Article: "Liberal" is Not a Four-Letter Word

As many who know me can tell you, I prefer to avoid political labels like "conservative" and "liberal". Some might even say that I am fiercely independent. This is because what always eventually happens is that these labels are used as disingenuous (and ultimately woefully inaccurate) crutches by political opponents. For many self-described political conservatives, all liberals are tree-hugging, government hating, pacifist wussies. And for many self-described political liberals, all conservatives are pro-war, anti-tax, big business fascists. Neither description is true, of course. Although we may often disagree on how to get there, the ultimate goal for millions of us on both sides of this political fence is what's best for our country. Dictionary definition of political liberalism: "a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties." Millions of self-described conservatives would certainly generally agree with these words. After all, who would want to be seen as anti-progress, being against the protection of political and civil liberties and not believing in the essential goodness of the human race? Dictionary definition of political conservatism: "a political philosophy based on tradition and social stability, stressing established institutions, and preferring gradual development to abrupt change." And millions of self-described liberals would have to generally agree with this. After all, who would want to be seen as being against social stability and established institutions with gradual development that benefits everybody? The indisputable truth is that the vast majority of Americans, regardless of political affiliation, embrace liberalism as a human ideology. What has happened over the years is that we have been consumed by the wholly artificial difference between left and right inside the Beltway. We have fallen victim to a select few who pander to our personal political beliefs to get elected, and then use that artificial difference to keep us arguing about mostly inconsequential issues, while they creep under the radar to undermine our Constitution and milk our treasury dry for their own selfish benefit. What is certainly not inconsequential, of course, is that the current regime in Washington somehow still has the support of millions of people who either refuse to view things in an objective, purely logical light (quite possibly for fear of what they might see), or who are simply not capable of putting their country before their party. What we have in America today is a government led by criminals who are neither Republican nor conservative. They have hijacked these long established, respectable ideals to serve their own nefarious purposes, enabled by an "opposing party" that in truth provides no real opposition whatsoever. Thanks to Ronald Reagan's elimination of the Fairness Doctrine, which gave rise to a parade of pompous radio court jesters led by Rush Limbaugh, propaganda television outlets like Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Channel and neocons who have infiltrated all media, the "conservative" movement has largely succeeded in turning "liberal" into a four letter word. It's important to note that when these hopeless broadcast, print and Internet neocon goons attack liberals and the "drive-by liberal media," they're not playing politics. They're playing a carefully calculated game of negative connotation designed to foster not just cynicism and hatred among their blind supporters, but also the trepidation that keeps true liberals from speaking out and appearing "too liberal." What true liberals need to remember is that by keeping quiet, they are compromising their beliefs and playing right into the hands of the "conservative" movement. The real goal of these select few who relentlessly trash liberalism is anything but true conservatism. Totalitarianism, fascism and theocracy would more accurately describe where they're headed. They are not the least bit interested in what's best for everybody. They're interested in serving themselves at the expense of the masses. So what do we do? We act. We get off our asses, step out of our comfort zones and let these pathetic fools know that we are on to them and that they will not win. We fill the National Mall with people from end to end, demanding no more war and new government, to give the cowards on Capitol Hill a nice visual. We get on the phones and burn up the fax lines to their offices demanding that they honor their oath of office by actually enforcing our Constitution. We confront them at their local offices and at local appearances. We write op-ed pieces and letters to the editor. Every time we hear somebody using "liberal" as a four letter word, we call them on it by saying "why are you against a philosophy that serves to benefit everybody?" We do anything and everything we possibly can, no matter how insignificant it may seem. But doing nothing is not acceptable. Don't give me any crap about how "we don't have the votes on the Hill" or "Congress won't do what we want.," or "there's nothing we can do about it." Those are all spineless cop-outs. They absolutely will do what we want if enough of us act. How many of us is enough? I don't know exactly, but what I do know is that there are 535 of them on Capitol Hill and 300 million of us. Pretty good odds, don't you think?