COLUMN: The three tenets of liberalism
Liberals are anti-family, pro-abortion, anti-God and unpatriotic. Right? Wrong. The few brain-washed Liberalism 1010 classmates who got this wrong are lucky that this pop quiz won’t count on their final grade. Take out your notes, write this down and remember it: One of the largest misconceptions about liberals is that they hold a lower set of ethical guidelines, if any at all.
Maybe you are a middle-grounder, politically speaking. You feel betrayed by the current administration, yet still abide by very specific religious and ethical values that you are unwilling part from.
Where does that leave you?
In simpler terms, who will you vote for this fall and who will you elect as your next president of the United States in two years? You’re confused by the lies and curious to know what the liberal platform is. Well, liberalism functions on a three-tier system supporting a multitude of causes.
The first provision is that liberals believe in empowering the less fortunate. That is to say, providing opportunities and the basic necessities to those who have none. This is why health care, Social Security and welfare are so important to liberals.
Liberals realize that these institutions are how we reinvest in our society, how we help those who live below the poverty line, are down on their luck or otherwise need assistance in order to get their lives back together.
By providing those with these temporary needs individuals get the foothold they need and move up in the class system, make more money than before and pay the government back through the taxes collected.
Democrats put people first and, unlike Republicans, take financial responsibility for their expenses. These kinds of programs don’t mean financial ruin – just compare Clinton’s budget surplus with Bush’s deficit and you’ll see what I mean.
Secondly, liberals believe strongly in equality before the law and government in the providing of privileges and rights. That people of any demographic, race, creed, gender, sexual orientation or nationality have certain inalienable rights. And that in certain situations we might be called to realize and expand upon those rights to include the needs of the people.
And finally, in conjunction with my first provision, liberals believe in a nation designed and run by and for the people in a state of economic and social balance. This means we provide people with the adequate opportunities to succeed in society and take a strong stance against large corporations and corporate abuses. Even a growing economy, if the rich are getting richer at the expense of the middle and lower classes, the expansion is unsustainable and can result in another Great Depression.
When it comes right down to it, conservatives aren’t all that ethical themselves. Touting religious values to win elections, they still neglect the poor, they stifle free agency and judge whom they see as wicked. Where does religion, Christianity – or Mormonism – support any of this?
Somehow, the citizen’s benefit has taken backseat in the political arena using the name of God and it’s time we put a stop to it.
Put simply, it is the liberals who are pro-family because they embrace the family as an institution of inclusion, not exclusion. It is also the liberals who support a woman’s choice, her right to knowledge and her right to birth control. And it is the liberals who defend your civil liberties and inalienable rights, including the right to practice your religion free from governmental interference.
So are you liberal or conservative? Is that decision a difficult one? Expect a surprise guest lecturer in the coming weeks to discuss the upcoming election season and, specifically, the local liberal platform.
Class dismissed.
Matthew Blackham is a junior majoring in sociology. Comments can be sent to matblackham@cc.usu.edu