Volume I No. 11
 08-28-02
 The Biggest Threat of All
 { Liberalism Is Not An Extremist Philosophy } 
 author: Vance Cureton
 © Copyright 2002

 There is nothing extreme about Liberalism. To be a Liberal is simply
 to hold a world-view that is not limited by a lack of  personal choice. 
 Liberals believe in the future. Liberals believe in change. Liberals 
 believe in trying something new, or in taking the unconventional approach.
 Even if that approach may ultimately lead to failure. Or if that approach 
 is not always appreciated or accepted by the general society as a whole.

 There is nothing extreme in what has been described above. 

 Conservatives really do not believe in personal choice. Conservatives 
 believe in the past. Conservatives dislike change and discourage new 
 ideas. The world for them is a canvas painted in black and white. Good 
 vs Evil. The righteous vs the profane. The middle ground does not exist. 
 To be imprecise or indecisive is to be morally weak or lacking in faith.

 Yet, the two polar opposites, Conservatism and Liberalism, are not in 
 and of themselves political extremes. And Conservatives and Liberals 
 have shared an uneasy co-existence in American society since the very 
 beginning.

 But, unfortunately the Far Right has become a relentless force in trying 
 to re-define Liberalism as an extremist political philosophy. While at the 
 same time, and in a very subtle manner, trying to impose it's Far-Right 
 philosophy over the entire Republican party. As if their Conservative 
 ideology is the only valid Conservative ideology.

 The level of success the Far-Right idealogues have acheived in their
 efforts has been astounding. When was the last time a prominent 
 { on the national level } Democratic Senator or Congressman proudly 
 proclaimed that they were a Liberal. It is almost as if Liberalism is a 
 defeated political philosophy. 

 How long will America's truly Liberal politicians take refuge against
 the conservative onslaught in the false sanctuary of the middle ground?

 It is to wonder.

 The Far Right blames Liberals for everything from AIDS to the high 
 crime rate that exists in the inner city. While at the same time forgetting 
 their own role in opposing equal access to quality education for minority
 students. Or health care for low-income Americans of all races. Or for
 taking handguns out of the hands of criminals and off the marketplace. 

 You can't have it both  ways. You can't deny people an opportunity to 
 succeed, and then when they ultimately fail, blame the party or the ideology 
 at the other end of the block.

 The Far Right is so uncompromising that it has demonized the entire
 decade of the 1960's as if nothing was accomplished during those years.
 Did not a man walk upon the moon for the first time during that decade?

 The 1960's was a necessary part of the evolution of the American nation.
 A country is sometimes born quickly through violent revolution. But
 the culture, and the mystique and personality of a people takes much, 
 much, longer to distill.

 This relentless demonizing of those who do not profess a belief in a
 certain political philosophy is decidely un-American. To believe in 
 abortion rights, gun control, a fair share for women and other minorities 
 of all kinds -- all Liberal issues - is not extreme. These are heartfelt opinions 
 and attitudes held by many millions of Americans who deserve to be 
 respected, and not castigated as morally repugnant people.

 It is ironic that most Liberals truly believe in and desire a pluralistic society
 that is tolerant of many divergent viewpoints and ideologies. And yet 
 the very people who oppose them the most vigorously, and cast themselves
 as the only voices of righteousness, are the least tolerant of opposing 
 viewpoints of any kind.

 It is the Far Right that is the silencer of voices. It is the Far Right that
 believes in religion intruding in the schools and in the classrooms. It
 is the Far Right that is pushing religious theology as science. Because
 for them, a different idea is the biggest threat of all.
 

 ReadingPost.Com
 © Copyright 2002

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