What is your take on what it means to be a liberal?
960304
Here is the definition from my websters dictionary.\n\nConservative: favoring traditional veiws and values; tending to opose change.\n\nLiberal: open minded; tolerant, favoring civil and political liberties, democratic reforms and protection from arbitrary authority.
1037465
Since you asked...my definition of "liberal" is one who believes in government sponsored programs designed to provide benefits such as healthcare, financial aid, and education to individuals in low income brackets.  This is accomplished by high tax rates on the upper level income earners.  They profess a belief in a strong middle class, have an aversion to corporations and "big business" and feel that privacy is the most important thing, other than helping the poor.\n\nConservatives are people who believe in business, big and small and feel that the money they earn should be retained by them, not spent on others.  They believe that since the highest income earners are also usually the ones who employ the middle and lower class, they should get a break because without them, there wouldn't be jobs.  Pro-gun, pro-military, agressive foreign policy (shoot first ask questions later).  They also believe in personal liberty, but often see compromises with that liberty as okay when it's for the good of the country.\n\nMe, I'm a Libertarian.  I am definitely more right than left, but I see that conservatives and liberals both have screwed up the government.  Neither one is in touch with anything except their bank accounts and hate.  I think I can stomach the right more because the views are a little more in line with mine and democrats (I'm gonna say it)...are hypocrites.
938275
I personally look at the issues that are important to me, and try to vote for the person who best represents my views. I consider myself a moderate with liberal leanings. \n\nI don't like extremism, and I don't like it when people get locked into a position and refuse to consider all sides of an issue (not a big Bush fan . . .)
915299
Liberal is the abolition of  regulation so that a person could do what he wants.
968493
I used to be a moderate but now I'm a flaming liberal. I used to be a moderate but how did I become such a liberal? When I saw that the conservative christian republicans are taking away my rights. My rights as a woman (freedom of choice), as a citizen (patriot act), as a free-thinking person. \n\nWhen Bush came to office he promised "I'm a uniter not a divider" but since then, he has alienized half of the country already. \n\nWhy are Americans so divided? When they feel their opinions don't count and their rights are being chipped away slowly.\n\nOh and reading "The Boot"'s entry, I highly doubt he has an advanced degree considering he couldn't spell the world "liberal".
428630
Liberal Party is the name of dozens of political parties around the world. It usually designates a party that is ideologically liberal, meaning that they advocate individual rights and civil liberties, and sometimes left wing, meaning that they are egalitarian and believe in the redistribution of wealth from rich to poor. However, there are also many Liberal Parties which subscribe to classical liberalism and therefore support a mostly unregulated free market, or who are actually more conservative in nature than their opponents, or whose views are right wing, libertarian, or difficult to categorise.
13443
First, here's a quick definition of what liberalism means as used in America today: \n\n"American liberalism emphasizes mutual collaboration and consensus-building to solve political problems. A liberal in the United States is likely to favor institutions and political procedures that protect and empower the weak against aggression by the strong and guarantee individual freedom from restrictive social norms. Liberals encourage progressive taxation, minimum wages laws, anti-discrimination laws, and social programs."\n\nMost liberals associate with the Democratic party - Democrats tend to support these sorts of policies. However, not all Democrats are liberals - many are more moderate, and many fiscal conservatives - people who want to minimize government spending in general - have defected from the Republican party recently.\n\nAlso, many people with liberal views may not call themselves liberal - while many liberal views are strongly associated with churches, for example, a number of major churches in the U.S. associate with the Reupublican party due to its stance against abortion. Since the Republican party is currently strongly anti-liberal, many liberal stances have been adopted by the party through the term "compassionate conservativism," which permits the stance without association with the politically charged term "liberal."\n\nCommentators like Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reill have recently been involved in a general trend toward writing books which equate liberalism with terrorism, anti-american sentiment, and weakness - for this reason, the word is quite misunderstood now, something that might be apparent in the large amounts of hate present in some of the answers to your question.\n\nI hope this helps give an unbiased view of what liberals believe, and why the word is so politically sensitive right now.
1086705
Thank you for asking the question I signed up to ask - which, of course means that I cannot answer it. I can only point to your one sided responses and the decrease of separation between church and state for an answer. Liberalism USED to mean that you believed in open-minded exchange and the right of everyone to do what they chose as long as it did not hurt others or infringe on their inherent rights. To me, this just seems elementary to our country's founding. It may be called a de-moc-ra-cy. Socialism means we all give our money away to the government and they give it away equally to all. We have something called cap-it-al-ism. Both the idea of capitalism and liberalism can, believe me, co-exist. Some of our best capitalists (Warren Buffet, Bill Gates) are, indeed, liberals. And, in my opinion, quite moral and benevolent. So I have to beg the question again - when did the term "liberal" which used to be a smart, intellectual, open-minded person become derogatory?
862541
You really answered your own question. To me being a moderate means keeping an open mind. It means being able to see more than one point of view on any issue. It means not holding any extreme position on any issue: not too far to the left and not too far to the right. To me it also means being tolerant of other peoples' opinions even when they don't agree with your own.
292456
Liberal is a way of thinking and not related to a specific poltical agenda or party. Democrat is an actual political party that one registers to be a part of..Yes many liberals are Democrats but many arent as well.. I consider myself liberal but am closer to a Libertarian than anything else yet I remain registered 'non-partisan' so I dont have to be stuck in the dogmatic agenda of a specific party..Plus I can vote for whoever I want and actually vote on the issues and not just the party..Hope this helped..
