True Liberalism

[GTAVercetti 0]

This is a very interesting article on how liberalism has been distorted by US politics:

Free to B&B

Why yes, my license number is a palindrome. Thank you for noticing.

[rehmwa 2]

Don't worry, someone will throw the dictionary version of liberal up and say they ascribe to that definition. (as a note to the futility of that maneuver - so would everyone on this forum left or right).

my favorite - liberal - as in a liberal portion of ice cream

I like ice cream

I like that article too - it's one of the main points some here keep trying to bring up about how liberalism -as intended- has nothing to do with the republican party but even -less- to do with the democratic party even though both sides would claim to own the intent behind it.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[billvon 3,120]

Good article. I consider myself a liberal but I'm registered as an independent, because democrats often aren't very liberal when it comes to economic measures or tolerance.

[markd_nscr986 0]

Thanks for the read......I could almost be called a "liberal" by that definition

Marc SCR 6046 SCS 3004

[GTAVercetti 0]

I am also an independent...leaning towards libertarian....which is where I think being liberal really lies.

The site where that article comes from contains some of the best political reading I have ever read. They also publish a magazine for those who want hard copy.

Why yes, my license number is a palindrome. Thank you for noticing.

[TomAiello 26]

Quote

I consider myself a liberal but I'm registered as an independent...

Bill,

Are you a registered member of the American Independent Party? Or of some other third party, or just not of any party?

The term "independent" led me into a lot of confusion a few years back, when I learned that it was actually taken, in some states, as an official party name.

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[billvon 3,120]

>Or of some other third party, or just not of any party?

I'm not registered as part of any party. On our voter registration form there's a spot for 'indepenent/no party affiliation' and another one for "American Independent Party."

[rehmwa 2]

Quote

The term "independent" led me into a lot of confusion a few years back, when I learned that it was actually taken, in some states, as an official party name.

I believe I might still be registered as an independent from when I was 18. At the time I had intended to register "no party" but didn't know about all the party names. (However, I didn't vote for John Anderson regardless of my mistake)

It still isn't worth it to pick either of the major parties until one or the other cleans up their desire to spend spend spend.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[SkydivingNurse 0]

Too true. Most of the hard line leftists in this country are called liberals but seem to be more a bunch of Marxists.
I'd like to consider myself a liberal conservative.

[SpeedRacer 1]

Good article! Thanks for postingthat!

Re. Liberalism: An interesting thing happened in the sixties which may have influenced the way things are now.

The "liberal" position meant you wanted an end to racial segregation. The argument being : you want to protect the rights of African Americans. But in order to do that you had to get laws passed that made it illegal for say, the owner of a restaurant, hotel, etc. to refuse to serve black people.

So here you have an INCREASE in governmental control over private business owners in order to ultimately protect the rights of all Americans, including African Americans.



another example of good governmental intrusion: If you run a business selling food, the board of health will step in & say what you can & cannot do re. sanitation. In return for which the consumer can be reasonably sure that food bought in stores & restaurants is safe to eat.

it's because of things like this that make me say I'm not a libertarian.



--so sometimes governmental intrusion is a good thing, but it definitely can be taken too far.
I guess you're getting into socialism when you start wanting the government to take over for your own ability to support yourself.

Speed Racer
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[TomAiello 26]

There have been both succesful movements for social change, as well as succesful public health initiatives, that did not require (or even worked against) government intervention.

If something is very important, that makes me less likely to trust the government with it--not more.

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[SpeedRacer 1]

my point is that sometimes these successful programs DO have government intervention.

As well they should, as long as we're paying taxes we should get something good in return.

Speed Racer
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[sfzombie13 324]

man, i find myself not being able to bring up a good counter point, in other words, i'm speechless. me too, for the same reasons. great article, i gotta check out the website.

_________________________________________
Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes

[TomAiello 26]

Quote

my point is that sometimes these successful programs DO have government intervention.

Perhaps I misunderstood. It seemed like you were saying that those programs required government intervention in order to be successful.

If they don't require it, and they can still be successful, why mandate it?

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com