Here is a question that needs to be answered...

[wyldwolf]

What is a liberal?

I think we need a definition thread to refer back to when someone makes claims that someone else isn't a liberal.

Please, if you have them, provide reputable sources to lend credence to your replies.

So far, I've read on DU that the following people (among others)aren't liberals, staring with myself.

John Kerry
Wesley Clark
Howard Dean
Randi Rhodes

[BlueEyedSon]

1. What is a liberal?

Sen. John F. Kennedy, acceptance of the New York Liberal Party Nomination, September 14, 1960.

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of "Liberal." But 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."

But first, I would like to say what I understand the word "Liberal" to mean and explain in the process why I consider myself to be a "Liberal," and what it means in the presidential election of 1960.

In short, having set forth my view -- I hope for all time -- two nights ago in Houston, on the proper relationship between church and state, I want to take the opportunity to set forth my views on the proper relationship between the state and the citizen. This is my political credo:

I believe in human dignity as the source of national purpose, in human liberty as the source of national action, in the human heart as the source of national compassion, and in the human mind as the source of our invention and our ideas. It is, I believe, the faith in our fellow citizens as individuals and as people that lies at the heart of the liberal faith. For liberalism is not so much a party creed or set of fixed platform promises as it is an attitude of mind and heart, a faith in man's ability through the experiences of his reason and judgment to increase for himself and his fellow men the amount of justice and freedom and brotherhood which all human life deserves.

More: http://www.cjnetworks.com/~cubsfan/whatis.html

I miss JFK!!!! :cry:

[nostamj]

defined

[BattyDem]

6. I just remembered a couple of things I said to a ...

RW friend when he was ranting about how Liberals were destroying the country:

"Conservatives believe that everyone should be free to live by their rules, honor their values and worship their God. Liberals believe that everyone should be free ... period."

AND

"Every civil right, social program, equal opportunity and environmental protection is the result of hard work by a Liberal. If you believe all those things are wrong, then explain to me what is 'right' about your beliefs!"

Don't know if those are good explanations or not, but it sure shut him up! He never dissed Liberals in my presence again. :evilgrin:


on edit: Sorry ... I meant to reply to the original message, not the first reply. Silly me. :)

[BlueEyedSon]

7. Good speech, good work!

[ezee]

10. JFK

was a GREAT American. I was 13 when he was killed. I 'll never forget that day. I cried for hours. I can accept his definition.

[Shoedogg]

2. Let's start with the dictionary definition:

lib·er·al·ism

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

That pretty much covers it for me.


From www.m-w.com

[FL4GORE]

9. I agree!

Kerry is the one!

[BattyDem]

3. I love this ... "What is a Liberal?"

John F. Kennedy's acceptance speech of the New York Liberal Party Nomination, September 14, 1960

http://www.cjnetworks.com/~cubsfan/whatis.html



On edit: Oops - BlueEyedSon beat me to it! :)

[jbm]

4. oooohh...good question!

and I'll love reading the replies. I've spent much time trying to define liberals and conservatives,but I don't have a background in anything that would give me some sort of credibility. I'm just winging it from my own observations.

I think though,that liberalism and conservatism differ on some root assumptions that develop into belief systems and ideologies. If that's true,then I would define a liberal based on those root assumptions,and I think think those assumptions are basic little things like,"the universe trends toward the good". IF you assume that to be true,then your next logical step takes you down the path of liberalism...with the converse being true for conservatives. I dunno..I'm still working on it,but I'll be watching this thread.

[wyldwolf]

5. whew! So far, I fit the criteria! I AM A LIBERAL! .. and so is...

John Kerry
Wesley Clark
Howard Dean
Randi Rhodes

... and everyone else people on DU have claimed ISN'T a liberal!

:bounce:

[wyldwolf]

8. well, so far I'm disappointed...

... no one who previously decided who is and isn't a liberal has weighed in...

[tjwash]

11. A few off the top of my head...

Liberals believe that group survival is more efficient than individual survival. This comes as a result of a constitution which is agreed upon by the voters. The rights of the people need to be defended by the mechanisms authorized by the constitution: police, military, legislatures, and courts.

Liberals believe that the Constitution as well as laws are meant to protect individual rights, establish personal responsibilities, and describe the operations of government.

Liberals want to cut back on excessive military expenditures instead of fueling the military-industrial complex. They support popular nationalistic revolutionary movements in foreign countries which seek democracy and liberty for all people.

Liberals seek to bring a halt to the ecological decline of the United States, which requires challenging the interests of big business, and to make environmental concerns another priority.

Liberals believe that social problems such as assistance to the needy should be resolved by the redirection of government spending as well as by regulatory policies. They support government intervention in the economy in hopes of eliminating its worse abuses.

Liberals see the graduated tax structure as an actual regressive tax, since wealthy individuals and corporations easily reduce their gross incomes to much lower taxable incomes as a result of numerous loopholes.

Liberals believe in a large private sector which is defended and promoted by the public sector.

[wyldwolf]

12. kick