5% of the nation can name the 10 commandments and only a fraction can name the 4 books of Jesus.

So I prefer the label that makes right wing authoritarians disdain me. I prefer that over running from their attacks.

However, most of the public barely pay attention so for them (aka the ones who say the bible is their favorite book despite never having read it, and the ones who agree with liberal policies but fear the liberal label) a term with a stronger emotional impact would probably be better. Reality based is ok. I know atheists are starting to call themselves ‘brights’, however I don’t know if that has an impact or not.

On another note, I prefer to use the term ‘right wing authoritarian’ over ‘conservative’. Not all conservatives are RWAs (some are libertarians), but the party has been taken over by them. Right wing authoritarians is a more accurate description of the undemocratic, extremist attitudes that they have. A 400% spike in death threats to the president and showing up at town hall meetings with guns should be labeled for what it is: unpatriotic, undemocratic and unamerican attempts at intimidation.
According to concepts like Lakoff’s, emotional values like egalitarianism, justice, community are all pro-liberal and the negative ones associated with conservatism would be more along the lines of social darwinism, winners take all and make the rules, I’ve got mine and you’re on your own, the powerful over the people, etc.

A label that embodies that would be nice, but I don’t know what it would be.

I think a problem is progressives have lost their history. Progressives have always fought for social, political, legal and economic egalitarianism. Civil rights, gay rights, animal rights, women’s rights, social security, medicare, universal health care, unemployment insurance, child labor laws, labor laws, human rights as part of foreign policy, international humanitarian aid, OSHA, environmental protections. Progressives have always fought to make the social, legal, economic and political system of the country and the world more inclusive, just and fair. And we’ve lost sight of that.

And RWAs like Hannity always fought to stop us. They were fighting against giving women the right to vote, against medicare, against child labor laws, against integration, against environmental protections, etc. in history, and now people like Hannity are today fighting against gay rights, universal health care, renewable energy, living wages, fair trade and issues like that.

But just like RWAs lost the fight in denying women the right to vote, they will lose the fight in denying people the right to health care.

3

A “right” to health care? At whose expense? Where is it written that you have a right to health care? True “rights” don’t cost any one else money. Free speech, for example, doesn’t cost my neighbor any thing.

Should we force all the doctors in the country to work for $10.00 an hour?

I have health care because I work my ass off 5 days a week and buy great coverage myself. I’m self employed.

The majority of people in the US have health care and like it just fine the way it is and don’t want to put the government in charge.

4

What do you base this on? There’s nothing in the Constitution that says only things which are free are protected rights.

5

I don’t believe that was the question in the OP. :dubious:
Speaking of, I’m definitely a liberal, as most of you have probably realized, by now. And I’m damned proud of it.

6

Health care is a right according to the universal declaration of human rights. And when a country obtains a basic level of wealth, it takes the view that health care is a right. Even India and China are implementing universal health care programs, despite 60% of all people on earth who live on less than $2/day live in those 2 countries. The US is the only wealthy country that doesn’t take that view politically, despite polling showing a majority of the public feel that way.

What about a right to protection from crime, fire or international threats? What about universal access to primary and secondary education? Are people entitled to those? Who pays for those?

You are dead wrong about most people loving their health care and not wanting reform. You may love the system, but the majority of voters and taxpayers do not.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/health/policy/21poll.html

7

cite?

8

The OP is bull.

9

I’m probably a radical. Maybe even an extremist!

10

Oh yes, this is a solely a conservative trait. When people bring up how much money was spend on the stimulus package during the president’s first two months in office, no liberal ever point at how (in the first five years) the war in the gulf was almost as expensive as that. :dubious:

11

I think I am liberal and progressive, and didn’t know the two were supposed to mean the same thing. I thought “liberal” meant “generous”, in the sense of for example helping the poor, and “progressive” meant “inclining to change”, in the sense of favoring exploring new ways of governing.

I also think I am “reality-based” and presume everybody else thinks they are too. If liberals or progressives or any other group has tried to adopt that term as a means of identifying themselves relative to their political or atitudinal opposites, they/we should be ashamed. Why not “correct” or “reasonable” or even “good”? That sounds like “pro-life” and “pro-choice”, which both ought to describe what everybody thinks their own position is.

12

Liberal AND progressive, thank you very much!

Deep down, however, maybe it would be more honest to say centrist. To mention just one current issue I would most definitely prefer to see a US health care system modeled on that of France, but that should hardly be a radical position to anyone but the RWAs (like that term).

13

I’m definitely a radical, and think the label ought to be shown a lot more love by the people who post polls like this.

14

If you wish to pit every political persuasion but your own, do it in The BBQ Pit instead of disguising it as a poll.
Closing thread.