Rock My Vote part 1: What is a liberal, anyway?

I've decided to do a few blog posts about the presidential election. A few (as in more than one) because I have a lot to say. On the presidential election because, well, I just spent four years earning a degree in this crap and I'm determined to put it to use somehow.

I follow a lot of blogs.. something that started out as a hobby, but has since become my own intellectual sustenance.. the majority of which are primarily written by women and are primarily liberal. I'd be fooling myself and everyone else to say I was anything close to being conservative, republican, or "right". I don't read liberal blogs in an effort to find propaganda to support my beliefs, or to seek out witty comebacks to snarky republican comments. I read liberal blogs because I have liberal opinions and liberal stances on issues, and I want to know not only where my peers and fellow politicos stand on issues, but I also want to know their reasonings. I have found that the base of liberals in our country is incredibly diverse in that there is a wide range of belief sets, schemas, associations, opinions, and perspectives that all identify under the same identifying label.

While I'm at it, a lot of people (but mostly just my dad) ask me "what does liberal really mean anyway?" They say, if there are so many very different people with very different opinions and perspectives who identify as liberal, how can there possibly be any clear unification or understanding of the concept of liberal ?

The dictionary offers this for the adjectival form of the word:

1.	favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.

2.	(often initial capital letter) noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform.

3.	of, pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism.

4.	favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, esp. as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.

5.	favoring or permitting freedom of action, esp. with respect to matters of personal belief or expression: a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.

6.	of or pertaining to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies and monarchies.

7.	free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant: a liberal attitude toward foreigners.

8.	open-minded or tolerant, esp. free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc.

9.	characterized by generosity and willingness to give in large amounts: a liberal donor.

10.	given freely or abundantly; generous: a liberal donation.

11.	not strict or rigorous; free; not literal: a liberal interpretation of a rule.

12.	of, pertaining to, or based on the liberal arts.

13.	of, pertaining to, or befitting a freeman.

I think it would be difficult, if not totally incorrect, to suggest that there are "liberal" americans out there who are against any of the identified major liberal issues.The most divisive is certainly reproductive freedom; beyond this, issues like healthcare for everyone, higher minimum wage, fiscal responsibility..are widely accepted and generally agreed with. I prefer to consider that the population of liberal-identifying people in the US simply have different priorities, rather than actually disagreeing or taking opposing opinions.

Most of my friends (maybe all of them - birds of a feather, you know) consider themselves liberal; additionally, they would all have relatively different explanations as to why they identify as such.
I have a friend who is Muslim, and identifies herself as Liberal because she seeks to focus on peaceful solutions, whether the issue is war, equality, or freedom of religion. I have friends who are liberal because they believe fervently in equality, for everyone, and that is their greatest priority in their hope for our country and its leadership. I have friends who are economists, who are politicos, who are teachers, who are artists. In the end, none of them really disagree about the major issues, they are simply motivated by specific and often personal issues.

Liberal. Say it. It's not a dirty word.

while you're practicing, check this out:



Happy Friday.