I am a liberal.
I believe in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
I believe that all men and women are created equal, and that all people deserve respect and equal protection under the law.
I believe that people are people, and that corporations are not.
I believe in a fair market which provides livable wages and opportunities for all.
I believe in the Second Amendment, which provides for a “well-regulated militia,” enabling both the right to bear arms and common sense gun regulations.
I believe that health care should be universally available and affordable for everyone.
I believe that America’s diversity adds to our strength.
I believe that a woman has the inherent right to decide whether she wants to bear a child or not.
I believe in high quality public schools to educate our next generation of citizens.
I believe in America and love it enough to try and make it even better.
I am a liberal.
by Lorie Staffan
politicalperspectivesandsocietalspeculations.com 
VERY WELL SAID!!
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Thanks, Rhonda!
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Lorie Staffan, I know that some people try to differentiate between a Leftist and a liberal. Personally, I believe that that a true liberal is a libertarian. These people who call themselves liberals only use that as a smokescreen to hide what they truly are, which would be Left-wing Socialists.
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Thanks for your response, Jeffrey. The definitions of “liberal” and left-wing” often over-lap. Left-wing Socialists are liberals, as are Democrats and Social Democrats. The term “liberal” is an umbrella term for several groups which share an ideology of equal rights, fair treatment of all people, tolerance, taxation of the wealthy to help those less fortunate, a living wage for a day’s work. Some liberals believe in government control of the means of production; some don’t. I’m not using the term as a smokescreen. I proudly proclaim that I am a liberal who believes in increased taxes on the wealthy, an increased minimum wage, universal healthcare, low-cost tuition or no tuition at public universities, strong public schools, secularism, and tolerance. I’m not for government control of factories, banks, or most businesses, though I don’t think healthcare or education should be profit-based. I’m for regulations that protect people and the environment. Unlike libertarians, I believe that government can have a positive role in society and that government regulations are essential. But I do agree with libertarians that government can be too intrusive. It’s tricky to balance reasonable regulations with over-regulation, and sometimes the government gets it wrong.
Before writing my response to you, I looked over the following websites to clarify the definitions of “liberal” and “left-wing.”
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/liberal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-wing_politics
Thanks for responding to my post.
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Lorie Staffan, I have no issue with “free stuff” in some situations. Here is an example: If I buy 2 2lb bags of coffee beans, with the 3rd bag free of charge, I see no issue with that. What I don’t support is my tax dollars subsidizing abortions on demand or paying for medical care for people who cross over the border from Mexico illegally.
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Lorie Staffan, as a follow up, the income tax was prohibited under Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. Any person who talks about economic freedom and opportunity and yet wants to maintain a policy that is antithetical to this idea is a hypocrite. Taxes are designed to keep poor people poor. The wealthy can leave the country on a whim. Don’t use the term middle class with me. Class in the economic sense is a Marxist term.
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Let;s be civil, Jeffrey. A hypocrite is someone who behaves in a fashion that is contrary to their beliefs. I’m not a hypocrite. Taxes are used to support government programs, not designed to keep people poor. Middle class is a term that’s been used in America for years. I would hardly call it a Marxist term. I will use whatever term I please, and I choose to use the term “middle class.”
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Lorie Staffan, I was not directing that accusation against you specifically. My 2 words in one sentence were any person, which is a generalization, not being applied to one person alone.
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I don’t like my tax dollars going to support wars in the Middle East, where we shouldn’t have gone in the first place. But I’m happy to have my tax dollars going to provide healthcare to people who need it, even if they are here illegally. That’s why it’s so important to vote and to call or write our representatives, so we can get whom we want in office and let them know what we want them to do. We don’t agree on what our tax dollars should be used for, but that’s the beauty of a democracy. We can each make our voice heard at the ballot box.
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Lorie Staffan, I agree with you regarding the Middle East. Having said that, Congress gave its authorization to go to war. All of these people who scream about George W. Bush being a war criminal when he was President have no credibility.
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Yes, Congress should not have authorized the wars.
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Lorie Staffan, the fact is that Congress authorized the wars. Saying that a war is illegitimate, illegal, if you will, because you object to it is a bad argument against it.
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