The Liberal Label: One Woman Tells it like it is with the ‘L‘ Word

Oct. 27, 2004

Hi Daddy:

I had to write to tell you that I am surprised at the amount of propaganda that I receive from you. First of all, where did you ever get the idea that I’m a “LIBERAL,” and why is it such a bad word? The dictionary‘s definition of liberal is, “favoring progress and reform in social institutions, the fullest practicable liberty of individual action; tolerant, bountiful and generous.”
Imagine how horrible I must feel to know my own father doesn’t admire generosity and tolerance as good traits in his own daughter?
The United States is the only democratic nation in the world with only two political parties. This is a major fault because there are more than two sides to an issue. I am called a liberal because I believe that protecting the environment is important, women should have control over their own bodies, and character education is more important in schools than traditional Christian right brainwashing. I am a liberal because I believe in civil rights for all Americans, not just the ones who deserve it according to conservatives.
So, why am I not called a conservative when I support our troops, or when I support military spending? Do you know what I hate the most? Even if I wanted to be a Republican, I wouldn’t be accepted into that group because my family values are “skewed” in that I don’t believe a “traditional family” is the only kind that matters. I am essentially a “sinner,” a single mom with children born out of wedlock who never plans to marry (until I find “Mr. Right”) because I’m smarter than that.
If the conservative club means that only once every four years they can show blatantly fake compassion for my fellow Americans, or that I have to be “in bed” with every dishonorable interest group in the United States to further a president’s agenda at the expense of his constituency (and often without their knowledge), then thanks, but I don’t want to be a part of the “club” anyway!
If you think propaganda is what I base my decisions on, or that I will be swayed by the potential embarassment of seeming too liberal, you need to remember that I think with my own brain, with the help of careful research by credible sources, and not with the help of nasty, hateful, slanderous conservative sources who care more about money than human lives. Also, remember that you labeled me a liberal, not me. No matter what people call me, I will always care more about the world my children must grow up in than for voting along party lines just because I carry their card.
But I love you anyway

-- XXOO Sarah