Liberal

Liberal (noun) -
A person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties (political - modern)
A person who favors an economic theory of laissez-faire and self-regulating markets (economic - classical)

Ok, I am not a classical liberal, I believe as any entity gets too large and powerful it restricts the freedom and liberties of others and there are costs associated with new entities entering the market that can prevent correction. To prevent this there should be separate entities that provide a check and balance on powers. This is a balance-of-powers approach which I think is at the heart of the American Constitution and I apply this principle to the economic, religious, and social spheres as well as the political.

Webster: Liberalism - a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties."

adjective:
Showing or characterized by broad-mindedness
Having political or social views favoring reform and progress
Tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition
Given or giving freely
Not literal

synonyms: tolerant, progressive, openhanded, loose, handsome, giving, freehanded, free, broad, bountiful, bounteous, bighearted, big

From Political Strikes:

Liberal: ...generous, abundant, lavish, broadminded, tolerant, enlightened, charitable among others. Not bad, eh?

Conservative: ...stingy, miserly, reactionary, regressive, bigoted, prejudiced, biased, narrow-minded and more. Ouch!

Considering that, and the track record of conservatives (anti-women voting, anti-blacks voting, pro-segregation, pro-Vietnam War, anti-Head Start, etc.) you can see why I would be embarrassed to call myself a conservative.


What brought this on was the latest DOMAI newsletter, contains nudity.

Eolake: I think it is a crime that basic words in our language are co-opted by political and commercial forces, thus corrupting our ability to communicated clearly.

and a Christian writer closes:

Keep up the good work. God loves you all. And in closing I would like to briefly mention the girls of DOMAI are in my prayers, because I think so highly of them.

James P