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Liberalism |
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To the ramparts, my fellow Democrats! When previewing possible candidates for the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination, an article in a newspaper assessed, among several others, Senator Clinton of New York. The article noted a negative factor for her could be an inability to "escape the stain of liberalism." That's not the first time people have made statements like that. Senator Kerry tried his best during the 2004 Presidential campaign to dodge what is often called the "liberal label." Clearly the conservative movement has been successful at turning the word 'liberal' into a 4-letter word. However, liberalism is the principle this nation was founded on. We live in a liberal democracy and liberalism isn't something that one should seek to escape from or be stained by. This article, along with certain people I know, and an entire conservative movement remind me that the achievements of liberalism and its tremendous contributions to our society simply don’t receive the praise with which it most certainly deserves. Because liberalism is so poorly represented by those who are bias against it, it has become something that a news article could refer to as a 'stain' without thinking twice. Conservative commentator and Fox News host Sean Hannity titled a book of his "Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism." However liberalism has done much for our society and we all benefit from it in every facet of our daily lives. The Democracy Bonds initiated by Governor Dean is a tremendous step to challenge the power of that conservative machine, precinct by precinct, block by block. Through this, we can show that the ideals of Liberalism are worthy of respect and admiration. But what, exactly, is Liberalism? Simply put, it is a philosophical idea that began to develop hundreds of years ago and has since advanced progressively, challenging authority and seeking to give meaning to lives of the average person. The Reformation of the Church by Martin Luther is often cited as one of the defining moments of the ideology. Great thinkers like Kant and Locke contributed much to the ideology. Our country was the first to be founded on the liberal ideals giving the power to the masses through a strong central government that is made for the people, by the people. The basis of liberalism is the rights and freedoms of people, with the word Liberal is derived from the Latin word liber meaning free, which also forms the word liberty. Today our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness which liberal Thomas Jefferson borrowed from Locke, along with the freedoms of speech, religion and conscience found in our national Constitution make for the base of modern liberalism. Liberalism is an ideology based on equal rights, liberties, and freedom from oppression. Liberal ideology, like our society has grown progressively since the founding of the country. The ideals of individual rights and equality were applied to all people, and resulted in the emancipation of slaves. These ideals went further and led to the equal rights of women and opened up their right to vote. Progress is what Liberalism really means; moral progress, economic progress, and social progress to benefit all humanity. This represents the path towards a better world. At its heart, Liberalism is an optimistic philosophy. What, exactly, has Liberalism done for me? I could never come up with a complete list, as there are so many contributions we take for granted. Of the easily forgotten things is the Interstate Highway System which is responsible for tremendous economic growth and prosperity. Liberalism has targeted workplace safety and labor rights, ending child labor, giving us the 40 hour work weeks, the right of employees to collectively bargain, eliminating unsafe working conditions, providing unemployment insurance and overtime pay. Another strong suit of liberalism is the environment, providing us with our National Parks and Wildlife Refuges. Liberals also advance the endangered species laws and anti-pollution laws that attempt to save our planet for our children. Liberal programs are assisting those who are challenged, disadvantaged, disenfranchised or less able to take care of themselves with programs such as Social Security, welfare, Earned Income Credit, and Medicaid/MediCal. Liberalism provides generations of Americans health care, financial aid, food services, W.I.C. for mothers, and retirement aid. All of this is done with the hope of preventing abject poverty among the poorest among us - our single mothers, and our elderly. President Kennedy inspired thousands of Americans to ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country and followed that by creating the Peace Corps for the benefit of the world, and President Johnson followed that by creating the AmeriCorps for the benefit of our nation. President Carter leads by example by combining Habitat for Humanity with Johnsons AmeriCorps to build homes for families in need. Liberal ideals drove one of the biggest changes in American society with the civil rights movement. Advanced first by the integration of our armed forces under President Truman, and moving to the Civil Rights Act conceived by Kennedy and Martin Luther King, and culminating in signing it into law by President Johnson. After gaining the right to vote through the advance of liberal ideals, women followed it with a national women’s movement to ensure the right to their bodies and achieve equality with men. The reason America is so strong is because we have well educated citizens. Public schooling, from grade school through college, is the true melting pot of America, where every student, regardless of economic background can be taught the basics of citizenship. If not for liberalism public grade and high schools, community college, the University of California or State schools would not be here, and there would be no such thing as financial aid. Many of us also take for granted the U.S. Geological Survey, NASA, and the National Weather Service - liberal services that help us prepare for earthquakes, landslides and hurricanes as well as teaching us of the cosmos, physics, and helping us achieve greater enlightenment. Government funded water and sewage systems are an important part of our lives which we all take for granted. In addition, organizations such as the National Institute of Health and the Center for Disease Control, the world's foremost authority and defense against infectious disease and epidemic, play an important part in maintaining our national health and preventing epidemics through research, and vaccination programs. We comfortably use banks because liberals created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) giving federal insurance for your bank deposits. Members of our armed services receive extra pay while in harms way, assistance from Veterans Affairs, health care, home loans, the GI Bill and a whole host of other liberal benefits. Who can deny the benefits of Public Broadcasting? Millions of our children have learned from shows like Sesame Street, Mister Rogers and so many more. Millions of us continue to learn from programs on PBS and NPR that serve to enrich our national culture. Because most of us are not physically challenged, we may not notice the tremendous benefits afforded by the Americans with Disabilities Act, offering everything from generally accessibility to brail to hearing assistance. The Family and Medical Leave Act mandates that you have the right to leave your job without losing your job to take care of sick family members, or to have a child. Because of liberals, we have libraries to inform and enlightened all of us, and museums to inspire and captivate each of us. Whether you’re a conservative or moderate or liberal, none of us can honestly deny the benefits of applying the liberal ideology, which includes the rule of law based on our Constitution, civil rights for all, universal public education, tolerance of differences, a social safety net, employee rights, environmental protection, and so much more; liberals promote and advance causes that are above reproach within our liberal democracy. As a result, Democrats must win elections in every state and territory of the United States, at every level of office. There is no one I know who can better sum up and defend the ideals of liberalism than my personal favorite, President John F. Kennedy. In 1960 he said a liberal is "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... I'm proud to say I'm a Liberal." As am I. |
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