WHAT IS A LIBERAL?

I was directed to this article by a University of Chicago law professor, who attempts, as sincerely and thoughtfully as he possibly can, to define what a liberal is. He makes 10 points, values statements if you will, that he feels liberals embrace/uphold. Unfortunately, for all that forward-thinking, the good professor is showing a bit of political nearsightedness toward the dogma he defends.

Liberals believe individuals should doubt their own truths and consider fairly and open-mindedly the truths of others. This is at the very heart of liberalism. Liberals understand, as Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once observed, that "time has upset many fighting faiths." Liberals are skeptical of censorship and celebrate free and open debate.

Oh, really?
Liberals, more often than not, prefer to squelch opinion deemed undesirable by them. Until recently, they had complete control over network and cable news... and it has only been in the last 20 or so years that conservatives have found a growing niche in talk radio, and the ability to spread the values of conservatism to a large number of people. If you see a conservative interviewed on a 'mainstream' news program, it is usually with implicit vindictiveness and contempt.
Liberals also are the proud parents of rampant political correctness. At schools, there are increasing negative consequences for what is deemed as 'insensitivity', from the inhibition of Constitutionally-protected speech to the banning of conservative speakers from college campuses to the prohibition of prayer on school grounds.
Liberals frequently litigate and censor anything that opposes them.

2. Liberals believe individuals should be tolerant and respectful of difference. It is liberals who have supported and continue to support the civil rights movement, affirmative action, the Equal Rights Amendment and the rights of gays and lesbians. (Note that a conflict between propositions 1 and 2 leads to divisions among liberals on issues like pornography and hate speech.)

Again, liberals will freely tolerate anything they believe in. So what? The problem lies in the hidden meanings of 'equal rights' and 'civil rights'. To someone unfamiliar with the movements, it may sound like liberals uphold rights for all... when in fact they push for more than mere equality, but a special right for certain groups to be selected, recognized, and rewarded. A constant attempt to induce guilt by invoking ghosts of past wrongdoings is characteristic of this movement... a masked attempt to induce us to feel good about making "reparations" - perpetually. In reality, instead of liberty for all, what these groups and movements bring about is increased, concentrated power of a few over the many, typical of what is theorized in Communist dogma.

3. Liberals believe individuals have a right and a responsibility to participate in public debate. It is liberals who have championed and continue to champion expansion of the franchise; the elimination of obstacles to voting; "one person, one vote;" limits on partisan gerrymandering; campaign-finance reform; and a more vibrant freedom of speech. They believe, with Justice Louis Brandeis, that "the greatest menace to freedom is an inert people."

Elimination of obstacles to voting means exactly what it implies - liberals take advantage of those who otherwise have no business and no Constitutional right to vote - felons, illegal immigrants, even... dead people - and champion this imaginary 'right'. This whole 'one person, one vote' is a complete fabrication. Every election cycle, liberals allege stolen votes and repression of voters' rights... yet we've seen reports of attempts to buy votes, conjure voters out of thin air - clear indications of vote fraud. And they howl for fair and accurate voting?
On a side note, has anyone seen a more contradictory set of principles than 'campaign finance reform' and 'freedom of speech'? If you don't know what I'm talking about, do some research on the campaign finance reform legislation that was sent through several years ago, and you'll see what I mean.

4. Liberals believe "we the people" are the governors and not the subjects of government, and that government must treat each person with that in mind. It is liberals who have defended and continue to defend the freedom of the press to investigate and challenge the government, the protection of individual privacy from overbearing government monitoring, and the right of individuals to reproductive freedom. (Note that libertarians, often thought of as "conservatives," share this value with liberals.)

.... unless, of course, 'the government' in question is one of your own. Did the liberal media even once attempt to seriously investigate and challenge the Clinton administration? And what does 'reproductive freedom' have to do with the federal government? Nothing! If anything, liberals' strong desire to federally fund abortion has more to do with an overbearing, all-encompassing government than anything they accuse conservatives of coming up with.... not to mention other instances, of course, like FDA and EPA regulation, the Department of Education, et. al.

