Everyone Is a Liberal

In 2010, it seems that many Americans are liberal when it comes to many issues. We no longer live in a time of discrimination, whether talking about race, gender, sexual preference, etc. Of coarse there are people in this country who support conservative ideas and there are many liberals who have conservative view points on some issues, but the liberal ideology is taking over this country. It also seems that many conservative ways of fixing problems have become outdated and are out of touch with today’s problems. Also minorities are standing up for themselves in unprecedented ways and it seems to be working. Something is happening right now in our culture that is exciting and it seems to be liberals leading the way.

- It was not until President Johnson, that civil rights became something that needed to be dealt with. Before him, civil rights was an important issue that was political suicide and many presidents were hesitant to take on the issue full force. While racism still exists, there are no laws limiting freedoms based on race. President Barack Obama is currently suggesting that the “Don’t ask don’t tell” policy of the military be appealed. It will be a lengthy process, but last week there was the first hearing on the matter in 17 years. In today’s liberal society, there is no reason to keep talented and qualified individuals from serving their country just because of their sexual preference. Women no longer make less money than men. Some studies even suggest that many women make more than men due to qualifying for higher paying jobs. Racial and social discrimination seems to be disappearing right before our eyes.

- The word liberal suggests that you are open to new ideas. When it comes to current world problems, why would you not be open to new ideas or new ways of fixing a given problem? Aren’t we all liberals? Our economy is in it’s worst state since the great depression, we are involved in two wars and unemployment is at around 10%. Shouldn’t we be open to new ideas?

- Conservative talking points and suggestions can be frustrating sometimes. For example, a popular conservative suggestion to fixing economic problems is giving tax cuts to Americans. The theory is that if people keep more of their money, they will spend more which will stimulate the economy. However, this theory does not work during economic situations like our current one because there is no consumer confidence. When people keep more of their money, they will now save it due to fear of the future instead of spending it.

In our current state of the union, many feel it is foolish to not take on new problems with new methods. Liberals have the majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate and there is a liberal president. Liberals seem to be the majority of power in our country and that seems to reflect our population. Everyone is a liberal.

George Bush

Former president George W. Bush was looked at as being one of the most conservative presidents our nation has ever seen, but if you look at his policies you will see that due to certain circumstances he had many liberal views. What he proposed in his campaigns and preached in his speeches is not what historians will view as his legacy. Now it is not be suggested that George W. Bush was secretly a democrat, but the policies he put forward put him in agreement with politicians holding a liberal view on government.

It seems very hypocritical that many President Bush supporters now claim that President Obama is a “socialist”, suggesting that he wants government to be as big as possible. If they are against big government, that is reasonable but President Bush’s administration saw the biggest expansion of government in our nation’s history. Bush supporters are also calling out Obama saying that he spends too much. Being against mass government spending is a valid claim, but it seems odd only because President Bush spent the same amount as of all the preceding presidents combined by the end of his first term. Growing government and mass spending are actions of a politician with liberal views on government. President Bush also had a liberal view when it came to immigration. He supported an amnesty program for illegal immigration. Although it received bi-partisan support, many still consider the policy to take a liberal view. Bush’s support of the McCain-Goldwater immigration reform bill illustrated his willingness to utilize liberal views when signing legislation. Due to the lack of control of Congress, republicans maintained little difficulty in countering the liberal view-point all together and put a stop to comprehensive immigration reform from the outset. President Bush also supported NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) which is an agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada permitting trade between the three countries. NAFTA was signed by President Bill Clintion. A democratic president with very liberal views.

President Bush’s liberal view on some policies should not mistake him as a democrat, but it is only fair to view his policies with honesty. Many republicans try to tarnish democrats by calling them “liberals”. It seems as though they either don’t know what the word means or they are just being hypocritical. Conservatives supported one of the most liberal republican presidents of our time. Only time will tell how President Bush’s presidency will be remembered, but it is clear that he shared and practiced several liberal views. His speeches suggested that he was a hardcore conservative and a republican to the core, but in his case actions speak much louder than words.

