What is a liberal?

I wonder how much money has been spent turning an adjective that is positve into a
pejoritive?


http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/liberal

Main Entry: lib·er·al

Pronunciation: \?li-b(?-)r?l\

Function: adjective

Etymology:Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin liberalis suitable for a freeman, generous, from liber free; perhaps akin to Old English l?odan to grow, Greek eleutheros free

Date: 14th century
1 a: of, relating to, or based on the liberal arts <liberal education> barchaic : of or befitting a man of free birth

2 a: marked by generosity : openhanded <a liberal giver> b: given or provided in a generous and openhanded way <a liberal meal> c: ample, full

3obsolete : lacking moral restraint : licentious

4: not literal or strict : loose <a liberal translation>

5: broad-minded; especially : not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or traditional forms

6 a: of, favoring, or based upon the principles of liberalism bcapitalized : of or constituting a political party advocating or associated with the principles of political liberalism; especially : of or constituting a political party in the United Kingdom associated with ideals of individual especially economic freedom, greater individual participation in government, and constitutional, political, and administrative reforms designed to secure these objectives

— lib·er·al·ly \-b(?-)r?-l?\ adverb
— lib·er·al·ness noun
synonyms liberal, generous, bountiful, munificent mean giving or given freely and unstintingly. liberal suggests openhandedness in the giver and largeness in the thing or amount given <a teacher liberal with her praise>. generous stresses warmhearted readiness to give more than size or importance of the gift <a generous offer of help>. bountiful suggests lavish, unremitting giving or providing <children spoiled by bountiful presents>. munificent suggests a scale of giving appropriate to lords or princes <a munificent foundation grant>.

Liberals still have a use for government. Just about everyone else on the political scene--the political right, the conspiracy guys, the libertarians--seems stuck on the concept that government is always the bad guy. Ironically, this is a meme they picked up from the mainstream media.

libertarians maybe - but the right LOVES LOVES LOVES LOVES government just so long as Government sticks to no bid contracts, copywrite/patent enforcement, tax breaks for the "right" people, wars to protect profits - blah blah blah. Throw a bone to the masses in the middle of that the RW goes all looopy.

on and on. Look @ the G.I. bill post WW II and what it did for America
that was a liberal idea.

I think it shows a laziness in the right wing wing when they call something
"liberal" aka bad then they do not have to discuss the issuses.

Conservative = Individual Responsibility and Corporate Freedom!

And all that "decent" means. Well, except #7, save for the notion that Liberals think that nobody should go unclothed who doesn't wish to be!

1. conforming to the recognized standard of propriety, good taste, modesty, etc., as in behavior or speech.
2. respectable; worthy: a decent family.
3. adequate; fair; passable: a decent wage.
4. kind; obliging; generous: It was very decent of him to lend me his watch.
5. suitable; appropriate: She did not have a decent coat for the cold winter.
6. of fairly attractive appearance: a decent face.
7. Informal. wearing enough clothing to appear in public.
8. Slang. great; wonderful.

He was open minded, kind and very, very intelligent.

In light of all the horrors revealed by the record after the 2nd war was over, the lie was forced on them-the ruling elite had to revise the true story that they supported fascism right up until hitler's greed and bully antics regards Poland caused the Man to look away from the socialist danger of worker solidarity, in order to fight hitler. The Weimar Republic had been trying to affect changes in Germany for years, in a futile effort to establish the liberal democracy we know today- but britainfranceusa etc forced the Germans to send ALL the money they had to mr pig, setting the stage for nazism/fascism. Look at Spain: at the worldwide effort to save the Republic (Republicans was once the name of heroes) from the fascists. hitler tested his military in Spain, helping crush the legitimate government, replacing it with franco's dictatorship, all in plain sight of mr pig. Yet all those factoids, hideous shameful details about the men on our side who ....well deathcamps stunk and the smell was awful enough that for a few years liberalism actually flourished sort of.
Thank god for junyer bush! he's taken all those hidden facts, exploited the racism and blind greed/stupidity that were always just behind the curtain, and exposed the entire sham forever (cuz THIS TIME the fascists aint gonna get away with it, lo fukkin l!)

Many people who call themselves "liberal" are not. Some of the biggest fascist-minded
people I've met in the world consider themselves liberal just as George Bush is the farthest
thing from a conservative I can think of.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3338017

<snip>
Liberal is not a dirty word. It is not evil to insist that all Americans have affordable health insurance, to decry the ever-widening gap between the richest and the poorest, to demand a decent living wage, to insist that corporations must balance concern for the environment with the bottom line, to ensure that all Americans have the right both to vote and to have those votes counted, to guarantee that women have the right of reproductive choice without government interference, to stop the obscene influence of soft money bribery of parties and candidates, and to restore human dignity to all Americans regardless of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, or disability. It is not "fringe" to think that the way we treat one another and other people is more important than the way we express our beliefs; to find more grace in the search for meaning than in absolute certainty, in the questions than in the answers. We see ourselves as a spiritual community in which we discover the resources required for our work in the world: striving for justice and peace among all people. Liberals are motivated by Love, not by religious intolerance, insufferable arrogance and disdain of those deemed "different".

I am Catholic, I am Christian. I am a mother, a grandmother, a sister and a daughter, a nurse. I am an American.. and I am proud to say, I am a liberal.
<end>

:kick: