Liberals are Evil!

Yes, that's right. Liberals are evil! At least that is what conservatives have convinced many people to believe. It has been a remarkably successful campaign to redefine a term that has been in political and cultural use forever.

Webster defines liberal as: "Function: noun: a person who is liberal: as a : one who is open-minded or not strict in the observance of orthodox, traditional, or established forms or ways b capitalized : a member or supporter of a liberal political party c : an advocate or adherent of liberalism especially in individual rights."

Since when is open-minded considered to be bad? It all comes down to semantics. And when you want to simplify political discourse, it is convenient to apply a label, especially when the label is so distorted.

Think about where America would be without liberals. (in the true sense of the word) Had there been no liberals, America would: (1) still be an English colony; (2) have slavery; (3) still have child labor abuses; (4) have no Social Security or Medicare for retirees; (5) still have legal segregation in the South; (6) have much more polluted air and water; (7) have no Black stars in sports, including representing America in the Olympic Games.

I could go on and on. My point is that the meaning of the term liberal has been distorted terribly, as if a liberal is a bad person. Whenever someone throws that term out, ask them to define it. That should be a challenge. Or, ask them if the following Americans are evil: Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, Martin Luther King. These great Americans were responsible for great changes for the better in our country. They could be considered liberals because they were open-minded and made changes.

So, let's get back to genuine political discourse and throw out the labels and just listen honestly.

God Bless America!