What does it mean in the US to be Liberal ?

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What does it mean in the US to be Liberal ? - 10/23/2011 7:23:31 AM

Aneirin

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I get the distinct impression from some posters that the political stance of Liberal in the US is somewhat maligned, and I can understand from other sources that much of the reason for this is because Liberals have failed to define themselves, but as myself being one of those who would identify in my country as having liberal tendencies, I just have to wonder why Liberal appears to be such a dirty word in the US.

One such source ;

What it means to be a liberal, by Geoffrey R. Stone, Chicago Tribune

< Message edited by Aneirin -- 10/23/2011 7:24:40 AM >

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RE: What does it mean in the US to be Liberal ? - 10/23/2011 8:28:11 AM

SpanishMatMaster

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In the USA it means to be favorable to minorities, and to a clear intervention of the state in the economy in order to redistribute wealth and lead the society.
If you are from Europe and/or have some historical political culture, you will notice a strong irony here.
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RE: What does it mean in the US to be Liberal ? - 10/23/2011 8:36:12 AM

Real0ne

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they are both nuts.

the most politcally acceptable answers are nearly always near the center somewhere and all this MOB shit does os polarize 2 mobs to extremes, however both mobs are liberal by standards of 100 years ago.

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RE: What does it mean in the US to be Liberal ? - 10/23/2011 8:44:33 AM

DarkSteven

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"Liberal" used to mean accepting of change, and "Conservative" meant resistant to it. Neo-cons have hijacked the GOP and have advocated very aggressive means of changing the status quo.

Now, "liberal" means favoring a more active government for social services and a more progressive income distribution, while "conservative" means opposed to social services, and in favor of income inequality as a means of encouraging productivity. Cons are opposed to government regulation of business and like the private sector, while libs favor regulations and distrust the private sector as much as the cons distrust government.

Many issues cloud it. For example, social conservatives want to restrict abortion and mmj while libertarians don't want the government blocking them. Liberals generally oppose wars and conservatives favor them, but with Obama in power and having major success against AQ, those roles have been flipped to a degree due to both factions' feelings about Obama. Conservatives have bought into the Laffer curve and trickle-down as well.

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RE: What does it mean in the US to be Liberal ? - 10/23/2011 8:48:49 AM

erieangel

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To me, being liberal means believing that all levels of society, including all levels of government, have the responsibility to care for those unable to care for themselves. It means educating our young people; feeding, clothing, housing and providing health care to the poor, the elderly and the out-of-work. It means accepting as a reality that, despite what some would have us all believe, we can not all be rich, for if we were all rich, who would do the labor? We need the factory workers, the teachers, the first responders, maids and table waiters and all the other "grunts" to move the economy. Being liberal means that those people are entitled to a living wage. Being liberal means that nobody should have to file bankruptcy due to illness or injury; our young people should not have to begin their adult lives beaten down by astronomical educational debt; children should not have to go to bed with empty bellies and people would not have to fear the winter because they can not afford adequate shelter from the elements.

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