Need a great quote/definition of "liberal"

[Hamlette]

anyone have one? I need one for my LTTE re Sean Hannity's book entitled: Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism and the fact that the GOP candidate for gov is paying for him to come here.

Anyone?

[shraby]

1. Use the dictionary for your definition of liberal.

It says it all.

[Eric J in MN]

2. JFK

Sen. John F. Kennedy, acceptance of the New York Liberal Party Nomination, September 14, 1960.

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."

[A HERETIC I AM]

6. Thank you Eric J...thats the one i was thinking of!

n/t

[A HERETIC I AM]

3. Search quotes of the Kennedys.....

If i am not mistaken, either JFK or Teddy had a great response.......pardon me not providing a link, but my puter is fritzing!

[Lost147]

4. the dictionary tells no lies.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=liberal

[Eloriel]

5. Here's a pretty long one --

not quite a "quote," but -- well, take a look and you'll see:



A Day In The Life of Joe Republican
Thanks to Karin for sending this our way

Joe gets up at 6:00am to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot full of good clean drinking water because some liberal fought for minimum water quality standards.

He takes his daily medication with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to insure their safety and work as advertised.

All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his employers medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance, now Joe gets it too because his employer needs to offer competitive benefits to hire the best people.

Joe prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs this day. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

Joe takes his morning shower reaching for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with every ingredient and the amount of its contents because some liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some tree hugging liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air.

Joe drives to work in one of the safest cars in the world because some liberal fought to raise safety standards and emission controls.

Joe begins his work day; he has a good job with good pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some Liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

Its noon time, Joe needs to make a Bank Deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC up to $100,000 because some liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from greedy, unscrupulous bankers like the ones who ruined the banking system before the depression.

Joe needs to pay his Fannie Mae underwritten Mortgage and his below market federal student loan because some liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his life-time.

Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He arrives at his boyhood home. He was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electric until some big government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification. (Those rural Republican's might still be sitting in the dark!)

He is happy to see his dad who is now retired. His dad lives on Social Security and his union pension because some liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to. After his visit with dad he gets back in his car for the ride home.

He turns on a radio talk show, the host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. (He doesn't tell Joe that his beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day)

Joe agrees, "We don't need those big government liberals ruining our lives; after all, I'm a self made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have".

============

In this thread:
Well my freeper father's at it again emailed me more crap (my response)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2170559#2171584

[Hamlette]

7. Thanks everyone! Just what I was looking for....

couldn't find the JFK one. Google ain't what it used to be!

[AIJ Alom]

8. Defintions of liberal.

http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Liberal
The word liberal, like liberty, derives from the Latin liber ("free"). In religion and politics, to be liberal is to be tolerant or open-minded, to favour freedom over control. In other words, a liberal is someone who adheres to the ideology of liberalism. For more information on the various variants of liberal, read Liberalism

(most defining and forgotten definition of liberals - 1776, when American patriots declared our Independence from England as opposed to their conservative counterparts of the day. The loyalists/tories wanted to stay united with England).

http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Liberalism
Liberalism is a political current embracing several historical and present-day ideologies that claim defence of individual liberty as the purpose of government. It typically favours the right to dissent from orthodox tenets or established authorities in political or religious matters. In this respect, it is held in contrast to conservatism.

[DeepModem Mom]

9. It's a word to be proud of -- thanks for the reminder. nt

[Gore1FL]

10. I am having a hard time finding it

But Jack Kemp was on Larry King Live during the NAFTA debates. He called NAFTA liberal (To Pat Buchanan). Relizing what he had said, he continued (roughly verbatime) I know you don;t like that word, Pat. But it is a good word. It means Freedom and goodness and openess."

[rman]

11. the left / liberal started out

as the labour movement. You know, where a vast majority of people did rize against exploitation and oppression by a super wealthy minority. This is how we got rid of child labour, and how we got a 5 day/40hr work week, safety standards for the workplace, minimum wage, social security for the disabled and the elderly, etc.

Nowadays many people seem to think things like a 40hr workweek are a god given right or something, so we don't need to be vigilant in order to keep it. In reality these rights were won with blood and tears by the people, against the will of the ruling class, and the forces that don't want people to have such rights are still in place.

[Spider Jerusalem]

12. FDR...

A Radical is a man with both feet firmly planted — in the air.

A Conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned to walk forward.

A Reactionary is a somnambulist walking backwards.

A Liberal is a man who uses his legs and his hands at the behest of his head.

[BlueCollar]

13. Jesus Christ was a Liberal n/t