# The greatest danger to America today is Anti-liberalism. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 9, 2017, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828 "2017-07-09T13:41:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828/41 "2017-07-10T13:27:39Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Bolding mine. > > Please tell me that was intentional. 😃 I’m not really sure what you mean. But if there is some confusion, what I mean by “politically meaningless” is that “Liberal” as a pejorative often doesn’t represent a clearly defined political position. Other than maybe “anyone who disagrees with Conservatives” or “people who are too left / not left enough of my political views”. Anyhow, read the article. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828/42 "2017-07-10T13:53:44Z")
> [@igor\_frankensteen](#): > > Setting aside the Constitution of the United States as an inconvenience, because it occasionally gets in the way of attacking people we don’t like, is not a Conservative value, but Anti-liberals think it’s brilliant and crafty. > [@igor\_frankensteen](#): > > This thread is about the damage being done by the people who are doing the greatest amount of it right now, and that is the Anti-liberals. One of the ways they are endangering us all, is by opposing Constitutional government as a self-excused political policy. I don’t understand what you’re talking about here. In what way, specifically, are “anti-liberals” setting aside the Constitution / opposing Constitutional government? ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828/43 "2017-07-10T14:38:16Z")
I think the op is wrong, so I’m apparently anti anti-anti-liberalism. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828/44 "2017-07-10T14:50:02Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I’m not really sure what you mean. But if there is some confusion, what I mean by “politically meaningless” is that “Liberal” as a pejorative often doesn’t represent a clearly defined political position. Other than maybe “anyone who disagrees with Conservatives” or “people who are too left / not left enough of my political views”. > > Anyhow, read the article. I think he meant that you said it was used as a derisive term, and then you described a group of people very derisively. If it wasn’t done ironically on purpose, then it was ironic. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828/45 "2017-07-10T14:59:04Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > I think the op is wrong, so I’m apparently anti anti-anti-liberalism. And I’m anti-Fenris, so I must agree with the OP. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828/46 "2017-07-10T15:01:24Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I think he meant that you said it was used as a derisive term, and then you described a group of people very derisively. If it wasn’t done ironically on purpose, then it was ironic. And it’s obvious from tone and context that he did mean it to be ironic. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828/47 "2017-07-10T15:08:39Z")
> [@tnetennba](#): > > And it’s obvious from tone and context that he did mean it to be ironic. That’s exactly what an “urban knee-jerk quick-to-offend reactionary hypocritical latte sipping cultural hipster” would do. 😃 But actually, he was trying to summarize the NYT article, and having now read it, I don’t think he quite got it right. They used the term “limousine liberal”, which is markedly different from the aforementioned hipsters. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828/48 "2017-07-10T15:16:34Z")
Hey, some of us are lactose-intolerant and cannot sip lattes. I resent this erasure\* \*On their behalf. I am not lactose intolerant. Seriously, I think the OP has a point but isn’t expressing it very well. I would simply describe it as anti-intellectualism more than anti-liberalism, though the conflation of the two ideas certainly helps heat up the passions. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2017, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828/49 "2017-07-10T15:35:34Z")
> [@tnetennba](#): > > Hey, some of us are lactose-intolerant and cannot sip lattes. I resent this erasure\* > > \*On their behalf. I am not lactose intolerant. > > Seriously, I think the OP has a point but isn’t expressing it very well. I would simply describe it as anti-intellectualism more than anti-liberalism, though the conflation of the two ideas certainly helps heat up the passions. I don’t think he is talking about anti-intellectualism. it’s more about the creation of a unnuanced common “enemy” to draw your side together, then being against anything the “enemy” proposes not because it is a bad idea but because it came from the “enemy”…even if that idea had previously been supported before the “enemy” had. It isn’t really anti-intellectualism because an intellectual idea isn’t a bad thing in and of itself until the “enemy” supports it. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828/50 "2017-07-10T16:35:22Z")
Well, that’s the dark path we are on, innit? ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828/51 "2017-07-10T23:19:44Z")
> [@igor\_frankensteen](#): > > Back in the 1970’s, we were all endangered by the same thing being done the other way. Anti-conservatism led lots of people to do all sorts of stupid things, and support bad solutions to real problems, just as the anti-liberals are doing today. Give some examples of bad anti-conservative solutions from the '70s that threatened America. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828/52 "2017-07-10T23:25:26Z")
The Symbionese Liberation Army? ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_lining](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Silver\_lining](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_lining)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828/53 "2017-07-14T11:47:07Z")
The word liberal means open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values. The Liberals today have little tolerance. They have also lost their class. Perhaps the Alt-left fits them better as I know some people who are liberal that shun the behavior they are seeing today. As far as human rights go, Liberals are both pro abortion. As far as our given rights, they are anti your right to own a gun. So they aren’t for the unborn’s right to live, and they want to take away a right of the Constitution. It seems to want to take some things away from you, and use politics give it to what they view as an under represented group for their own agendas. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828/54 "2017-07-14T19:14:08Z")
Putin wasn’t head of the KGB ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828/55 "2017-07-14T19:16:49Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > Give some examples of bad anti-conservative solutions from the '70s that threatened America. The only GD thing that endangered America in the 70s was the Soviet Union and accidental nuclear war. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828/56 "2017-07-14T22:13:39Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > The only GD thing that endangered America in the 70s was the Soviet Union and accidental nuclear war. And OPEC. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828/57 "2017-07-14T22:45:29Z")
And killer bees. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828/58 "2017-07-15T00:58:37Z")
And oil cartels with bees in their mouths. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828/59 "2017-07-15T01:50:35Z")
And Disco. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828/60 "2017-07-15T02:04:12Z")
Brilliant guys. My science teacher told me water would be worth its weight in gold by the 90’s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-danger-to-america-today-is-anti-liberalism/790828.md?page=2)