# Common misconceptions about liberalism **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 8, 2026, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-misconceptions-about-liberalism/1032905 "2026-09-08T21:01:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-misconceptions-about-liberalism/1032905/41 "2026-09-09T14:01:22Z")
In terms of the OP, there’s also trans of course: that people on the liberal side are in favor of adolescents having sex change operations on a whim, or just wander into girl’s changing rooms because they just said they were female, once etc etc. And it’s no accident of course. The GOP spent over $200 million in the last election cycle on anti-trans and LGBT adverts. It’s a 100 ft tall, gold-plated strawman. IMHO the country would turn very blue very fast if the campaigns were based on the actual policies of the parties. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-misconceptions-about-liberalism/1032905/42 "2026-09-09T14:14:56Z")
We apparently get the vapours if someone says Merry Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Apodder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apodder/32/17727_2.png) [@Apodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apodder)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-misconceptions-about-liberalism/1032905/43 "2026-09-09T14:51:59Z")
I just wish the traffic stayed the same! It was glorious driving to work every day during lock down… 😭 ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-misconceptions-about-liberalism/1032905/44 "2026-09-09T16:24:28Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > The whole “litter box for kids who identify as cats” thing was made up Of course it was made up. Many (most?) of these misconceptions were made up. It’s all about demonizing those whose values are very different from your own. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-misconceptions-about-liberalism/1032905/45 "2026-09-09T18:43:08Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Yeah, that song lyric doesn’t refer to religion being banned, just for it being non-existent, as an ideal. I agree with that ideal, but I don’t want to ban religion. Lennon was not against people having a religion or faith, he was more against organized churches, John later clarified the song was about a world free of the sectarian divisions and holy wars that cause human conflict. > [@N9IWP](#): > > The whole “litter box for kids who identify as cats” thing was made up Most of this crap is made up to “troll the liberals”. > [@Velocity](#): > > but it’s probably still _broadly_ accepted by nearly everyone that “liberals” are people who are _generally_ going to be pro-choice, environmentalist, favor higher taxes on the rich, push for things like universal healthcare, pro-labor-unions, favor gun control, feminist, push for social justice on race and other things, pro-LGBT, etc. _Some_ gun control and certainly better options and ways to get healthcare. But banning all guns or UHC is not popular among Democrats. > [@Stratocaster](#): > > We apparently get the vapours if someone says Merry Christmas. More made up MAGA crap. Mind you as an _OFFICIAL greeting, standing by itself,_ that term is somewhat problematic. But no sane Liberals get made if wished “Maerry Christmas”. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-misconceptions-about-liberalism/1032905/46 "2026-09-09T18:55:23Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > One commonly-touted example is that liberals are supposed to avoid being rich and that it’s hypocrisy to do so (for instance, people lambasting Obama for signing a $44 million book deal and having a huge Martha’s Vineyard property.) The more accurate liberalism is that you can be rich, but should pay more taxes than the rich currently pay, and that tax loopholes should be closed. I consider myself a liberal, and I make a distinction between rich and wealthy. Or to be more precise, between someone who earned their money (like Obama earning $44 million for a book deal, or a highly compensated specialized professional like a neurosurgeon, or entertainers like athletes, musicians, writers, etc.) via their own labor, and the wealthy who make their money by owning the means of production despite providing no product or service of value (unless you count providing capital as a good or service, which I don’t). The latter should be the ones that bear the brunt of the tax burden, not the former. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-misconceptions-about-liberalism/1032905/47 "2026-09-09T19:43:50Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Basically, the group that was once known as “bleeding-heart liberals” are for the most part not liberal because they’re often very willing to infringe civil liberties (property, speech, guns) to prioritize human rights. Or because they actually subscribe to some other ideology that’s hostile to liberalism (i.e. communism), but they get lumped in with liberalism because we’ve accepted the right-wing framing that makes liberalism the miscellaneous bin for every non-right-wing ideology ranging from Bill Clinton to the DSA. That’s probably the biggest liberal / Democratic party rhetorical failure of the past few decades. IMO they should have strongly and firmly repudiated the “bleeding hearts”, communists, and anyone who’d infringe civil liberties for whatever their pet cause is. > [@Velocity](#): > > it’s probably still _broadly_ accepted by nearly everyone that “liberals” are people who are _generally_ going to be pro-choice, environmentalist, favor higher taxes on the rich, push for things like universal healthcare, pro-labor-unions, favor gun control, feminist, push for social justice on race and other things, pro-LGBT, etc. You’re right, and that’s part of the problem with the way it’s framed today. There are a lot of people out there who are say, seven or eight out of those nine things, but there’s not really a place for say… pro-life liberals, or an anti-union liberal, and being a pro-gun liberal is somewhat controversial. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-misconceptions-about-liberalism/1032905/48 "2026-09-09T21:06:05Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > More made up MAGA crap. Mind you as an _OFFICIAL greeting, standing by itself,_ that term is somewhat problematic. But no sane Liberals get made if wished “Maerry Christmas”. Hence my posting it in a “misconceptions” thread. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-misconceptions-about-liberalism/1032905/49 "2026-09-09T23:00:13Z")
> [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](#): > > why would they want it kept low? To a liberal, it’s just another form of birth control. Bill Clinton’s statement that it should be rare is a non-sequitur for a liberal. No, to the vast majority of liberals, abortion is the _worst_ form of birth control, used only as a last resort. Even under the best of circumstances, pregnancy termination is a complex, risky, traumatizing medical procedure. That’s why they’re in favor of condoms, birth control pills, strong anti-rape legislation, and yes, self-restraint, with abortion only becoming an option when everything else fails. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-misconceptions-about-liberalism/1032905/50 "2026-09-09T23:03:28Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > No, to the vast majority of liberals, abortion is the _worst_ form of birth control, used only as a last resort. That’s why they’re in favor of condoms, birth control pills, strong anti-rape legislation, and yes, self-restraint, with abortion only coming into the picture when everything else fails. And, hopefully only in the first trimester. Even Liberals are against 3rd trimester abortion, except- of course- in special cases. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-misconceptions-about-liberalism/1032905/51 "2026-09-09T23:08:00Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > As for religion, if your religion brings you comfort, by all means practice it. Just don’t push it on **everyone** else or use it as an excuse for cruelty You misspelled _anyone_. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-misconceptions-about-liberalism/1032905/52 "2026-10-31T04:07:30Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > And, hopefully only in the first trimester. Even Liberals are against 3rd trimester abortion, except- of course- in special cases. I think the basic liberal attitude is _it’s not my body, it’s_ her _body, it’s not my place to tell her what she can do with it_. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-misconceptions-about-liberalism/1032905/53 "2026-10-31T05:04:49Z")
He is long dead, and that song was written way back in 1971, over half a century ago. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-misconceptions-about-liberalism/1032905/54 "2026-10-31T05:30:22Z")
We want to ban red meat and force everyone to eat bugs, or, worse yet, force them to go “vaygan”. Telling a barista at Starbucks that your name is “Charlie Kirk” will infuriate and embarrass us. We want to teach school kids how to practice Islam. We want to ban air travel and cars, and make cows illegal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-misconceptions-about-liberalism/1032905.md?page=2)