Its interesting, I’ve read so many odd things this week that meld together in this contraption that runs my physical being. Religion, Liberalism, Science. Open-mindedness.
I’ve seen sites co-opted in the past by people insisting our rage against the liars and the murderous bastards at the helm of this nation is illiberal… since good liberals don’t ever use language that might “dehumanize” another. You all know where I stand on that touchy-feely bullshit.
I’ve seen other blogs, in the name of free speech, let pedantic madmen, bullies or right-wingers set the tone, just by sheer screaming volume, since real liberals must allow everyone a turn at the podium. Right… lets let Dick Cheney frame the day!
I’ve heard people say we need to find a moral reasoning to support our stances. I’ve heard people say we are too connected to science, and not connected enough to faith.
So, in no particular order, I’m going to shit pearls of Liberal wisdoms, and what I think to be the obvious morality behind them.
Lets start with the oldest philosophical question of all about what “goodness” is, and how it is weighed in a society. The few vs the many? Kind of a no brainer. You learned it in kindergarten whether or not you studied any religion. Its called the Golden Rule.
As a Liberal, why yes, I do want a European type Social Democracy.
Do unto others. I want everyone in the world to be able to be educated, be healthy, have a home and food…. I don’t want one kid in the class to get all the cookies, while the other’s tummies grumble.
There is no place in a Liberal World for people to starve while others throw away massive tons of food to keep prices up.
If you look at any tables that address a society’s standing in matters of health, happiness, free time, crime, productivity… those at the stellar end of that spectrum are all socialist countries with higher taxes, and yet better standards of living than pure capitalist countries.
The morality on this is simple… sharing good, selfishness, bad.
Liberals do not have to stand mute against those who are doing untold harms against others.
Protect the weak, another simple moral standard.
That said, there is a huge difference between language and action. Is it wrong to call neo-cons monsters or just plain stupid? No, because there is truth there. People who kill others for profit are monsters. People who support the Elites that oppress them are stupid. Language Nazis are not Liberals, they are poseurs. Glenn Beck is a monster who uses his speech to move the masses against the weakest segments of society, the most oppressed segments to insure their oppression as surely as Gobles did for Hitler.
It is Liberal to fight, by any means necessary, the few who oppress the weak. Again, school child morality: You stop the bully from beating the crap out of the littlest kid.
Now. As for “allowing all voices at the table”? That is absurdity. One does not invite Ted Bundy for dinner. The truly crazed must be, like a bad apple, not allowed to spoil the peck. Liberals do understand that there will always be a segment of society that are sociopaths, and must take precautions to not allow those to lead.
There are things that should never be for-profit.
Another “Do Unto Others” moment. Liberals see all humans on this planet as relatives. Would you decide one Uncle’s family may not have health care, and another Aunt’s family not to have education? Would you cut off your Daughter’s source of heat in the coldest of winters?
This is not only moral, but WISE. When people’s most basic needs are met, they become much more productive members of said society. Crime goes down. Educated people come up with new ideas. Mutual compassion grows, self-interest wanes.
It is only moral to see that all of our human tribe has safe, renewable energy, the ability to house and feed their families, keep them healthy and educate them to become productive members.
Health, utilities and education should be free; a societal contract in which all both give and receive.
Religion and Politics should never mix.
All humans should be able to worship, or refrain from being involved in, any religious group they wish; with full assurance that no constraints may be placed upon them by another creed’s wishes.
The morality stands that all humans have a right to their own thoughts, beliefs and feelings. Any state approved or mandated religion is by nature oppressive of those who do not share that belief.
War and Torture are Wrong.
Killing people is placing immoral value of your life over the value of another’s. A just war is rare; a just war in an equitable world that looks out for the value and happiness of all its citizens is unthinkable. Wars never create common good. Wars are over goods, property, selfishness; and in the end create more problems by making enemies out of people who should be looking to be allies. It creates generational scars that lead to hate.
Torture? Inhumanity is never a Liberal value. Torture has been proven time and time again to be ineffective.. people in pain will say anything to make the pain stop. Would you shock the genitals of your father, make him watch while your sister and mother are gang raped?
Do no ill. Cause no pain. Mean people suck. This is obvious morality. Compassion is Liberal.
Scientific belief is Liberal.
The rub here is that Evangelical types like to point out Science is Theory, thus imperfect; while Science likes to point out So Too Is Faith.
What only the students of Science seem to understand is that Science is not a “thing” it is a PROCESS.
