WHY I AM A LIBERAL

• abolitionists worked to end the scourge of slavery in this country–a country founded as a slave republic. In the original, unamended, U.S. Constitution, enslaved persons of African descent are only counted as 3/5ths of a person (for the purposes of census)
• Liberals fought for 70 years to win the right to vote for women.
• ended child labor
• created the public school system
• the rights of workers to organize and bargain collectively for fair wages, times of rest, safe working conditions and benefits
• exposed the dangers of tainted meat and other food and created government safety inspections of food and medicines
• created Social Security (greatly decreasing poverty among the elderly–old age had been a time of absolute fear and horror beforehand), Medicare, Medicaid
• Liberals ended segregation (American apartheid)
• to work for racial equality and justice and a multi-cultural society where difference is celebrated rather than demonized
• began the environmental movement
• passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act and the
• Environmental Protection Agency
• A liberal Republicanbroke up the corporate monopolies and created the national park system
  

People matter more than profits.

unlimited profit can never be the bottom line. Profits cannot come at all costs.
People matter more than profits, the welfare of people trumps higher profits

Corporations are not persons

Money is not speech.

They must not be allowed to use their money to purchase “more democracy” than others.

The Earth is meant to be humanity’s home–not our toilet.
We are all connected in a great web of life

Individual liberties are balanced with concern for the common good.

The primary moral values of the political liberal are liberty, equality, & justice, & compassion.

Government (of the people, by the people, for the people) exists not just for defense of property and the enforcement of contracts (the conservative view), but to enable people to work together to those good ends which are difficult or impossible to do separately. debate should be over what constitutes good government.

• Clean government vs. corrupt government,

• competent government vs. ineffective government, or

• responsive government vs. out-of-touch government–

are all the kinds of debates that liberals find more helpful than simple “big vs. small” government debates.

Taxes are a civic tithe.

roads paved, bridges built and kept in repair, levees built and kept in repair–all the infrastructure needed for a healthy society–including a healthy marketplace. Taxes pay for firefighters and police officers and public schools, Social Security, clean water and air, and much else. The rich should pay a greater percentage of their income in taxes because...

Regulations exist to protect the vulnerable.
If you don’t want your food to poison you, it needs to be inspected by the U.S. Dairy and Agriculture dept. (USDA) or the restaraunt you’re going to needs inspecting by the health department. If you don’t want your kids to get sick from lead toys from China, then you need regulations–and enough inspectors to prevent this. If you don’t want oil companies to ravish the planet, then you need strict regulations–and a robust enforcement regime. With “deregulation” of financing comes risky behavior that results in a collapsed economy. Regulations need regular reexamination to see if they need reform, but “deregulation” as a battle cry or a political philosophy is a cry for anarchy and a recipe for disaster.


Liberals do not worship the “good ol’ days.” liberals see the promise of the American dream as always being a struggle–”toward a more perfect union.”