I protestinate this'n here thread!
Posted on 02/18/2005 2:52:25 PM PST by loe joe
Some of my friends, family members, and co-workers wonder how I could be a political liberal in the midst of this new swell of conservatism the United States. The answers to that are all too simple.
I am a liberal because the system originated by liberals called Social Security has made my parents' retirement more possible and comfortable than it would otherwise have been.
I am a liberal because the system originated by liberals called Medicare paid for my mother to have two knees and a hip replaced at a cost that otherwise could not have been born by all of her children together.
I am a liberal because Medicare paid for my father's operation to remove a cancerous kidney at a cost that would otherwise certainly have forced my parents to liquidate their assets.
I am a liberal because that system originated by liberals called WIC gives my daughter food stamps for cheese and milk and other necessities she needs to feed her children.
I am a liberal because that system demanded by liberals called company-paid employee medical insurance helps pay doctor bills for me and my wife and my daughter and son-in-law and grandchildren and sister and most of my other close relatives.
I am a liberal because the idea of autonomy of the individual is a liberal idea.
I am a liberal because the idea of political liberty is a liberal idea.
I am a liberal because government by the consent of the governed is a liberal idea.
I am a liberal because the Bill of Rights is a set of liberal ideas which protect us all. Freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of worship, freedom of the press, due process of law, freedom from torture, the right to face our accusers, the writ of habeas corpus, and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure are all liberal ideas. Most people in the world do not have those rights.
I am a liberal because those liberal ideas in our Constitution give us control of our representatives from the school board to the Senate and President of the United States, give us the liberal idea of checks and balances, and the liberal idea of no taxation without representation.
I am a liberal because the idea of public education is a liberal idea.
I am a liberal because the idea of a five day work week is a liberal idea.
I am a liberal because the idea of a strong, well funded and disciplined military under civilian control is a liberal idea, as is the notion of Veteran's benefits and military retirement.
I am a liberal because the Geneva Conventions are a liberal idea. The conventions protect American prisoners and all prisoners of signees from torture and abuse.
I am a liberal because the idea of the public maintenance of roads is a liberal idea.
I am a liberal because civil rights, children's rights, women's rights, and labor rights, are all liberal ideas.
I am a liberal because almost all the progressive ideas of the last four centuries have been liberal ideas resisted by the conservatives of their times. Those liberal ideas make this a better place to live for me, my family, my friends, my community, my country, and my world.
I ask people who insist on repudiating liberalism to please check off the liberal ideas above they are ready to do without.
I am a liberal because the Bill of Rights is a set of liberal ideas which protect us all. Freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of worship, freedom of the press, due process of law, freedom from torture, the right to face our accusers, the writ of habeas corpus, and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure are all liberal ideas. Most people in the world do not have those rights.
One can only note that you left the second amendment out,
that must be because it's a conservative idea.
I could certainly do without a lot of your liberal "ideas".
Get back to me when you have an alternative.
Yes we know
Thanks
LOL!
If you want to get technical, "my wife" should be mentioned before "me."
98% of liberalism is this...No logic or thought necessary.
"I am a liberal because we believe in Big Government forcing other people, people I don't know who probably don't need as much money as they have, to pay for my stuff. And my father's stuff. And my friends' stuff."
Is that sarcasm? I can't interpret it any other way.
No, its not sarcasm, its true.
*snert*
You mean, healthier people who use fewer medical services are forced to subsidize your family's medical bills, resulting in lower wages for other workers. Or did you think the company provided those benefits for you out of the profit they would have otherwise shown to their shareholders?
I guess I'll just have to think about becoming a liberal.
Thought about it.
Nope, but thank you for playing.
I am a liberal because Medicare paid for my father's operation to remove a cancerous kidney at a cost that would otherwise certainly have forced my parents to liquidate their assets.
In other words, you're a liberal because "the system" takes money from other people to pay for medical care for your parents.
I am a liberal because that system originated by liberals called WIC gives my daughter food stamps for cheese and milk and other necessities she needs to feed her children.
Again, taking money from others to give to your daughter to feed her children. Can't she take care of them herself? Where's her husband?
I am a liberal because the idea of autonomy of the individual is a liberal idea. I am a liberal because the idea of political liberty is a liberal idea.
I am a liberal because government by the consent of the governed is a liberal idea.
I am a liberal because the Bill of Rights is a set of liberal ideas which protect us all. Freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of worship, freedom of the press, due process of law, freedom from torture, the right to face our accusers, the writ of habeas corpus, and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure are all liberal ideas. Most people in the world do not have those rights.
You left out the liberal idea of the right to keep and bear arms. These ideas you mentioned are all classical liberal ideas, and have been distorted by today's liberals, which are actually illiberal.
"People who think they are entitled to the taxpayers' money (yes, including folks on food stamps, SS & Medicare,) are the main problem in this country."
Indeed. And the reason that knee and hip care costs as much as it does is the perception that "someone else" pays.
The writers mother needing surgries is called 'demand'. That demand gurantees that some one will try to find the most cost effective way to meet it--both to maximize profits and to attract buyers. A sucker financed program that is meant to pay this cost gurantees the highest possible price. In other words the solution is the main cause of the problem: expensive medical care.
Where is:
I am a liberal, therefore I will post an inane blathering thread then run away with my tail tucked between my legs.
Exactly. The Geneva convention covers soldiers, and fighters in an armed rebellion, not terrorists.
Well said. Aussie political commentators frequently have to explain to their readers why Aussie Liberals like PM Howard have so much more in common with US Conservatives like President Bush than with US Libs like Ted Kennedy. US "Liberalism" has been taken over by leftist idealogies which align much more closely with international Socialists or with the "Greens" (depending on the issue).
That's the problem. I vote libertarian but I know it's not a viable option. So we all just keep marching down the road to socialism, faster if you're a Democrat, a little slower if you're a Republican. The destination, however, is the same.
As I was taught, order is purely up to writer preference. Putting his wife first in the sentence might show a bit of respect to his wife, but is not any more or less correct gramatically.
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