Newspaper Gives Honest Answer to Question, "Why do you support such a liberal agenda?"

[babylonsister]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/19/1385798/-Newspaper-Gives-Honest-Answer-to-Question-Why-do-you-support-such-a-liberal-agenda?detail=facebook

Mon May 18, 2015 at 08:33 PM PDT
Newspaper Gives Honest Answer to Question, "Why do you support such a liberal agenda?"

by
Black Max
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Honest answer to a reader's question

No snark, no smartassery. This is one of the finest responses I've ever seen to this kind of question.

snip//

We believe that everyone is created equal.

We believe that children should not bear responsibility for the sins of their parents.

[...]

We believe people should not be treated as lesser citizens, with fewer rights, because of whom they love.

[...]

We believe discrimination is wrong in every instance.

[...]

We believe that police officers should act professionally, under incredibly difficult circumstances, regardless of a suspect’s race.

[...]

We believe taxes should be kept as low as possible while still providing a sound safety net for the neediest, a robust education for all, decent health care for the elderly and the destitute, and other basics.

[...]

We believe there are people of worth beyond our tight circle and there are neighborhoods beyond our own, with different histories, perspectives and needs.

[...]

We believe there are peace-loving Muslims.

We do not believe President Obama was born in Kenya.

We believe in the separation of church and state.

[...]

We believe if you’re a fan of a politician solely because he has a ‘D’ or an ‘R’ after his name, then you’re not paying attention.

We believe we have only one planet, and we should protect it for our grandchildren.

Batten included so much more that I left out, including some Charlotte- and area-specific bits.

Read the whole thing. Quote it. Share it. Turn it into a poster and tack it up on your wall. I couldn't ask for a more inclusive answer as to why we're liberals.

What do you think?

Here's 'the whole thing'...

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/taylor-batten/article21108579.html

[blm]

1. Taylor Batten is more like an old-fashioned Republican - a Teddy Roosevelt/Eisenhower

type of progressive Republican.

He's realizing that being a progressive Republican in this day and age of the RW propaganda media, that progressive outlook makes you a 'liberal'.

[Dont call me Shirley]

2. We believe community exists to help each other.

[madokie]

56. And that is what its all about.

we are all in this together.

ETA: if I can't watch out for you then who can I expect to watch out for me? This is a community

[daleanime]

3. Small change, "safety net" needs to go....

it plays into the crap about proverty trap, we need a "safety floor" that we refuse to let people fall below.


Other then that I love it.

[jwirr]

12. I agree but in 20-30 years the floor would have stayed the same while the cost of living rises and

wages stay flat. We need more than a floor.

[daleanime]

21. A floor under water is just a riverbed....

I'm open to suggestions, it's just that you can stand on a floor and reach higher.

[jwirr]

23. That I agree with and I saw your post elsewhere. Just pointing out the need more. No matter

what kind of floor we make it will need some provisions the make it self adjust to reality.

That is what is wrong today. It takes congress to raise most programs like food stamps, Medicaid eligibility, cash income programs. And they do not. The floor needs a mechanism that causes it to rise when threatened with flooding that is not controlled by congress.

[daleanime]

25. Very true....

and the same for the minimum wage while we're rolling up our sleeves.

[jwirr]

27. Exactly. We need laws that prevent Rs and others from laying all the blame on the backs of the

poor and then refusing to support the programs.

[daleanime]

28. Couldn't agree more, the scapegoating of the powerless...

for the benefit of the powerful is disgusting beyond words.

[MyOwnPeace]

40. AMEN!

Says it all!

[A Simple Game]

13. I like the "safety floor" it also fits in with the glass ceiling. Kind of gives the impression of

being placed in a box doesn't it.

[daleanime]

22. Not really, one is offering support.....

the other is limiting opportunities. Why would they be paired together?

[A Simple Game]

32. Why pair them together? If you are subjected to a glass ceiling or any other form

of discrimination, and there are many, that limits your ability to advance yourself, you then are more likely to be in need of a safety floor.

The box part is because not all forms of discrimination are about advancement, not all people want or can handle advancement, some are for lateral movement. Wanting the same or similar job but in a different area/facility/plant would be an example of this.

[daleanime]

34. One is a negative, one is a positive....

you only pair a negative and a positive together when you are...

! - Trying to make the negative sound not so bad.

