Today, on facebook, the following (fully accurate) definition of the word “liberal” is being posted.
I would like to thank whoever decided to remind us of the word’s true meaning. Now, let’s see how some of the people who think they are liberals meet, or do not meet, those definitions.
Would you say that hard leftists left in this country possess/manifest free and generous hearts – for anyone but people who share their views?
Would you call them broadminded, or intolerant of people who do not share their views?
Would you call them free from narrowness? Bigotry? The people whose first line of attack often is defining us by skin color, gender and age?
Can you possibly think of them as advocates of liberty of thought? Speech? Action? The folks who bark out insulting judgments on people who do not think the way they do? Who are vigilant about speech codes? Who have no problem disrupting our lives to march, block traffic, even vandalize on behalf of whatever their cause du jour happens to be?
The one and only part of this definition which seems to make sense is that part about not being bound to authority. Bingo, that’s one.
Is the hard right any better? Frankly, no.
But that’s the point. Hardliners tend not to be liberal; certainly not in the true sense of the word. In this regard, neither side has any monopoly on the high ground.
I wish more of them would realize as much.
