Reply by jay H on June 28, 2015 at 6:00pm
Years ago, I considered myself a liberal. Over the years, however, I pretty much hit the wall on my 'open mindedness.' Like the old adage, 'don't be so open minded your brains fall out', it got to the point that complete idiocy was being sold as 'modern thinking'. That's when I jumped ship.
One problem is whatever definition of liberal you are using. The classic liberal of the late 19th century is more like the libertarian of today: individual freedom and personal responsibility with minimum government intervention. Over the years the term has taken on (particularly in the US) the 'progressive' mantra, where the state cares and guides (and effectively controls) the individual. The modern liberal concept is moving farther away from actual freedom and responsibility and becoming more the statist world envisioned by Bismark.
Back in the 60s when I was young, the cry was for free speech, and freedom. Yet now it's 'liberal' colleges that are imposing speech codes, 'safe zones', re-education of dissenters. Contrary positions are quickly defined as 'hate speech' or speech that causes distress for certain classes. Just look at the Tim Hunt fiasco: there are things that 'cannot be said' without mobs demanding your head. (Now the new buzz term 'microagression' seeks to even further shut down any expression that is not currently correct (google it if you haven't encountered this madness)
It's the lefties who 'selflessly' declare that they would 'gladly' pay more taxes for government service (as if we need that) but there generosity is with other people's money (including, unfortunately their and everyone else's descendant's money).. they want us all to pay. I am reminded of the definition of American liberalism as 'ideas so good that participation is mandatory'.
It's the liberals who typically play the race card, and if it doesn't fit, redefine racism, or sexism, or classism to bring it to the discussion. It's the liberals who give us all a lecture on 'correct pronouns' when dealing with people like Jenner. Funny that when a surgically modified man with delusions dresses up as a sexual caricature of woman, even a lot of feminists are anxious to go along with this charade. [Make no mistake, he is certainly free to follow whatever fantasy he wants, just don't expect everyone to buy in]. Kind of odd, though when Rachel Dolzal decided to change races, the crowd pretty much lynched her. How is one different from another.
[A few years ago, at a local humanist group meeting, two elderly women argued loudly and almost came to physical blows. One had been a lifelong communist sympathizer hunted by the FBI in the US, the other had fled the communist government of Hungary. That was an evening]
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Permalink Reply by jay H on June 28, 2015 at 6:00pm
Years ago, I considered myself a liberal. Over the years, however, I pretty much hit the wall on my 'open mindedness.' Like the old adage, 'don't be so open minded your brains fall out', it got to the point that complete idiocy was being sold as 'modern thinking'. That's when I jumped ship.
One problem is whatever definition of liberal you are using. The classic liberal of the late 19th century is more like the libertarian of today: individual freedom and personal responsibility with minimum government intervention. Over the years the term has taken on (particularly in the US) the 'progressive' mantra, where the state cares and guides (and effectively controls) the individual. The modern liberal concept is moving farther away from actual freedom and responsibility and becoming more the statist world envisioned by Bismark.
Back in the 60s when I was young, the cry was for free speech, and freedom. Yet now it's 'liberal' colleges that are imposing speech codes, 'safe zones', re-education of dissenters. Contrary positions are quickly defined as 'hate speech' or speech that causes distress for certain classes. Just look at the Tim Hunt fiasco: there are things that 'cannot be said' without mobs demanding your head. (Now the new buzz term 'microagression' seeks to even further shut down any expression that is not currently correct (google it if you haven't encountered this madness)
It's the lefties who 'selflessly' declare that they would 'gladly' pay more taxes for government service (as if we need that) but there generosity is with other people's money (including, unfortunately their and everyone else's descendant's money).. they want us all to pay. I am reminded of the definition of American liberalism as 'ideas so good that participation is mandatory'.
It's the liberals who typically play the race card, and if it doesn't fit, redefine racism, or sexism, or classism to bring it to the discussion. It's the liberals who give us all a lecture on 'correct pronouns' when dealing with people like Jenner. Funny that when a surgically modified man with delusions dresses up as a sexual caricature of woman, even a lot of feminists are anxious to go along with this charade. [Make no mistake, he is certainly free to follow whatever fantasy he wants, just don't expect everyone to buy in]. Kind of odd, though when Rachel Dolzal decided to change races, the crowd pretty much lynched her. How is one different from another.
[A few years ago, at a local humanist group meeting, two elderly women argued loudly and almost came to physical blows. One had been a lifelong communist sympathizer hunted by the FBI in the US, the other had fled the communist government of Hungary. That was an evening]
▶ Reply
http://atheistnexus.org/forum/topics/why-are-so-many-atheists-here-so-liberal?x=1&id=2182797%3ATopic%3A2615391&page=4#comments
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