Being a "Liberal"

No - not talking LNP as they seem to have lost the meaning of Liberal - but rather this extract from a prominent JFK speech:

"What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label, "Liberal"? If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of "Liberal." But, 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 that 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 that I'm a "Liberal."

I wear my Liberal badge with pride

Full speech here: Address of John F. Kennedy upon Accepting the Liberal Party Nomination for President, New York, New York, September 14, 1960 | JFK Library

 

Always been lower case L liberal. Probably always will be.

 

It is an interesting concept. The strong libertarian movement seem to think it is all about their rights to be left alone and do what they want without interference from government, but there is no discussion around the complementary responsibilities that go with that. They are happy to reap the rewards of participating in a community, but want to pick and choose where they contribute back to that community.

Cheers,
Inertia

 

Yeap. Unbelievably naive belief that they(modern conservatives and libertarians) did it all by themselves.

 

Liberal with the truth?

 

Yes, a bit of a generalisation but I think a fairly valid one. I would also argue that most 'classic conservatives' would probably be considered left wingers by most of today's 'Conservatives'...

 

Ah yes, the people who were born in a log cabin they built themselves...

 

And bought their own F35s.

 

Sounds like extremists who have taken the fringe - not the run-of-the-mill middle ground liberals - sadly there are fanatics on every side of the political circle

 

true. It tends to be those (often Americans) proclaiming the libertarian label.

I didn't understand just how much of a nanny state NSW is until I traveled over seas. I am not quite at the small-government, taxation-is-theft level, but we are way over-governed.

Cheers,
Inertia.

 

I would argue that Libertarian's are not "liberals" - as they are usually obsessed with self and harking for the "past" ... complete opposite of what liberals are

 

libertarians believe in liberty

Liberals think the state should look after citizens from cradle to casket .
Unfortunately in order for them to get their turn to suck on the government teat ,
they have to play the oppressed victim card .

 

Actually no ... read the quote in the original post to find out what liberals think.

As discussed in many a thread - your idea of a liberal, and what a liberal actually is, are two different things

 

I wonder if this explains you're belief of "liberal" whereas, us olders, have more a JFK view of what a liberal is ...

"I think the word “socialism” has largely lost its meaning in American politics because it has been used by the right to describe pretty much anything they disagree with. To the extent there’s a conversation around democratic socialism — even that seems to be a little squishy in terms of what it actually means.

I think of myself as progressive. But I also believe in capitalism, but it has to be democratic capitalism.

Part of the problem here is that you have one generation that grew up associating socialism with communism like they’re the same thing, and therefore also assuming that capitalism and democracy were inseparable. I’ve grown up in a time when you can pretty much tell that there’s tension between capitalism and democracy, and negotiating that tension is probably the biggest challenge for America right now.

You don’t have to look that hard to find examples of capitalism without democracy — Russia leaps to mind. And when you have capitalism without democracy, you get crony capitalism and eventually oligarchy. So a healthy capitalist system, working within the rule of law, is the stuff of American growth and can be the stuff of equitable growth. But we don’t have that right now” ... Presidential candidate Buttigieg, who was born in 1982

 

no it doesn't explain it at all

you bought up socialism ???? that's a straw man argument

 

I have not idea what you mean by "straw man".

Many confuse being liberal with socialism - and then confuse socialism with libertines

 

Modern “progressives” follow social liberalism. I am much more aligned with classical liberalism; Adam Smith, civil liberties, property rights and rule of law....and pragmatism over doctrine. I suppose centre right, economically “conservative” but not socially.

 

It's the right that uses socialism to construct a strawman. @Lizzie was challenging that strawman.

 

again ........ I didn't bring up socialism , lizzie did and now you