American Liberal Mind

The liberal mind in America is a powerful voice that has spoken loud enough that our government has now reflected that voice. A liberal mind in American politics means you are open to new ways of solving problems and dealing with issues. We live in a fast paced world with many ways of instant communication and incredible technology that is evolving on a daily basis. It would seem very foolish to not have a liberal mind in today’s world. The liberal mind of America believes in civil rights, equal opportunity and freedom. “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is what we as Americans still want so not much has changed since the beginning of America in that regard.

It is interesting to think that most Americans have always had a liberal mind, but until recently people had a liberal mind in a conservative country. Up until the 1960s, liberalism was just a hope or a dream for many Americans. The democrats, or liberals now have the majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate and also control the White House. This is a new and exciting time for American politics. Conservative politics will not work well in a liberal world like the one we live in.

Now in a time where we are all equal in terms of the law, the liberal mind can be used and exercised. Our founding fathers had the liberal minds that we Americans in 2010 constantly try to duplicate. We now have the first African-American president in our nation’s history. We as a country cannot forget the importance of this. Look at how African-Americans were treated as little as 40 to 50 years ago. This is an incredible accomplishment that will be in the history books that our kids and our kid’s kids will learn from and it just happened! This is an exciting time for America and the world. It will be the liberal minds of today that get us to the brighter future of tomorrow. Liberal minds across the world are the reason we have achieved the peace we have today. However, we cannot let our success at this point blind us of the troubles we still face as a country. There is still hate, pain and suffering. There are American citizens that cannot afford health care, there is plenty of racism in this country and there are many citizens that sleep on the streets due to no fault of their own. It will be the powerful liberal mind of our president and politicians as well as the liberal spirit of the American people that will help us overcome our problems.

Anything is possible and we all have the passion to succeed. However, for some that passion is a day dream and are too lazy to make our dreams come true. In an age where anything and everything is right at our finger tips, the current generation feels they deserve something for nothing. Parents and especially grandparents of this generation worked hard in order to get what they wanted. Somehow the great technology of today affected the energy and motivation of the youth. We must not let the convenience of technology affect the beauty of the American liberal mind.

Libertarians

Libertarians are a growing demographic in the American political scene. The combination of a stringent two-party system and the over-simplification of central ideas called for a three rail of sorts to introduce new maxims and types of legislation. An American libertarian often pulls their ideas from a mix of historical and modern resources to create a pertinent, but American-based ideal. Historically, many individuals have maintained a libertarian mind-set without deviating from either central parts. On the contrary, recent trends display libertarians identifying with an actual American-libertarian party that gathers more support each year.

- Many libertarians chart their history back to the signing of the Constitution. Although Thomas Jefferson never actually identified himself as a libertarian, many of his ideals came to make-up the beginning of a libertarian-based social theory. The Jeffersonian democracy put-forth several libertarian ideals. Among them included an extreme decentralization of the federal government. Also, Jefferson believed in an overall limited role of the federal government in everyday life, very much to the contrary of the modern political system.

- Modern libertarians often criticize both main political parties. The argument against democrats remains more on the surface as their focus on state-organized welfare and social systems runs contrary to libertarian belief. Republicans, on the other hand, state many libertarian values in their platform but in common practice fail to deviate from the status quo of huge national debts and bloated bureaucracies.

- The recent advent of libertarian-based politics stemmed predominately from Rep. Ron Paul. Paul, former representative of the libertarian party, took national spotlight in the several Republican political debates. His arguments illustrated the modern libertarian belief-set and sent a seismic charge through the modern political system. His debates centered around a clear removal of hundreds of past American focuses.

- Among other considerations, Ron Paul advocated for the end of several failed social programs. First, he claims the War on Drugs policy that began in the 1980s illustrates failed policy that is perpetuated by politics more than good policy. In addition, Paul places doubt on the current FBI/CIA system and cites the incessant waste of money as the prime motivator for initiating wide-spread reforms.

- Libertarians also criticize the supposed free-market system America currently employs. For the most part, libertarians fights for the absolute freedom of the private industry and claim that this is the most effective way to regulate the failed American system. The future of these politics remains unclear, as the main stream media often resulted in poking fun at the insurgent libertarians.

The grass-root support received by Ron Paul indicates a growing trend for a third political party. Libertarians and there new ideas attract many disaffected Americans. Democrats, Republicans, and Independents display an inkling of this libertarian ideal and will most likely incorporate many of these ideas rather than risking lose to them in the future.

