It goes a lot deeper than that, for most. What you might think of as a “nice liberal” is only surface deep. Certainly most could not say why they embrace liberalism, only that they do.
But the same could be said about embracing real racism, that women are just objects, or that the wealthy are inherently bad. For many liberals, it is their own personal blend of what they want out of life, but that is provided by someone else.
I remember two things that left an impression on me about liberals. The first was on another, more liberal forum, where a thread was decidedly anti-Israel. Typically, those opposed to Israel would say, “I don’t hate Jews, but I despise Israel.” In rebuttal, others would point out that they were antisemitic, in the Israel and Jews are synonymous. The anti-Israel faction kept denying it.
Finally, one liberal became so aggravated that he blurted out, “Well, if hating Israel makes me an antisemite, then I am an antisemite!”
A rather cathartic moment, in that he finally said what he really thought.
The other bit was before Obama was nominated. There was an ordinary threat suggesting he might be the antichrist, which all presidential candidates get, I suppose.
Finally one Obama supporter said what he really thought, and it amazed me.
“I hope Obama is the antichrist, because if he is, he will have the power to give us what we want, and he will get revenge on the people we hate.”
An amazing thing to say, to say the least. Some terribly deep implications there.
But the bottom line of why do liberals embrace liberalism?, far too often boils down to “wanting free stuff, wanting to be taken *care* of by government, and invariably, wanting to ‘get even’ with whoever they think is a villain, most likely because they don’t embrace these beliefs.”
Funny that, all rolled up in a liberal, no matter what they appear to be, or say they are. So it is best to ignore the false front, and dig down to find out what lies beneath.
It is well worth the effort.
I guess what I’m not getting across here is that you can still be a liberal, and not believe in any of those things. Trust me, I know, I’ve been married to one for over 20 years now. Just for the record, she has decided that she cannot vote for Obama again.
She’s not anti-Israel, but anti-Palestinian.
She doesn’t get free stuff, but is taxed heavily to pay for the free stuff for others.
She’s much more religious than I am, which isn’t saying much as I have no real religious beliefs outside of believing that there something bigger than we are out there.
She’s not only pro-life, but delivers babies.
Still, she’s a liberal. Maybe it’s her European upbringing, but I’ve never been able to budge her an inch from deeply held liberal beliefs like: Healthcare is a right. Education must be provided for those who can’t afford it. The rich don’t provide jobs, they exploit labor. Affirmative action is necessary to right centuries old wrongs, and no her Teutonic self is never a beneficiary of AA. We really should be the world’s police officer. Those poor college students need contraceptives. And #1, the safety nets should have safety nets. Government can do no wrong in the name of safety.
Really, the last one is #1. One of the only political fights (as opposed to disagreements) we ever had was decades ago over the ever tightening DUI laws. What a monster she married that I could ever oppose laws that existed merely to keep people safe.
I know a dozen like her. None of them impoverished, uneducated or unproductive. None of them are malicious, corrupt, or self-serving. Not one looking for a handout, but all looking to codify their own brand of benevolence to those who they believe can’t survive without one. The single unifying trait amongst all of them: The belief that deep down, everyone is really as nice as they are.
Where I lose her every time is that I can see how entitlements trap the recipients in poverty, and she cannot. She still believes that I secretly harbor some survival of the fittest mentality.