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I'm a conservative because I don't owe your parents a thing. |
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."
Did you notice that the Second Amendment, the one that more
than any other protects the "autonomy of the individual" is missing from his litany of kerap!
You are a socialist because you and your family has never mustered the gumption to be responsible for yourselves.
Who does?
LOL I probably had that one coming.
They do.
We're not talking coffee and tea as the beverage of choice then are we?
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I'm a conservative because I don't owe your parents a thing. |
Who does?
If it's my coffee.. it may be the drink of choice.
*Cough* cutting fluid *cough*
That's about the only thing I thought I remembered from grammar I was hoping someone else would confirm that.
You clearly show that you have no understanding of the difference between Liberal and liberal. How sad. And you leftists think we conservatives are the stupid ones.
Uh............................................
Coffee sot!
No. SideBAR Moderator.
Always up against the bar, wireless laptop and all that.
Likely gets tossed out of two or three places a day and then has to hunt for broadband.
A bit sad, but necessary.
Wait! It's too early for St. Patrick's Day beverages.
You're a liberal because your daughter had children she couldn't afford, and now we all are paying for her indiscretion? OK. Good thing some of us conservatives work for a living to pay those taxes, huh?
SideBAR Moderator. Got it!
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