I'm liberal! (Don't worry, it's ok...so are you, you, you and you)

I saw a real peach of a bumper sticker today.  It said "Visualize no liberals".

If I were the man I was 15 years ago, I would have taken a crowbar to the windscreen.  I didn't.  Do you know why?  Because I'm liberal.  That's why.

Before I get into the meat of the matter, please indulge me in the following definition (from www.dictionary.com):

lib·er·al[lib-er-uhl, lib-ruhl]  

-adjective

1.  Favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.

2.  Noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform.

3.  Of, pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism.

4.  Favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, esp. as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.

5.  Favoring or permitting freedom of action, esp. with respect to matters of personal belief or expression: a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.

6.  Of or pertaining to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies and monarchies.

7.  Free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant: a liberal attitude toward foreigners.

8.  Open-minded or tolerant, esp. free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc.

9.  Characterized by generosity and willingness to give in large amounts: a liberal donor.

10 . Given freely or abundantly; generous: a liberal donation

11.  Not strict or rigorous; free; not literal: a liberal interpretation of a rule.

12.  Of, pertaining to, or based on the liberal arts.

13.  Of, pertaining to, or befitting a freeman.

Ok, I should also (full disclosure) indicate that I'm also conservative, anarchist, socialist, and many other -ists depending on the issue and the nature of the question.  My brain is armed, and I'm not afraid to use it.

What I am not is simplistic, reactionary, uninformed, impatient or inhumane enough to trust the future of my planet to labels.  Chances are if you can glue the syllables together enough to read this...neither are you.  

Back to the bumper sticker...

It was obviously a play upon/mockery of the "visualize world peace" bumper sticker I've seen so many times.

So, we've arrived at a place where it's considered an insult to call someone a "liberal".

Since the root (liber) of the word "liberal" and the word "liberty" are the same (they both mean "free"...what do we do about the following?  Incidentally, the same root is used for the word "deliverance" - but that's another blog.

A)  Samuel Adams, the organizer of the original Boston Tea Party - was founder of the patriot group "The Sons of Liberty".  Some other notable members who all gathered under this liberal banner were Paul Revere, John Hancock and John Adams.  Their motto was "No Taxation Without Representation"...you'd find that battle cry being shouted today by the same people who (claim) to decry "liberalism".

B)  Thomas Jefferson - the "Life, LIBERTY, and pursuit of happiness" guy - was author of these famous words "To take from one, because it is thought that his own industry and that of his father's has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association -- the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry, and the fruits acquired by it."  These words would get him pegged as a conservative today, but if there ever was a more self-proclaimed American liberal according to definition, I haven't met one.

C)  Quote from George Washington: "As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality."

D) Jesus Christ, Liberal (Luke 14:13&14) there are about a zillion others, if you like..


E)  Ronald Reagan (one of my favourite liebrals) signed the most expansive laws of his time as Governor of California protecting abortion rights of women, the first tailpipe emission standards (he was SUPER environmentally supportive compared to many who lionize him today), signed a bill grating amnesty to illegal aliens (yup, THAT Ronald Reagan), raised taxes 30% IN HIS FIRST YEAR as Governor, increased California spending 177%, and when he left the White House, he had increased the National Debt to the largest amount in history.  BTW, the Governor whose spending Reagan increased by 177%?  You guessed it...the "liberal" Gerry Brown (from the SF bay area!).


Galileo, Abe Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Gorbachev...the list goes on.


It's time to realize that tolerance, acceptance, desire for peace, caring for fellow man are all what we're about when we say "LIBERTY and justice for ALL".


It doesn't mean wanting to waste money on garbage programs in a bloated federal government...but it does mean a shared responsibility that gives us the greatest infrastructure since Rome fell.


Think of how wonderful we have it...


Have you ever tried:

 - navigating a traffic circle in Rome?
-  getting out of Paris during an airline worker strike?
-  lodging a comlaint against a 28 year veteran civil service worker in Britain?
-  driving through Beijing without getting swallowed by a 3 foot deep/wide pothole?


When was the last time you read the Bill of Rights or the Declaration of Independence?  Don't laugh.  They don't belong to the favoured few in D.C. - they belong to YOU, ME, and that guy living in the box.


As the weather turns bitterly cold...let us all remember how lucky we are, and how well equipped we are to do the tasks at hand, since (as Americans) we are REQUIRED to be liberal (if we are to fulfill our ever-evolving National destiny).


Toby Keith gets roaring applause for his song "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)".  Some of the lyrics include these gems:


Now this nation that I love is fallin' under attack.
A mighty sucker-punch came flying in from somewhere in the back.
Soon as we could see clearly through our big black eye,
Man, we lit up your world like the fourth of July.

Hey, Uncle Sam put your name at the top of his list,
And the Statue of Liberty started shaking her fist.
And the eagle will fly and it's gonna be hell,
When you hear Mother Freedom start ringing her bell.
And it'll feel like the whole wide world is raining down on you.
Ah, brought to you, courtesy of the red, white and blue.

Oh, justice will be served and the battle will rage:
This big dog will fight when you rattle his cage.
An' you'll be sorry that you messed with the U.S. of A.
'Cos we'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American way.

"Sucker punch"? - We've been at war almost non-stop for decades.  If we weren't spending a Trillion dollars on arms, I might agree with him.
"Lit up your world"? - That's something to brag about?  It's no better to kill an Afghan child than an American one, is it?  What happened to the "life" in the Declaration?
Hey, Toby - I'm from New York, and I can promise you the Statue of Liberty NEVER shakes her fist.
Oh, by the way Mr. USA - When mother freedom starts ringin' her bell, it's NEVER hell.  Hell is bad.  The ringing of the Liberty Bell is not hell.
We lit up your world "Like the Fourth of July"?  - The Star Spangled Banner was written we we were BEING attacked, not vice-versa.
Big dog?  Is that what we are?  A big dog?
A "boot in your ass" is "The American Way"?  No, I don't think it is.

Theodore Roosevelt won the Nobel prize for PEACE.  Not for charging San Juan Hill.

One last favourite...Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican), was President of (GASP!) Columbia University in (GASP!) New York City BEFORE he was President of the US.

According to Eisenhower - former Supreme Allied Commander in WWII :
"Every gun that’s made
Every warship launched
Every rocket fired
Represents
In the final sense
A theft
From those who hunger and are not fed
Those who are cold and are not clothed.”

What would you rather be known for?

Have the vision, and shine a light so that others might share the vision.
Peas,

Jason

PS - I got some GREAT advice from my smart friend Claudia to come up with a theme for my blog, or some thing I "stand for".  I have come up with this:

I owe a debt I can never repay
For those who inspire me to move

The memory of those whose lives had value which lasts on still
And the future of those whose world is shaped by our every thought

Deserve an accounting...a chronicle of what may be achieved by mankind
When we embrace our own magnificence, and get out of our own way