Vocabularistic Note
The Democratic Party, and the left in general, have henceforth abandoned all claim to the term ‘liberal’. (Any connection they had to it was already tenuous at best, but the “healthcare” law has severed all ties for good.)
For avoidance of doubt: the root of ‘liberal’ is liberty. It is not ‘liberal’ to support, and enact, sweeping regulations dictating who must purchase which service when, who must sell which service when, under what conditions the service may (and shall) be sold (and rationed), with a zillion ‘clever’ penalties/taxes for disobedience, etc etc. That all is the opposite of ‘liberal’. Why we have for so long attached the word ‘liberal’ to folks whose apparent motivating force is to attain ever-increasing control over other peoples’ livelihoods, pocketbooks, living standards, social arrangements, and (now) their health thus very lives – for as many people as possible – is a puzzle for linguistic historians to sort out. But it’s long past time time we simply stopped.
We have reached the point where in our current political system the only things the left is remotely ‘liberal’ about have to do with sex, i.e. situations involving peoples’ genitals coming into contact. Oh yes, I’ll agree, the left is very liberal on matters involving peoples’ genitals coming into contact. They are true-blue principled believers in that sort of liberty. They care very deeply about genital liberty, I’ll grant. That’s very, very important to them and prominent in their lives and thinking. (Where they and others can put their genitalia.)
It’s just every single other sort of liberty imaginable that the left doesn’t care for.
In the English language, ‘liberal’ is not the right term for such people at all. It is an antonym for what they are, which is: authoritarian.
The beacon of freedom that America has always been to countries long suffering from bloated authoritarian government or worse is growing dimmer by the day. Now that America has “fallen”, with the Constitution in ruins, the elite are now forging ahead as never before to instigate their world dictatorship.
Breeding socialism is the softening up process.
Of course the right wing in some places and times also seeks power over people. It’s not a left-wing thing exclusively. But yes, adopting the ‘liberal’ was a great move, a good sleight of hand. Like in iowahawk’s brave new world where one says “it’s a free country” and the other says “heh, that’s a good one”. I can’t think of a country in europe where I could say “it’s a free country”.
To point out that seeking power over people is not a left-wing thing exclusively, as if in mitigation, is pretty funny
The fact that (supposed) ‘liberals’ can be fairly characterized as ‘seeking power over people’ at all, to say nothing of exclusively, is remarkable, and should be proof enough of the fact that ‘liberal’ is a misnomer for such people.
That’s why I never use the word “liberal” anymore. To me, they’re always “leftists” (if I’m feeling polite; something considerably saltier if I’m not). Leftism, unlike liberalism, has always been about nothing but power.
Great article. Astute, and accurate.