Confessions of an Unrepentant Liberal
I know “liberal” is a dirty word in American politics. But I can’t help myself, despite numerous twelve-step programs, and countless hours of counseling by well meaning conservatives; I am still an unrepentant liberal. My liberalness runs deeper than my fear of reticule. It laughs in the face of public humiliation. It has even been known to make me applaud the expansion of government social programs.
I am hopeless. I proudly display an American Civil Liberties Union bumper sticker on my tiny fuel-efficient car. My liberalism comes singing to the forefront when I see the American flag and cries foul every time a member of the conservative right uses fear and bullying to chip away my civil liberties. I cannot approve of government attempts to banish fear by taking away liberty or their efforts to insure justice by suspending constitutional rights.
I believe in human dignity and the inherent worth of every individual. I care about the welfare of people—not just people like me, but all the people. I believe that everyone should have healthcare, safe housing, good schools, access to higher education, jobs that pay enough to pay for these services, civil rights, civil liberties, and the chance to live a happy, productive life. I believe in the separation of church and state, that the nation’s founders knew what they were doing when they wrote the constitution and, worst of all, that morality is not dependent upon any one religious creed being posted in our schools, courtrooms, and public buildings.
At times, the conservative Republican rhetoric makes it appear that anyone left of Pat Robertson and Pat Buchanan is a “screaming liberal.” They are not. Most people have accepted the politics of fear and the given up on the idealism of the liberal cause. Liberals are the believers in the promise of America. Liberalism is the politics of hope, of faith in human potential. I cannot give up. I believe that “we the people” are better than the fear mongers. We can, we must, restore faith in ourselves to political discourse.
I am hopeless. I proudly display an American Civil Liberties Union bumper sticker on my tiny fuel-efficient car. My liberalism comes singing to the forefront when I see the American flag and cries foul every time a member of the conservative right uses fear and bullying to chip away my civil liberties. I cannot approve of government attempts to banish fear by taking away liberty or their efforts to insure justice by suspending constitutional rights.
I believe in human dignity and the inherent worth of every individual. I care about the welfare of people—not just people like me, but all the people. I believe that everyone should have healthcare, safe housing, good schools, access to higher education, jobs that pay enough to pay for these services, civil rights, civil liberties, and the chance to live a happy, productive life. I believe in the separation of church and state, that the nation’s founders knew what they were doing when they wrote the constitution and, worst of all, that morality is not dependent upon any one religious creed being posted in our schools, courtrooms, and public buildings.
At times, the conservative Republican rhetoric makes it appear that anyone left of Pat Robertson and Pat Buchanan is a “screaming liberal.” They are not. Most people have accepted the politics of fear and the given up on the idealism of the liberal cause. Liberals are the believers in the promise of America. Liberalism is the politics of hope, of faith in human potential. I cannot give up. I believe that “we the people” are better than the fear mongers. We can, we must, restore faith in ourselves to political discourse.
posted by Gwen Mayo | 10:35 AM
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