Liberalism - What It Means To Be A Liberal. from LIBERAL SLANT

LIBERALISM

What Liberals Stand For

Freedom...

...of conscience

You have the right to think as you wish.

...of religion

You have the right to worship as you please. The government has no business either supporting or opposing religion.

...of speech

You have the right to express your views, whatever they may be. Only in the free marketplace of ideas can truth emerge.

Civil rights

All people are equal under the law. Any type of discrimination based on the immutable factors of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or gender is not only inconsistent with a free society, but is immoral as well.

Universal public education

Equality of opportunity requires all Americans to have access to a basic education consistent with maintaining informed citizenship and the ability to participate fully in society.

Tolerance of Differences

Because we are all unique beings, with different skills, needs, and wants, we must respect the life choices of others as long as their life choices do not infringe on the rights enjoyed by other citizens.

A Social Safety Net

Recognizing that circumstances beyond mortal control play a part in all our lives, a basic social safety net shall be available to all who need it, not as a permanent lifestyle, but rather as a helping hand to get back on one's feet.

Employees' Rights

We spend most of our lives working. Work is the foundation of our economy and a major part of the glue holding together communities. The employee is an equal business partner with the employer, and as such, has the right to collectively bargain for terms of employment.

Environmental Protection

Contrary to some people's opinions, it is possible to both protect the environment and sustain economic growth. We support taking all reasonable and responsible steps to protect the environment and the species contained therein.

Strong Families

The family is the primary social unit in America. It must be respected, and encouraged in all its forms. Government should make policy with this in mind.

Responsibility

With rights come responsibilities. Exercising our rights means taking responsibility for our actions, and their effects on others.

Free Enterprise

The capitalist economic system is the most efficient solution to providing for peoples' wants and needs. Government's role is that of a regulator, not a controller of industry, and any regulation must only be for the good of society as a whole, and not for the benefit of any one entity.

Rule of Law

Law is the framework in which society operates. There can be no society without justice. Justice means that those who commit crimes must be made to answer for them, and that the criminal code is fair and wisely constructed. When criminal actions go unpunished, respect for the law weakens. The law applies to all, including all agents of the government.

...most importantly, Progress

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 Liberalism is Not

Liberalism is not socialism
...socialism is the Government owning everything. No liberal would ever advocate such a disastrous idea!

Liberalism is not communism
...communism is everybody owning everything equally, without any government at all. Nobody advocates such a wild experiment!

Liberalism is not collectivism
...collectivism is simply a group of people acting towards a common goal. Interest groups are a form of collectivism, so are the Boy Scouts, the Army, and a football team!

Liberalism is not statism
...statism can be defined as strong central government . Every political group (other than Libertarians) advocates some form of statism.

Liberalism is not big government
...Big government is nothing more than a convenient straw man that conservatives use against liberals. Somehow social programs are defined as big government, while corporate welfare and religious indoctrination are not!

What is conservatism?
Is it not adherence to the old and tried,against the new and untried? - Abraham Lincoln

What Conservatives Stand For

Limited Freedom...

...of religion

The Christian tradition is what makes America strong. The government should support Christianity and make its policies in a manner that supports conservative Christian values.

...of speech

Citizens have a right to responsible exercise of free speech. Speech which is indecent or damaging to the public morality should not be protected.

Limited civil rights

In general, discrimination based on race is wrong, but private businesses should be allowed to discriminate if they want. Civil rights laws are an overstepping of government authority.

No public education

Education is not a right. The government should provide each family a credit so their child may attend the private or religious school of their choice.

Limited tolerance of Differences

In general, any behavior or way of living that is different from the majority is suspect. Minorities may be tolerated if they make a concerted effort to fit in and hide themselves. This limited tolerance does not extend to homosexuals, who ought to face severe social and legal sanction.

No Social Safety Net

A social safety net of any type is not necessary. It is each individual's responsibility, not the Government's, to look out for themselves and deal as best they can with whatever circumstances or bad luck they may encounter. Religious charities ought to provide any needed social services.

Limited Employees' Rights

An employer may set the conditions of employment however he or she wishes. The employee has the choice to take it or leave it. Under no circumstances should employees organize for better working conditions. Individual employees may simply quit if they do not like their place of employment.

No Environmental Protection

Protecting the environment is simply not needed. It is more important to sustain expanding economic growth at all costs. It is simply a waste of resources to protect the environment. The free market will protect our air and water.

Limiting Families

The traditional nuclear family (working father, stay-at-home mother, children) is to be encouraged at all costs. Other forms of family do not deserve any respect or legal protection.

Free Enterprise

The capitalist economic system is the most efficient solution to providing for peoples' wants and needs. Government has no role in the economy except to get out of the way.

...most importantly, Order

Conservatism is based on order. Traditions should continue. It is the responsibility of people in society to live in such a way that society stays ordered. Ordered Christian liberty is what America should encourage.

"A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs that is incapable of walking forward."Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945; U.S. statesman, 32nd President of the United States)

I believe in human dignity as the source of national purpose, in human liberty as the source of national action, in the human heart as the source of national compassion, and in the human mind as the source of our invention and our ideas. It is, I believe, the faith in our fellow citizens as individuals and as people that lies at the heart of the liberal faith. For liberalism is not so much a party creed or set of fixed platform promises as it is an attitude of mind and heart, a faith in man's ability through the experiences of his reason and judgment to increase for himself and his fellow men the amount of justice and freedom and brotherhood which all human life deserves

I believe also in the United States of America, in the promise that it contains and has contained throughout our history of producing a society so abundant and creative and so free and responsible that it cannot only fulfill the aspirations of its citizens, but serve equally well as a beacon for all mankind. I do not believe in a superstate. I see no magic in tax dollars which are sent to Washington and then returned. I abhor the waste and incompetence of large-scale federal bureaucracies in this administration as well as in others. I do not favor state compulsion when voluntary individual effort can do the job and do it well. But I believe in a government which acts, which exercises its full powers and full responsibilities. Government is an art and a precious obligation; and when it has a job to do, I believe it should do it. And this requires not only great ends but that we propose concrete means of achieving them.

Our responsibility is not discharged by announcement of virtuous ends. Our responsibility is to achieve these objectives with social invention, with political skill, and executive vigor. I believe for these reasons that liberalism is our best and only hope in the world today. For the liberal society is a free society, and it is at the same time and for that reason a strong society. Its strength is drawn from the will of free people committed to great ends and peacefully striving to meet them. Only liberalism, in short, can repair our national power, restore our national purpose, and liberate our national energies.

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean 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 -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."

John Fitzgerald Kennedy

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