1125647
I am sure the dictionary will give a much politer version than mine.   My definition of a liberal is a f'n idiot.    And here are some characteristics of the common, everyday, generic libby:\n\n1.  Hates America\n2.  Criticizes Bush, but offers no plan or better ideas\n3.  Some are Socialist, while others are Communists disguised as Democrats.\n4.  Believe in high taxes, and big government\n5.  Socialized medicine\n6.  Support over regulation \n7.  Pro abortion\n8   Anti Semetic\n9.  Against war so much they would offer no defense to our nation. Period.\n10. Claim to be "tolerant" but are only tolerant to those that agree with them\n11. Pro gay rights/marraige\n12.  Atheist\n\nThere are more,  but thats enough for now.
408691
Usually liberals are people who have been so hurt by other people that they completely give up on reality and try to stop the hurt by controlling everything everybody does. And even then they can't love another person so they pour all their feelings on the little creatures of the forest - every one of them who would rip the throat out of the liberal if it ever found said liberal alone in the forest.\n\nLuckily for liberals they never actually go to the forest, this is how they manage to make sense of taking a SMALL piece of Alaska, a state half the size of the continental US, and FREAK OUT when you try to drill for oil there.\n\nThey're morons. And Hillary Clinton is their new God.
722389
Have you ever looked up the word liberal?\n\nAdjective\n\na. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry. b. Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded. c. Of, relating to, or characteristic of liberalism. d. Liberal Of, designating, or characteristic of a political party founded on or associated with principles of social and political liberalism, especially in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States. \n\na. Tending to give freely; generous: a liberal benefactor. b. Generous in amount; ample: a liberal serving of potatoes. \n\nNot strict or literal; loose or approximate: a liberal translation. \n\nOf, relating to, or based on the traditional arts and sciences of a college or university curriculum: a liberal education. \n\na. Archaic Permissible or appropriate for a person of free birth; befitting a lady or gentleman. b. Obsolete Morally unrestrained; licentious. \n\nnoun. \n\n\nA person with liberal ideas or opinions. \n\nLiberal A member of a Liberal political party. \n\n\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n[Middle English, generous, from Old French, from Latin lberlis, from lber, free; see leudh- in Indo-European roots.]\n\nThis doesn't seem like the definition of people hell bent on destruction does it?\n\nLibers are in fact looking for ways to move America forward, to bring new ideas to peoples conciousness and to tackle problems at the core rather than putting forward knee jerk solutions to attack the symptoms.\n\nNote that liberals are free from bigotry and not guided by dogma. That is why I'm proud to be a liberal.\n\nWhat about you?
1179850
Liberal is left wing\n\nConservative is right wing\n\nThink of it as a line with 0 as the center and 1 thru ten going in each direction. People land somewhere on that scale based on their politics.
599121
Depends what kind of liberal you mean (classical, American, etc.)\n\nAny way, it's such a huge answer I would just look it up on wikipedia.\n\nHere are some positions Americans liberals *may* take:\n\n    * A social "safety net" to minimize the suffering due to poverty, including welfare, medicare, unemployment benefits, health insurance, and retirement programs.\n    * Increased government role and funding for public education, public transportation, and alternative energy development.\n    * Increased regulation of business practices through OSHA, child labor laws, anti-trust laws, and minimum wage laws.\n    * Strong, government-protected labor unions\n    * Civil rights, including laws against discrimination based on gender, race, age, religion, sexual orientation, or disability.\n    * Affirmative action and transitional multi-lingual educational programs for children whose first language is not English.\n    * Broad voting rights\n    * Public assistance for undocumented aliens\n    * A spirit of international community and service to all people\n    * A woman's right to an abortion in private and without interference\n    * The right of the terminally ill to end their life\n    * Laws to protect the environment\n    * The elimination of the death penalty\n    * Animal rights\n    * Gun control\n    * A progressive tax system\n    * Marijuana legalization\n    * Advocacy of stem cell research and support of scientific study\n    * Adherence to the principle of separation of church and state\n\n\n\nShould add that Republicans over the last few decades have successfully turned the word "liberal" into a bad wor. So in politics what is and what is perceived to be "liberal" is not so clear.
79658
To take a definition from Ambrose Bierce, creator of the first dictionary...\n\nConservative, n. A statesman enamored of existing evils, as opposed to a Liberal, who wants to replace them with new ones\n\n------\n\nThe question is too difficult to answer because both sides are going to skew it towards their own beliefs and ideas.\n\nSocial conservatives lean more towards tradition and personal responsibility, whereas social liberals are progressive in ideals and believe more in societal involvement.\n\nEconomic conservatives favor free markets, limited government and money to the people to use as they see necessary. Economic liberals like government fiscal control and money to the government to use as it deems necessary.\n\nThe most important thing is remembering that conservatives and liberals are political philosophies, whereas Democrats and Republicans are political parties.
793342
Liberal, in a sense means free, therefore; liberals are those in government who believe more in states rights and less in a  central government. The lines today are skewed and there is no longer an extreme difference between a liberal and a republican. There are liberal republicans and conservative republicans, and just as well there are liberal democrats and conservative democrats. The difference you should be looking for is between liberals and conservatives not liberals and republicans. Some may argue though, and those who argue are truly conservative republicans. In essence the conservative issues are pro life as opposed to pro choice, centralized government as opposed to states rights, opposition to gay marriage and basically any view to an issue that adheres to the way things have been done in the past, or in other words, views that are opposed to change. Lliberal views are just the opposite, those that welcome change and leave more choice in the direction of the country to the people.