2 - Trying to make the positive look not as attractive.

3 - You want to balance the two of them.

I want none of the above, I want improvement.

[A Simple Game]

35. Or 4 - you are trying to limit the impact of one by implementing the other.

The safety net(floor) replaces the bottomless pit, just as the glass ceiling replaces unlimited opportunity. Both are limits, yes one is for good and one is for bad but they are both limits.

It's just a matter of how you want to look at it. We are looking at the same thing but from different viewpoints.

How does any of this make a glass ceiling look better?

[daleanime]

36. It doesn't because these are two seperate problems....

both need to be addressed, but what helps one has no impact on the other.

[A Simple Game]

41. You really think eliminating the glass ceiling won't remove the need for

a safety floor for some people? Eliminating racism or sexism won't remove the need for a safety floor for some? Do I have to give more examples? Of course eliminating one problem can impact the other. Do you think we can eliminate the need for a safety floor if we don't address the glass ceiling, racism, etc.?

And as for post #37, of course I agree we need a safety net or floor or whatever you want to call it. Have you even read my posts?

I think everyone should be provided the means for all necessities, food, shelter, health care, etc. That includes the wealthy, give everyone enough for subsistence then no one can complain that someone is getting more than they are. Make it in monthly payments and if you can afford better then good for you but you should never be in fear for your life because you are cold or hungry or can't afford health care.

Freedom is about expansion, upward and lateral movement not the chance of falling into a bottomless pit. There is no freedom in a pit and you rarely get out of one without so external help. So yes I believe a floor is a good thing as opposed to a bottomless pit.

[daleanime]

42. "Glass ceiling" refers to woman who are being prevented from advancing in their careers.....

not woman being prevented from making a living. Now unequal pay, that might have an effect. A floor would be about security for when you couldn't get work/or enough work.

Yes, I have read your post, would not respond if I hadn't. Just don't see where you're coming from. Sorry, I simply don't see a connection. The problem is probable mine.

[A Simple Game]

43. A glass ceiling has no monetary consequences, really, I didn't know that.

Maybe you might want to rethink some of your reasoning on that. And please don't think a glass ceiling just affects women, please look up the definition of words you don't understand before using them. Buy yes unequal pay is another example of a good reason to have a safety net.


I see no reason to continue this conversation.

[daleanime]

44. Consequences, yes. Impact on survival, no.

Agreed, I failed completely. Have good day.

[A Simple Game]

47. Oh come on, you are making an assumption that all ceiling are high. They aren't all high.

The ones for many minorities not just women are often very low. The lower the ceiling, the higher the need for the safety net. In some cases the safety net is higher than the ceiling. That spawns a common complaint of the Republicans; that people are better off on welfare than working. I know you must have heard that or some variation of it. And in some cases that is true, but the Republicans want to eliminate the safety net instead of fixing the problem with the wages and hours worked that necessitate the need for the safety net.

Not all that long ago some weren't even allowed to see the ceiling. Of course discrimination is mostly unspoken now but in the past signs saying, Help wanted, No Negros need apply or Help wanted, no Irish, were not uncommon in some areas. These people weren't even allowed to see let alone shatter any ceilings.

I know you can understand this stuff you just need to think about it.

[daleanime]

37. Or are you saying the idea of a floor is bad....

because people should have the freedum?

[bettyellen]

29. That is ridiculous on its face- a glass ceiling is a negative thing-

And has no more to do with a safety floor that that they both use analogous to rooms. Not boxes, but rooms- are rooms bad now? Not enough freedumb in boxes, eh?

[A Simple Game]

33. You seem to be in a good mood today. See post #32.

Rooms aren't box shaped, who knew? You never heard the phrase "boxed in." Bet you have or is that "roomed in?"

On edit: No there aren't enough "freedumbs" in boxes, are there enough "freedumbs" in rooms?

[dawg]

14. Safety net is fine.

They'll twist any terminology we try to use, so we might as well stick with what we've got.

Don't want to get stuck in the net? How about lying on the floor? Or should we just "cushion" the poor?

[daleanime]

24. That is very true....

but changing it would help bring the subject back into focus in our national discussion.

And with the problems of long term unemployment/underemployment, poverty, and the homeless we do need to discuss it.

