Liberals, please embrace the ‘L’ word again
I am one of many who harbors a good deal of resentment towards those Conservatives who have impugned my political beliefs by turning the label used to describe those beliefs into something horrible. If one pays attention to Conservative ideologues such as Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, or Michelle Malkin, a “Liberal” is the political and ideological equivalent of “Child Molester”. It’s simplistic, demeaning, and insulting, and yet too many Conservatives think nothing of tossing the “L” around as an off-the-cuff pejorative. Of course, given that that Conservative ideology is inherently superior (he said, tongue implanted firmly in cheek), I suppose belittling and ridiculing those who think differently just comes naturally.
Were the tables to be turned, the hue and cries of self-righteous indignation would ring to the rafters. “HOW DARE THEY???” Somehow, though, it is viewed as perfectly acceptable to impugn and ridicule Liberals.
Dear Left-Leaning Americans:
Whether John Kerry wins or loses Tuesday, the time has come for you to embark on a new project: taking back the dreaded “liberal” label.
The “L” word is the one epithet that’s still permissible to use, a bludgeoning tool, a conversation- or debate-ending trump card played to convey disdain for everything you supposedly stand for.
It’s also employed to scare the tar out of good folks in the hinterlands, many of whom couldn’t tell you, if their lives depended on it, exactly what a liberal is. They just know it’s bad.
We Liberals have much to be credited for, though you’d never know it were you to listen to Conservatives. Do you like your 40-hour work week? How about Social Security? If you do, you have Liberals to thank for those advances. What about the New Deal? The Marshall Plan? I could go on, but I think you can see where I’m going. Of course, if you’re a committed Conservative, you’ve already long since closed your mind to the virtues of anything outside of your narrow ideology. How sad; you could learn a lot from us. Like tolerance and open-mindedness, f’rinstance….