Liberal Beliefs

During the presidency of President George W. Bush, our government used conservative means to run our economy. President Bush did not practice one liberal belief when it came to the economy. Bush’s economic policies were similar to Reaganomics. President Bush walked into office with a record surplus and left office with the greatest economic downfall since the great depression. Some would argue that this was due to his conservative ideology and influence on our financial system. Once the housing bubble burst in 2007, it was clear that we needed someone with liberal beliefs to fix our problems.

- President Bush did not have any liberal beliefs when it came to our economy and many believe that if he did, we would not be in our current situation. President Bush practiced basic conservative economics. This meant several massive tax cuts and deregulation of the markets. This is what President Reagan did in the 1980s and Bush continued this for the 8 years he was in office. Conservatives preach tax cuts as a way to fix the economy due to the belief that if Americans keep more of their money they will spend it. However, this usually does not work during times of economic hardship because there is no consumer confidence and people will save there money and not spend it. Many Americans would argue that deregulation of the markets is the main reason we are in this mess. Since there were little to no laws regulating what bankers and traders do, they were able to take incredible risks without worrying about the consequences. Wall street ended up playing a game with derivatives by taking bets on their bets. Bankers were giving mortgages to people they knew could not afford them which created the housing bubble. These are the dangers of deregulating the markets. The liberal belief of regulating markets could have saved us from this mess.

- As soon as President Obama took office, he turned his liberal beliefs into policy by passing the infamous stimulus package. This was done because of the simple liberal belief that by definition, spending money is the only way to stimulate the economy. He is also in the process of passing serious economic reform. If we do not change the rules of our markets, the banks will take the same risks and we will find ourselves in the same situation. It was liberal beliefs that helped us balance our budget while President Clinton was in office.

It is a liberal belief that businesses can enjoy prosperity while being regulated. It is also a liberal belief that growing government in a responsible way will stimulate the economy. Only time will tell if President Obama’s policies and liberal beliefs will fix our economy. Either way, Americans have reason to trust this democratic president because the last time we had a surplus was the last time a democrat held the presidency.

Hippys or Liberalists

The cultural movement during the 1960s was lead by a group of young independent thinking individuals known as hippies. This group stemmed for a revolt against the current government at the time. Generally speaking, the hippies believed in liberalism. They were against the war in Vietnam, in favor of civil rights and many indulged in frequent drug use. Today’s modern hippy would be better classified as liberalists. Many of today’s youth are against the war in Iraq, in favor of civil rights and it seems as though the drug epidemic has only gotten worse. In comparison, both groups are supporters and advocates for similar actions. The only difference is the time in which they live.

- The hippy movement of the 1960s first became popular in San Francisco, CA and Greenwich Village in New York City, but soon spread throughout the country. Hippies believed in liberalismliberalism were a powerful voice in the civil rights movement and may have had influence on the time in which these laws were changed. The liberalists of the 1960s used drugs more than any other American culture before it. They believed that LSD and marijuana would open people’s minds and make the world a more peaceful place.

- In today’s society, the word hippy is rarely used. Instead people with similar beliefs are known as liberalists. These are people who are against the war in Iraq and believe we have no business being there, much like our situation in Vietnam 50 years ago. While liberalists in the 1960s pushed for civil rights for African-Americans, the majority of today’s youth believe that gays and lesbians should have a right to get married and have the same rights as anybody else. The government is in the process of appealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the military and some would suggest that is due to the strong protest for the appeal nation wide. Liberalism today is the same as it ever was. In some cases, this includes drug use as well. The difference is today, the drug laws are much more harsh than they were during the 1960s, creating a much more dangerous environment.

In comparison, there is not much difference between today’s youth and that of the 1960s. Both generations believed in liberalism and felt that peace and tranquility were the best ways to achieving a prosperous nation. Many of the freedoms we enjoy today are due in part to the strong voice of the hippy generation. Today’s youth, while similar to the hippies, seems to have a more unified voice. It is not just the youth pushing for change, but rather people of all ages, race and gender. Only future generations will be able to tell which generation had a bigger impact on our world.