What Is A Liberal

What is a liberal? When asking what makes someone a liberal, it helps to look at the root of the word. "Liberal" comes from the Latin word "liberalis", which means "of freedom." A liberal by definition is someone who chooses to remain open-minded. They support tolerance and respect differences.

Consider the root of the word, shared with "liberate." Again, this is a word that means "to free." As En Vogue once sang, "Free your mind, and the rest will follow." Liberals ascribe a great deal of value to critical thought. Not just believing and reacting. John F. Kennedy said it best, during his speech accepting the New York Liberal Party Nomination on September 14th, 1960. "liberalism is not so much a party creed or set of fixed platform promises as it is an attitude of mind and heart, a faith in man's ability through the experiences of his reason and judgment to increase for himself and his fellow men the amount of justice and freedom and brotherhood which all human life deserves."

Liberalism, by definition, is the belief in the importance of equal rights. "Liberty, and justice for all." Liberals, American specifically, still believe that America is a country where there are no ceilings or barriers to prevent a person from arriving with nothing and making it to the top. They believe that there is such a thing as too much government, and that it's none of said government's business what a woman chooses to do with her body. Liberals are firm believers in government that protects and defends, as opposed to a government that we need to be protected and defended from. In short, liberals are true patriots who refuse to give up and stagnate, or even worse, give up any hard fought-for and won ground.