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.
Okers.
Take care, have fun!
G'night!
Don't worry.. everyone never gets banned. Eaker is a good candidate though.
Again.
Local drag strip is a bit of a ripoff.
Unfortunately.
I'm saving that pic.
cool look at my profile
Okers, heading there now.
I love Rotties for the gentleness in their nature. Most large dogs have to learn to be mean, but all dogs are territorial, and the Rotty is just a big one. They are loveable and loyal. And not high strung. You could do worse in your selection of dogs.
A brown Dobermann is less nervous than a black one, but both are very loveable and loyal. Even pitt bulls are good-natured dogs. They have a bad reputation because of people who like to exploit them, but if you remember the "Spanky And Our Gang" movies, the dog was a pitt bull...
*did i say too much?*
Her true colors.
LOL!!!!
You say: "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."
The meaning of "liberal" and "conservative" has changed over time. I agree with possibly everything that you cite (depending upon what you mean by "women's rights", for example), yet, I am a (2005) "conservative". You can't live in the past, or be controlled by the past. I would have been a democrat in 1935, but not 2005. I am a conservative because I believe in democracy, not judicial dictatorship. I am a conservative because I don't see why I should have to pay $6,000 per year in property taxes (in Medford, NJ) to pay for the public school educations of kids from affluent families who could well afford tuition, while my father worked two jobs to sent his kids to Catholic schools in Philadelphia, PA.` I am a conservative because I've seen how liberal social policies and mores, such as no-fault divorce and the acceptance of out-of-wedlock birth, have hurt children. I am not a conservative because I hate gays, minorities, or want to starve poor people. That is just lib propaganda. I used to be a socialist. However, I never stopped challenging my own beliefs. I hope you do the same. All the best!
You say: "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."
The meaning of "liberal" and "conservative" has changed over time. I agree with possibly everything that you cite (depending upon what you mean by "women's rights", for example), yet, I am a (2005) "conservative". You can't live in the past, or be controlled by the past. I would have been a democrat in 1935, but not 2005. I am a conservative because I believe in democracy, not judicial dictatorship. I am a conservative because I don't see why I should have to pay $6,000 per year in property taxes (in Medford, NJ) to pay for the public school educations of kids from affluent families who could well afford tuition, while my father worked two jobs to sent his kids to Catholic schools in Philadelphia, PA.` I am a conservative because I've seen how liberal social policies and mores, such as no-fault divorce and the acceptance of out-of-wedlock birth, have hurt children. I am not a conservative because I hate gays, minorities, or want to starve poor people. That is just lib propaganda. I used to be a socialist. However, I never stopped challenging my own beliefs. I hope you do the same. All the best!
You say: "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."
The meaning of "liberal" and "conservative" has changed over time. I agree with possibly everything that you cite (depending upon what you mean by "women's rights", for example), yet, I am a (2005) "conservative". You can't live in the past, or be controlled by the past. I would have been a democrat in 1935, but not 2005. I am a conservative because I believe in democracy, not judicial dictatorship. I am a conservative because I don't see why I should have to pay $6,000 per year in property taxes (in Medford, NJ) to pay for the public school educations of kids from affluent families who could well afford tuition, while my father worked two jobs to sent his kids to Catholic schools in Philadelphia, PA.` I am a conservative because I've seen how liberal social policies and mores, such as no-fault divorce and the acceptance of out-of-wedlock birth, have hurt children. I am not a conservative because I hate gays, minorities, or want to starve poor people. That is just lib propaganda. I used to be a socialist. However, I never stopped challenging my own beliefs. I hope you do the same. All the best!
The drag strip/race track in my area is pretty tiny.
Honestly not worth going to as there isn't any burn outs or such going on.
You cheap B*stard! You would let your parents go broke rather than help out. Yes, you are a liberal. Don't use any of your money. Take it from others by gun point. Yes... a liberal...