The effects of pollution on an environment is a observable thing. So too is global warming. Evolution has been tested; see how many breeds of dogs came from wolf. Is it theory? Of course, science is always theory, and leaves room for growth.
Was old science mostly voodoo, and will ours be seen someday as such? With any hope. But the process of observing one’s environment, testing the variables, and looking for solutions is a tangible way to create an understanding of the world in which we live.
Science itself may explain the miracles of what we see as psuedo-science. As we delve deeper into particulate matter, energy, and its transfer, we may come to understand our connectivity to the world and one another.
Why is it Liberal and Moral to support science? Well, golly, its better than reading tea-leaves in a predictive model. It has brought us bone-marrow for children with cancer, and wells for those in lands of drought. It has brought us the ability to understand clean water, and the dangers of ruining our environment. It seeks answers for the Common Good.
Liberals Cannot Abide “phobic hate behaviors.”
Sexism, racism, gender or orientation-ism is wrong. It is immoral to decree that any group of people are less human than you by who or what they are. Humans are only judged if their actions harm others.
Again do unto… duh.
Liberals Care for their Environment
The moral stance is that we must leave our progeny a livable environment. Killing our life support system is selfish, stupid, illiberal and immoral.
The greater good.
In conclusion?
It is MORAL to oppose anything, anyone, any propaganda that seeks to oppose what is good for all humanity.
Liberals have the simple belief that all people are worthy of respect, dignity, security and the right to thrive to their full potential.
Liberals may also believe that those who oppose these things are abominations to the greater good. Liberals oppose all that is selfish, greedy, disinterested, or hateful.
To be Liberal is to be Moral.
Liberal Values ARE Moral Values.
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oppose anything, anyone, any propaganda that seeks to oppose what is good for all humanity?
I don’t know, but I think it’s immoral not to.
Our task is to spread this idea of what it means to be liberal though I think we need to be careful of the term since many people who claim to be liberals in the Democratic Party are clearly not by your definitions.
I think maybe the most important part of your essay is this:
Liberal/Progressives have made a big mistake in not asserting their values and perceptions. In short, they (we) have been a bit dishonest. They thought that the MIC was monstrous but were afraid to say so for fear of offending the flag-wavers. This has kept us from having a healthy debate. Being honest is not the same as being belligerent. It should be up to the defenders of imperialism on the left and right to make an argument for violence. They haven’t had to make that argument. Also, the oligarchs who do not share their culture at all have been hypnotizing the idiot class into thinking that up is down and down is up–they need to be called stupid because they are literally in a stupor.
I generally don’t think people that blog here have a problem with being honest about what they feel. We should be proud of our honesty and not mince words even when we go over to places like DKOS about our essential values. We have to make a case that there is a personal and social advantage to have a love of the collective including the “weak” who may have hidden gems to offer. By feeling comfortable, accepted and welcome in a society is very important and those, particularly who claim to be social democrats/liberals, need to be taken to task turning away from those values.
I have a lot of compassion for my enemies and I love even those that follow Beck or Beck himself and this is a part of my own spiritual visions–this is not because I have some belief that I ought to love everyone. I actually feel that way due to certain experiences and circumstances that allowed me to experience that compassion that I feel is all-embracing.
So, I have a little problem with the general attitude liberals have of religion. For me Theology is the Queen of the Sciences. To put it differently, our mythical frameworks always determine our identity as social beings. This diary is an attempt to set a framework on which to base our actions and attitudes. It is a mythical and religious framework because they are values that bind us together and to a “practice” or a set of principles on which we live. These values are a result of thousands of years of civilized thought on religion. Science is an approach to external knowledge only. You can be religious and scientific. Science cannot approach the great mysteries of life–it can only order some phenomena and is an excellent tool but it can never be, in my view, a mythical framework.
Thank you for these good and true words. More uplifting energy and speaking of truth is what will re-make the world in a moral vision.
used as a distraction. It’s easier to carp at someone because they said “bitch slap” (by the way for me b* is a gender neutral term, heh) than if you actually had a rebuttal to their argument.
There’s a whole lot of illiberalism masquerading as liberalism .. a whole lot of, in fact, Republicanism masquerading as Democrat-ism. I think there was a huge influx of Republicans abandoning their party when Obama got elected, and they brought their Republicanism with them.
To get people to not see it, though, you have to dumb down and personalize philosophical and political conflicts.
But, one thing I see elsewhere is a whole lot of what I call Republican culture. A whole lot of lying, rationalizing, authority driven behavior.