5. Liberals believe government must respect and affirmatively safeguard the liberty, equality and dignity of each individual. It is liberals who have championed and continue to champion the rights of racial, religious and ethnic minorities, political dissidents, persons accused of crime and the outcasts of society. It is liberals who have insisted on the right to counsel, a broad application of the right to due process of law and the principle of equal protection for all people.

"Persons accused of crime and the outcasts of society".... indeed, they support the rights of criminals, but what about the victims? They rail against prisons and the death penalty, but what about justice for the truly wronged? And I'm not just talking about suing McDonalds for burning yourself with hot coffee in your car.

6. Liberals believe government has a fundamental responsibility to help those who are less fortunate. It is liberals who have supported and continue to support government programs to improve health care, education, social security, job training and welfare for the neediest members of society. It is liberals who maintain that a national community is like a family and that government exists in part to "promote the general welfare."

Liberals, of course, contradict directly principle #4 when they state that the government should be a charitable organization, making everyone pay for a few. For all this 'generosity', I find it ironic that time after time, states generally thought of as leaning liberal are found to be among the least charitable in the country, while those generally thought of as conservative lead the nation in charitable giving. Ironic, isn't it?

7. Liberals believe government should never act on the basis of sectarian faith. It is liberals who have opposed and continue to oppose school prayer and the teaching of creationism in public schools and who support government funding for stem-cell research, the rights of gays and lesbians and the freedom of choice for women.

'Never act on the basis of sectarian faith' should never be 'prohibit all manner of sectarian faith in public places'. It's funny how liberals conveniently choose which rights to uphold and which ones to suppress. Oddly, it's the folks who lead in the generosity index as mentioned in principle 6 who are put down time and again... you'd think faith would be embraced by people who pointedly say they believe in caring for others. But lip service is one thing.... deeds that reflect words is entirely another matter.

8. Liberals believe courts have a special responsibility to protect individual liberties. It is principally liberal judges and justices who have preserved and continue to preserve freedom of expression, individual privacy, freedom of religion and due process of law. (Conservative judges and justices more often wield judicial authority to protect property rights and the interests of corporations, commercial advertisers and the wealthy.)

Freedom of religion? So I take it abolishing prayer and public religious displays doesn't count?

9. Liberals believe government must protect the safety and security of the people, for without such protection liberalism is impossible. This, of course, is less a tenet of liberalism than a reply to those who attack liberalism. The accusation that liberals are unwilling to protect the nation from internal and external dangers is false. Because liberals respect competing values, such as procedural fairness and individual dignity, they weigh more carefully particular exercises of government power (such as the use of secret evidence, hearsay and torture), but they are no less willing to use government authority in other forms (such as expanded police forces and international diplomacy) to protect the nation and its citizens.

Why is it that liberals love to talk about national security but won't pay anything more than lip service to it? "Hello, I'm the new sheriff in town, and I vow to do anything in my power to protect my people. Hold on for a second while I put these handcuffs on... I have to make this a fair fight, you know. Oh, and you can have my gun..."
I really don't see how disabling our ability to know what bad people are planning to do to us before something horrible actually happens is protecting our security and safety..

10. Liberals believe government must protect the safety and security of the people, without unnecessarily sacrificing constitutional values. It is liberals who have demanded and continue to demand legal protections to avoid the conviction of innocent people in the criminal justice system, reasonable restraints on government surveillance of American citizens, and fair procedures to ensure that alleged enemy combatants are in fact enemy combatants. Liberals adhere to the view expressed by Brandeis some 80 years ago: "Those who won our independence ... did not exalt order at the cost of liberty."

On the other hand, a taste of the kind of measures a liberal government would take toward our national defense may find us wondering where our liberty went. There are those who don't have those interests at heart; and if you worry too much about the rights of the terrorists and criminals, you may find yourselves under a much less forgiving, Sharia law.

So there you have it... the 10 liberal principles with a response for each one. I can summarize the whole list this way: Rights only apply when we agree, lip service is all we need to give, and nobody REALLY hates us, so why should we even bother to find out?