Liberal stuff

lib·er·al·ism
Pronunciation: \ˈli-b(ə-)rə-ˌli-zəm\
Function: noun

a: often capitalized: a movement in modern Protestantism emphasizing intellectual liberty and the spiritual and ethical content of Christianity
b: a theory in economics emphasizing individual freedom from restraint and usually based on free competition, the self-regulating market, and the gold standard
c: a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties (Webster)

Yes, I am a shameless Liberal. I particularly like "intellectual liberty" and "freedom from restraint." But put together, some folks seem to use a relaxed interpretation - such as "liberty to say anything that serves my interests without restraint."

Read my lips. No new taxes.
-George H.W. Bush

The challenge is to practice politics as the art of making what appears to be impossible, possible.
-Hillary Clinton

When John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve are going to walk. Get up out of that wheelchair and walk again.
-John Edwards

Okay, so that last one is a joke, but you get the idea. Presidential candidates can somehow promise the impossible - improve the performance of local schools, save the economy from recession, and prevent suicide terrorism and the global spread of extremism. Are these things really possible? Occasionally it even seems like the politicians are afraid to trust the concept of liberty itself...

We just can't trust the American people to make those types of choices...Government has to make those choices for people.
-Hillary Clinton (to Rep. Dennis Hastert)

What? Which decisions are you, in Washington, more capable of making than I about my life? What privileged information do you have about me, in which to base these decisions, that I am unaware of? It seems clear the principles of Liberalism, which are at the very foundations of this country, have been completely forgotten by many in the stew of the political frenzy. But this problem isn't new:

Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.
-George Bernard Shaw

If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.
-George Orwell

So, why aren't more people exercising their right to run a campaign on the hard facts and realistic capabilities? What happened to running on the "essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual?" Is it because individuals don't contribute to their campaigns as much as huge corporations? Seems like a possibility to me.

Here are some modern translations of some historic phrases:

Give me liberty, or give me a subsidy for my corporate farm.
-Overpaid CEO

I regret that I have but one life to give for the military industrial complex.
-Soldier

Obedience is the true foundation of liberty. The disobedient must be terrorists.
-Rudy Ghouliani

Power is the only thing you cannot have unless you are willing to take liberty from others.
-Garden variety politician

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The real ones:

Give me liberty, or give me death.
-Patrick Henry

I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.
-Nathan Hale

Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.
-Henry David Thoreau

Liberty is the only thing you cannot have unless you are willing to give it to others.
-William Allen White

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The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion.
-Edmund Burke