 Voices For Freedom Read Columns
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© 2006 Daniel J. McLaughlin We Need Real Liberals The political term “liberal” has been around for a long time, and until the middle of the last century, it’s meaning was quite clear. Liberal is derived from the Latin term “liber”, meaning free. Politically, it is the philosophy of individual freedom. There is no clearer meaning of the word. From the time of the rise of liberty out of the ashes of feudalism and oppression, people knew that the term referred to rejection of government intervention in the lives of it’s citizens and the assumption of personal responsibility for the results of one’s own actions. In many parts of the world, that is still the meaning of the term “liberal”. A curious thing happened in America with the dawning of the twentieth century, however. The term was subverted by socialists to mean policies of intervention and paternalism. In one instance, former US Senator, Joseph S. Clark, in 1953, described the modern liberal position while he was still mayor of Philadelphia, using these words: “To lay a ghost at the outset and to dismiss semantics, a liberal is here defined as one who believes in utilizing the full force of government for the advancement of social, political, and economic justice at the municipal, state, national, and international levels.... A liberal believes government is a proper tool to use in the development of a society which attempts to carry Christian principles of conduct into practical effect.” That view of liberalism has been bandied about for so long that it has become the accepted usage of the word in America, even though it is the absolute antithesis of the true meaning. It is amazing that nobody ever questions that when discussing liberal politics. How can people talk about a liberal position, about liberty, when referring to the use of government force and coercion to impress someone’s view of a good society on the rest of the citizens? There must be some logic there, but it is very elusive. America is in dire need of liberals today, the kind of liberals who understand why the United States Constitution was purposely designed to circumscribe severely limited government power and to provide checks and balances against the abuse of power by politicians. America needs the kind of liberals who understand why the bloated, unbridled, runaway government we have today is such a danger to it’s citizens. Government power is the enemy of liberty. That is the essence of what the Declaration of Independence said. When government becomes destructive to the unalienable rights of the people, including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, it is the right of the people to abolish it and establish a new one. Our government has become destructive to our rights, and is becoming more so every day. We have a way to change government without violence. It is the electoral system. We have only to decide to take action. Most legislative posts favor incumbents by a wide margin. That is probably because the incumbent has a huge advantage in visibility and publicity. The incumbent is also a known quantity and the challenger is not. At this time, almost all of those known quantities are not defenders of our rights, but rather defenders of government programs, benefits and pet projects with which they can dazzle the people and buy votes. By keeping those known abusers of liberty in office we can be sure that government will further encroach on our rights, your rights as an individual. Removing the abusers would send a strong message to our leaders that we cherish our liberty. America is unique in the history of the world. It is an experiment that has worked to the extent that the constitutional formula has been followed. As we move further from the constitutional groundwork of limited government, we are taking on more of the characteristics of countries that call themselves “progressive”, and experiencing more of their problems and dismal circumstances. The strength of America is individual liberty. That is what made America strong. America needs real liberals to speak out and step out. What kind of liberal are you? |
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Daniel Mclaughlin
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