[hughee99]

16. The part about "safety net" doesn't seem good

For several reasons. The one you mention first and foremost, of course, but also it seems to limit who should get help to limited groups (elderly and destitute, in this case. One other thing, it begins with "taxes kept as low as possible", which honestly doesn't seem consistent with the general idea of wealth redistribution which seems to be gaining more and more support in progressive circles.

[daleanime]

26. Agreed.

[bettyellen]

30. Elderly and destitute? Try children and their mothers if you're look for the impoverished.

The safety net should not be demonized. Would be easy to have one if we weren't spending so much on the military.

[hughee99]

31. The safety net should be for anyone that needs it

Not just selected groups

[GeorgeGist]

57. Splat is better?

[daleanime]

58. Being able to stand is good....

but if you're a fan of splat have at it.

[brush]

4. I LOVE THIS!

Thanks for posting.

[Ed Suspicious]

5. perfect!

[handmade34]

6. excellent!

[Xyzse]

7. Thanks.

[underpants]

8. Well done

[yellerpup]

9. Wonderful response!

Love the way he spells it out.

[groundloop]

10. 'decent health care for the elderly and the destitute' - try decent health care for ALL

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

50. +1!

[JDPriestly]

11. Absolutely love, love, love it.

Especially this:

We believe Moore Place, built with public and private money, and its housing-first approach is a model for how to help the chronically homeless.

We believe Charlotte will need effective mass transit to handle its continually swelling population.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/taylor-batten/article21108579.html

I don't know anything about Moore Place but it sounds great. Housing-first approach to helping the chronically homeless is the best approach in my opinion.

[niyad]

15. k and r and bookmarked and spread

[L0oniX]

17. K & R

[blm]

18. MUST READ REPLY from liberal Christian in comment section!!!

"I am a liberal because I believe God created all men and all women in God's own image, so therefore there should never be any privileged group of monarchs, oligarchs, plutocrats, aristocrats, bankers, financiers, money changers, or businessmen. More importantly, being created in the image of The Creator means that our role is to act in the image of God as a co-creator by investigating and discovering the laws of nature, and using that new knowledge to the glory of God by doing good. For example, give humanity the gift of flight by understanding and using the laws of aerodynamics. Besides the historical fact that conservatives have been defenders of privilege and power, being a conservative puts one in the position of resisting change. But we MUST change, because we are not perfect, yet are called to perfection (St. Paul). Striving for perfection therefore requires change, so how can you be a genuine servant of The Creator if you resist change? Therefore, I am a militant liberal with a righteous anger at what conservatives have done and do."

[BlancheSplanchnik]

39. that's my kind of Christian.

Good.

[SoapBox]

19. Cool!

Gee, so all of that makes me a Liberal Left Winger Hippie Commie type person...and according to the Pukes, Baggers, Bible Thumping - Pearl Clutching Koch Brother Conservative types, I'm a BAD person.

Seems it's the other way around!

[Android3.14]

20. More like my mother's old Republican values

Note the absence of healthcare for all.

[blm]

48. REALLY OLD Republican values that went extinct by the 80s.

.

[DFW]

54. I think that as far as Republicans are concerned

Those values disappeared after Teddy Roosevelt.

[DFW]

55. I'd be interested in knowing two things

What the poser of that question had as a reaction to the Paper's response, and.....

just how much American history (as recorded by records, not as distorted by Fox) the guy really knows.

[blm]

59. As a party, yes. I think the last progressive INDIVIDUAL was killed off

by Poppy Bush in the early 90s - Sen. John Heinz.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

38. rec #100! And damn proud of it!!

Great article!

[samsingh]

45. kick and recommend

[hifiguy]

46. I'd call that a home run

and a paper that stands for a little thing called "civilization."

[Mnpaul]

49. Shades of JFK

“If by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people-their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties-someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal", then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal.”

[Skittles]

51. that's why we should never shy away from the word LIBERAL

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[allan01]

52. hear hear

[lastlib]

53. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...."

For me, the Declaration of Independence declares the foundation of liberal thought and philosophy. (Yes, it has its flaws, but it's a good fundamental starting point.) Following the logical development of the philosophy from this point to John Stuart Mill's On Liberty, to FDR to JFK to this manifesto pretty much gets you to where liberalism is today. Liberals have truly made this country worth fighting to save, while conservatives have done nothing but cover their own arses to save their wealth and power and to say a big "EFF YOU" to everyone else.