Politics/Media

[Boyish-Tigerlilly]

I keep hearing people bashing each other's political orientation in many ways everywhere I go. What is so bad about being a liberal? I don't get why many people seem to hate them. Isn't liberalism a good thing? Conservatism denotes the status quo, no change, no progress. Maybe I am thinking in old terms.

And the bias stuff. If they are both "biased," how can one tell the truth?

[Alyrium Denryle]

Depends on whether you are refering to economic issues or social issues.

[Knife]

I keep hearing people bashing each other's political orientation in many ways everywhere I go. What is so bad about being a liberal? I don't get why many people seem to hate them. Isn't liberalism a good thing? Conservatism denotes the status quo, no change, no progress. Maybe I am thinking in old terms.

And the bias stuff. If they are both "biased," how can one tell the truth?

Each term, is a tag for a large platform of ideals. So why being a liberal in the actual definition is not bad (nor a conservative) what most people are attacking is the range of issues associated with that term.

[Boyish-Tigerlilly]

Ahhh. I was always wondering why so many people talk of disdain when they speak of liberals. I am trying to find out more information on Liberal parties in the United States, because I want to vote in November, but each source just says the opposite of the next.

[Knife]

Ahhh. I was always wondering why so many people talk of disdain when they speak of liberals. I am trying to find out more information on Liberal parties in the United States, because I want to vote in November, but each source just says the opposite of the next.

Tis election year, you really expect an honest depiction of an ideological platform?

[Boyish-Tigerlilly]

No, but going from the name, i couldn't imagine what a liberal could do really badly. It is very confusing.

[Tatterdemalion]

Bear in mind when I write this that I'm a British left-winger, so I’m not really as familiar with American conservatism as I'd like to think, but as I understand it the reasons behind a conservative's opposition to liberalism really depends on the type of person they are. For instance you can get idiots who hate liberals 'because Rush Limbaugh says their evil', you can get religious voters who want to implement religious laws (e.g. anti-abortion legislation, 10 commandments in schools, anti-gay marriage etc) all of which pretty much contradict liberal ideology (but not necessarily Democrat vote grabbing). Alternatively you can get people who disagree with liberalism on economic grounds (although with economic policy it's difficult as 'liberal' economics are generally what American conservatives espouse, while Democrats and progressive liberals often go for more controlled forms of economics, in any case economic differences are probably something the economists can explain better than I).

Ultimately it's kind of complicated, as the word liberal is often misused not to mention sometimes people forget that liberal is not the same as Democrat and Republican does not necessarily mean conservative. So it's more of an individual thing than anything else.

[Elfdart]

I think it's when "liberal" became a noun instead of an adjective. *

To see why "liberal" has almost become an epithet in the US, you have to understand something about changes in American society over the last 70 years.

In the 1930s, white males with money were the highest on the ladder -and in some ways still are. Most of the system and society were heavily rigged in their favor. But bit by bit, poor whites, women, blacks, Jews and other minorities have made huge gains. Who is credited (or blamed, depending on your point of view) for these changes? Liberals, even though in many cases, liberals either opposed or only half-heartedly endorsed the changes that made all this possible.

Liberals also cramped the style of Big Business by passing laws like the Wagner Act, minimum wage laws, environmental protection, repealing Jim Crow and other measures that tried to even things out.

The Right has enjoyed success ever since the late 50s/ early 60s because they have successfully used bigotry and ignorance to convince most poor and middle class whites to vote against their own interests.

Up From Conservativism by Michael Lind is a great book on the subject.

The other factor is the Right's tactic of lumping dissimilar things together. If you think Dubya pulled a fast one by convincing 70% of US citizens that Saddam Hussein was in league with Osama Bin Laden, then you haven't seen a snowflake on the tip of the iceberg.

For over seventy years, everyone to the left of Baldur Von Schirach has been accused of Godless, Satanic, Race-Mixing, Jew-Loving, Liberal, Socialist, Queer, Communist Witchcraft by the right wing. This has two effects. First, it demonizes the opposition rather than debating the issues. Second, it provides an excuse for any atrocity, outrage or other crime.

The fact that these things have nothing to do with one another and are contradictory is no surprise. When you're pandering to fear and ignorance, logic isn't necessary. In fact, waves of hysteria are quite useful and the Right needs the periodic grand peur (Red scares, yellow rain, satanic ritual child abuse, the Clinton Death List, Janet Jackson's right tit) like pigs need mud.

The only thing "liberal" and "communist" have in common is that both are terms used by mouth-breathing right-wingers to describe anything they don't like. But the main reason "liberal" has been successfully demonized is the fact that too many liberals insist on fighting by the Marquess Of Queensberry Rules while getting their nuts punched.

[Knife]

You just did the same thing you are bitching about.

You went from 'liberal' to the arch enemy 'right', which isn't the same as 'liberal' v 'conservative' or 'lefty' v 'righty'.

[Wicked Pilot]

What is so bad about being a liberal? I don't get why many people seem to hate them. Isn't liberalism a good thing? Conservatism denotes the status quo, no change, no progress. Maybe I am thinking in old terms.

Liberalism is a good thing, it brings us new ideas to test out. However, not all liberal ideas are created equal. Some are good, some turn out to be bad. Just like science, you need liberalism to advance, but a healthy dose of conservatism to make sure things works.

[Elfdart]

You just did the same thing you are bitching about.

You went from 'liberal' to the arch enemy 'right', which isn't the same as 'liberal' v 'conservative' or 'lefty' v 'righty'.

The topic was why "liberal" has almost become an insult. That's not so much the work of regular Republicans as it is the organized Far Right.

I thought referring to them as "The Right" was enough to differentiate between the far right-wingers and your run-of-the-mill Republicans and conservatives. I'll be more specific next time.

[kojikun]

Nimetski: Don't waste your vote, pick Libertarian.