Years ago, I was a single parent with three children. I had a good job, a nice house, a good car, and life was good. Then the firm I worked for went out of business, and I was unemployed. With three children my unemployment check was far from adequate. I used up my savings, I sold some assets, but in the end I had to request assistance. I was able to get food stamps and some help with high utilities. However, I had to go through the process of applying. Now, getting the unemployment was bad enough. Not that I am complaining, I was grateful. But I felt humiliated by my predicament. Then the application process for food stamps and utility assistance left me more embarrassed. I tried to console myself with the notion that “I had paid my way/I had worked, paid taxes, etc. and this was my entitlement.” But I could not get over the awful feeling of taking a “handout,” and being “dependent.”
When you are in that position you are afraid to complain, afraid to question, afraid to rock the boat in any way for fear of not getting what is needed. Is that freedom? It was like being in chains. Plus I had to continually report my job seeking efforts every week, and had to have applied to at least 3 firms/week, in order to keep my unemployment check (made up with a lot of my money I had paid in!). Is that freedom? It was like being a schoolchild and under the continual eye of a teacher who stood ever ready to slap my hand with a ruler.
How anyone can commend the liberal’s nightmare lifestyle of dependence and subservience that becomes omnipresent when one is on welfare, receiving medical assistance, WIC, or any of those programs is beyond me. They are life killing. One becomes a snail-like creature, hiding away hoping not to be noticed. I felt uncomfortable around my friends, I withdrew from activities I had previously enjoyed, and I spiraled downward. I became a bore, with nothing worthwhile being accomplished and I had little to offer in conversations with those who were working. I even shopped at night so no one I knew would see me using the food stamps. How being a recipient of these programs can be considered “good” for one’s ego is simply incomprehensible.
Finally I found a part-time job, and then I started a home business, and then another part-time job. In essence I worked 3 jobs – just so I did not have to take the “free handouts,” that reduced my freedoms and made me feel worthless, pitiful, frightened, and unproductive. It was the worst time of my life.
In the following years I put three children through college with funds we all earned, scholarships they won, and loans they took. I found time to do some volunteer and community work, and do more now that I am retired. As I reflect back I am grateful that I had the help to get me through a tough time. And, I am in full agreement that those with disabilities, special circumstances, etc. should be offered assistance. However, when it becomes permanent or is given to generations after generations of families that survive solely and continually on the combination of what handouts they receive – that is just tragic.
The system that the liberals promote is totally flawed. Many recipients move from state to state, just to get on new or better welfare roles - rather than get a job. I know it is true; I met those people while standing in line at the welfare offices. They share their secrets of how to beat the system with one another, where to get a better “deal,” which caseworker can be more easily duped, and, yes, even women who had additional children just to get the extra food stamps and welfare money. It seemed to me like pouring money down the drain. A whole different way of life that is not at all focused on earning or giving back - all based on what they felt they were entitled to, or could swindle out of the government. They gave no thought to the fact that the working man/ taxpayers’ were footing the bill. They truly, truly believe/d the government owed it to them. They even complained that they had to stand in line on occasion to re-verify their situation and that it sometimes took hours out of their day. Days that were filled with nothing productive to do, while others worked 40 hours and more a week. That is why they cannot be anything but Liberals, they have no concept of how hard others work and they think that anyone who wants to make them work, or help them work is not being “nice.” To them liberals are nice, because they allow the dependent public take a free ride.
I was driven to write this because this is why I AM NOT A LIBERAL. Living life as though others owe you something – whether you think of them as “the government” or recognize that the money comes from taxpayers is the antithesis of why we were put on earth. We were not created to be leeches or suckling pigs tethered to a source that feeds and protects us. We were created to make our own way, provide for ourselves and our families, and be compassionate enough to give others a hand up on occasion. I am a Conservative because I admire and aspire to live the moral, constructive, self-less, self-disciplined, independent, self-esteem building way of life. Conservatives build our country and make it grow – Liberals just live in it and sap it’s riches.
[Zaps Zorak. Returns to troll guest.]
Sorry for the interruption. So [taps card on desk several times]. . .Are you getting enough oxygen?
LOL!
Loe Joe has been stuck on a prescription of two hours "W.O.O." - "WithOut Oxygen"
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