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 would be interested to see if there are any textbooks that teach otherwise.
I stupidly erased it! Now I have to go back to scratch!
You do grasp the concept that all those government programs don't really make anything 'more affordable' right? They just pass the bill to someone else. The only thing that will make medical care affordable is advancements in technology and manufacturing, and competition.
Nice of you to skip over the 2nd Amendment. At least you didn't butcher the first too badly. Most leftwing commies just quote that 'Congress shall pass no law establishing religion' and leave out the part 'nor prohibit free exercise of'.
You saying "my whole family fed at the public trough and none of us believes in PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY". Everything you stated is from the "gimmee" mind set. You are so pathetic but at least you admit to being a user. Let others take care of you.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ... that one is really pretty!
No, the personal pronoun goes closest to the preposition or the verb...
"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..."
So as a liberal I wonder how much you have common intellectually with the men who codified those liberal ideas into the various documents that rule America?
Not a lot I'd reckon.
I wonder what those men would think of you and your programs and ideas?
Not a lot I'd reckon.
Just out of curiosity, I wonder how come that is?
Obviously, he forgot to post that one.
At least he told us he wanted us to pay for his daughters milk and cheese : )
Better then to *snort*
Actually, the concept of the autonomy of the person got left behind in the worship of the state, and became what is nowadays in US politics, a conservative idea.
Well stated.
Him and his family,not me and my family, but yeah.
I can remember before medicare and medicaid that you could still afford to go to a doctor, have a baby, ...whatever and still pay for it yourself and not go broke.
I remember when the community still helped people who were down on their luck but now they just say they gave enough in taxes let the government take care of them.
I remember that when my brother was killed in an accident and the lawyers badgered my father to sue, he declined because that was the honorable thing to do, he wouldn't have dreamed of profiting on his death.
I remember when a young girl got pregnant out of wedlock they went to a private, Catholic institution to have the baby or their families took care of them or they got married instead of living off the government teat.
I remember when our natural resources were one of our most valuable assets.
I remember when there were fewer laws and the world was less complicated. I remember when they trusted the majority of the population to have some common sense and not iron their clothing while they were wearing it or realizing that hot coffee burns.
I remember when a man could have a 9-5 job and support a wife and 6 children comfortably but that was before women became equal.
I remember a lot and I see how the socialist nanny state has screwed up by trying to put it's finger in every pie and charging the hard-working and ambitious to pay for the lazy, and addicted.
I remember when the majority of the population went to church, tried to follow the commandments even though I don't remember anyone ever being forced to do so.
I could go on but it would be pointless, Dimocrats seem to NEED a nanny state, they need a mommy to take care of them and like most selfish brats they don't care if it comes at the expense of their siblings.
You are a liberal because you're happy to have your family live off the backs of others.
You are a liberal because you claim conservative ideas as your own.
You are a liberal because you show no clue as to what 'liberalism' in America truly is.
You are a liberal because issue after issue you tout the glory of the state then claim liberals are the party of freedom.
You are a liberal because you have an upside down view of the world around you.
You are a liberal because you refuse to acknowledge history and the FACT that it was liberals who opposed the Civil Rights Amendments, liberals who instituted "Jim Crow" laws, liberals who "disenfranchised" black voters in the south.
You are a liberal because every point you make further exposes the expansion of the state and the stifiling of individual rights.
You are a liberal because you typed this list, looked at and felt proud of what you and your twisted party have done to the Constitution and the American way of life.
BEGONE LIBERAL TROLL
see #201
You beat me to it - I was getting ready to go down the same path you've trod...good work!
What kind of parent are you, that your daughter and son-in-law are on welfare?
SS in it's origin was not tainted by liberals...it was a trust fund. The libs saw all that money and said, "Hey! Lookit all this! We can spend it with an IOU!" So our military is now paid by social security taxes that are paid today...and the Libs are whining over SS reform.
I could say more but why bother...you're OZONE!
Get a life.
Oh man......this just keeps gettin' better.
You're right. Again. But that's why YOU'RE the Sidebar Mod and Jim only gave ME the Bottom of The Page Mod title.
Honest.
Now, I KNOW you don't know about that, but you were busy that night and didn't make it to the meeting. Remember?
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