Someone asked me recently, “How could you be a liberal”? As if Liberal is some sort of dirty word.
Aside from the obvious answer - I work for a living, I thought of a statement by JFK:
“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."
But I think that it may be clearer to state why I am not a conservative. My beliefs can be summarized in four simple points.
1. I believe that the Economy is in place to serve the people– that people do not serve the economy. The pursuit of happiness requires a safe and secure populace. The economy is a collective which exists to lift up a people to a desired level of happiness. The economy provides the boot straps by which we the people pull ourselves up. Our current economy is designed to be served.
2. The Government’s relationship to the economy is one that facilitates a strong middle class. The government should do all that is in its power to protect the people from lasefair
capitalism. The government should not be facilitating a free for all drop to the bottom (see NAFTA, GATT, WTO)
3. I believe that an employer does not simply give a person a job. It's not a one-sided relationship. An employer hires you to perform a function that makes money for the company or organization. The employer makes money from you! You are just as important to the employer as the employer is to you. A job is not a favor.
4. I believe that labor unions are a fundamental right of passage. Labor Unions bring Democracy to an otherwise feudal workplace .
These beliefs are NOT radical as some would say ; they are as American as apple pie.
So the real questions is: How can anyone who works for a living be a Conservative Republican?
Aside from the obvious answer - I work for a living, I thought of a statement by JFK:
“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." But I think that it may be clearer to state why I am not a conservative. My beliefs can be summarized in four simple points.
1. I believe that the Economy is in place to serve the people– that people do not serve the economy. The pursuit of happiness requires a safe and secure populace. The economy is a collective which exists to lift up a people to a desired level of happiness. The economy provides the boot straps by which we the people pull ourselves up. Our current economy is designed to be served.
2. The Government’s relationship to the economy is one that facilitates a strong middle class. The government should do all that is in its power to protect the people from lasefair
capitalism. The government should not be facilitating a free for all drop to the bottom (see NAFTA, GATT, WTO)3. I believe that an employer does not simply give a person a job. It's not a one-sided relationship. An employer hires you to perform a function that makes money for the company or organization. The employer makes money from you! You are just as important to the employer as the employer is to you. A job is not a favor.
4. I believe that labor unions are a fundamental right of passage. Labor Unions bring Democracy to an otherwise feudal workplace .
These beliefs are NOT radical as some would say ; they are as American as apple pie.
So the real questions is: How can anyone who works for a living be a Conservative Republican?
posted by Van at 6:09 AM
7 Comments:
In the current economic climate, the middle class will not only continue to implode under the weight of Washington's policy makers, it will continue to shrink. More and more American citizens are falling off the precipice- going from "middle class" to "below the poverty line." This is particularly true of single mothers and fathers. Although it is not government's job to take care of us, the skewed statistics coming out of DC make the faithful believe everything is just fine. Gross domestic product now includes mortgage refinancing. In other words, our GDP is based on debt. How does that work? The Chinese produce consumer goods, and we produce debt... And this is a good sign? Who knew...
Great points! We have been seeing the middle class slip further and further away under this administration. I hyperlinked to your blog from mine and did a post about your blog. Wish I had time to write more original stuff. I'm going to have to discipline myself to do so.
Let me first say, I agree.
I am a conservative, as you know, but I think these problems are no longer addressed by either party. Illegal immigration is another example of this.
I keep hoping for a non-crazy third party to rise up, but I don't think it's going to happen anytime soon. Something that combines what I see as the unique strengths of each. Of course my dad, an old school, blue collar Chicago democrat is much, much more conservative than I am, yet he pisses and moans that his son is a Republican (I'm not actually, registered independent, thank you very much), yet whenever I bring up an issue, he's far to the right of me. Just strikes me as kind of funny and telling as to how the parties change and mutate.
Anyway, good post and thanks for blogrolling us, as soon as I delazify and de-flu I will add you to ours.
Most excellent question. I ask it all the time and never get an honest answer. It is truly amazing how many people just don't get it.
PS thanks for stopping by the blog and welcome to the roll.
Agreed with everyone above. I, too, would like to see a third party rise from the stinking ashes, but it's not likely - not in my lifetime.
Big money has run the country for a long, long time but the corruption has never been so blatant and brazen. Pick your initiave - ANY initiative - and you can see the corporate hand at work.
I saw a great bumpersticker the other day on a beat-up Chevy truck that works here. I'm paraphrasing: A worker voting for a Republican is like a chicken supporting Colonel Sanders.
Love it!
Great points, both in the post and the comments above. I'm especially enamored of kate's bumper sticker above.
I'm glad I found your blog - via your comment at mine!
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