Truespeak

Over the last two weeks, I've become involved in a message board for residents of a small town in Iowa. My sister got me hooked on this and I am just amazed at the amount of right-wingnuttery that takes place there. There are a handful of posters to the message board that appear to have bullied the majority of the other posters for quite some time. In an effort to engage these foolish people in a little Truespeak, I signed up and began debating. With the exception of one or two, these are possible the most obtuse people I have ever met. I picture them reading liberal posts with their hands over their ears while yelling "la, la, la." It's extremely infantile. Their motto appears to be "No dissent allowed."

So, in an attempt to discern who was on the liberal side of the aisle, I posted a request for all the liberals to make themselves known. What I got was a rabid freeping by the wingnuts. I got comments about God, abortion, my obvious youth and lack of intelligence, etc. So tonight, I decided it was time to put them straight. I posted this:

Just Like Pavlov’s Dog...

All I had to do in my last posting was mention that I was a liberal and the Republican dogs began barking. Master must be so proud to have such well trained pets. Hopefully Master will reward them with a treat for their blind fealty. (Go ahead guys, I’ll wait while you look that one up.)

To understand why they hate liberals so much, we should probably look at the definition of what a liberal actually is. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, a liberal is defined as follows:

1.) Having expressing or following political views or policies that favor civil liberties, democratic reforms, and the use of governmental power to promote social progress. 2.) Having, expressing or following views or policies that favor the freedom of individuals to act or express themselves in a manner of their own choosing...5.) Tolerant of the ideas or behavior of others; broadminded 6.) Tending to give freely...[ME, generous , OFr. , Lat. liberalis , liber, free]

(Ironically it comes from the same latin root as the word liberty, one of George W. Bush’s favorite buzz words. Sorry guys, I know that doesn’t align with what Rush Limbaugh says but who are we to argue with the American Heritage Dictionary.)


So, by using this definition of a liberal, I guess that we can assume that Republicans are against civil liberties, democratic reform and social progress. They are not receptive to any opposing viewpoints and do not favor the freedom to express one’s self. They are also intolerant, closed minded and extremely stingy. Sound about right?

When I posted today, I was simply wanting to know who the liberals were. Instead I got sarcasm, stereotyped, and dismissed because I choose to call myself a liberal. Actually, I’m proud to be a liberal. I’m proud to be associated with liberal ideals. I’m proud to be of the same mindset as many of the great leaders and activists throughout our country’s history. People like John Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Johnny Cash, Cesar Chavez, Clarence Darrow, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. People like Medgar Evers, Ben Franklin, Bob Geldhoff, Woody Guthrie, Alex Haley, and Francis Hopkinson. All of these people advanced the liberal ideals. Others like Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King Jr., John Lennon, Thurgood Marshall and still many, many more. The list could go on and on.

But here, because I’m a liberal, I don’t mean anything. My opinions are immediately dismissed because I’m a liberal. I’m the equivalent of a second class citizen.

Well, don’t you conservatives worry too much about me. I’m a quick learner. In fact, in just a couple short weeks, I’ve already learned a great deal from you guys. I’ve learned that Democrats just want to rehash the election, yet I’ve never seen a single Democrat bring it up. Just the conservatives. I’ve learned that conservatives would choose the death of a woman and child over an abortion that could at least save the life of the mother so that she may one day have children. I’ve learned that the Republican party is God’s chosen party despite the fact that Jesus taught us to love our brothers, not speak hatefully against them. And most importantly, I’ve learned that hopalong is “a cranky, old fart, card carrying, Republican, life NRA, Ted Nugent fan” who thinks that I should “kissoff” because I don’t belong to his party. Now that’s a lot in just two weeks.

Well, I have news for you guys. I’m not going anywhere. In fact, I look forward to debating with you for a long time to come. Because the way I see it, you all have a lot of learning to do yourselves. For starters, if you’re going to preach the Bible, you’ve got to live it. One of the things the Bible speaks out against is hypocrisy, so if you’re going to talk the talk, well then, you’re going to have to walk the walk. In other words, the hateful speech and name-calling are going to have to stop. (Matthew 7:1-6) The Bible speaks very plainly about men who flaunt their religion and what will become of them. (Matthew 6:5) You may want to stop claiming to be “God’s chosen party.” It sounds a little like flaunting to me. And whatever happened to love your enemies? (Matthew 5:43-48)

You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Now I’d like to take a moment to speak to each one of the conservatives from my earlier post individually.

hopalong - I graduated from high school in the late eighties. I currently hold a Bachelor of Arts degree and am pursuing a Masters of Science degree. I’m not a young punk with an idealistic view of the world. I’m a realist who has followed politics since before he was old enough to vote. I am proud to say that I have never supported a Republican for any state or federal office. Finally, no, I’m not Pete or Josh. Surprisingly enough, there are more than just a few liberals in this country. I’m actually surprised to see you posting such vitriol these days after luvcherries scolded you last week. Your response to her almost made you sound humble. Short lived, I guess.


Pica - no, I don’t know where the nearest abortion clinic is but I’m glad that the option is available just in case my sister or my wife needed one out of medical necessity to spare her life. Truth be told, I would never advise anyone to get an abortion unless her life were in danger. It’s not a form of birth control and should never be promoted as one. However, I’m appalled to think that any conservative would choose the death of a loved one and her child when one life could be saved to one day have more children. To me, that is inhumane.


drunkenfool - I was originally going to assume that you were a liberal based upon your screen name. No conservative with strong morals would ever celebrate his lack of sobriety. However, your posts leave little doubt that you too are one of the hypocritical conservatives that like to claim the moral high ground but are really just like all the others you condemn. Unless of course you are truly a liberal using sarcasm as a weapon. In that case, you’re doing a very fine job.

And to all the others out there, yes I’m a liberal and you are not. That doesn’t make either one of us correct 100% of the time. Nor does it make either one of us wrong. We live in a country that was built on the notion that people were free to disagree. Even with their government. Your lack of acceptance of any dissenting voice makes you no better than the dictators you claim to despise.

Naturally, I expect to be flamed for this post. I expect all of the conservatives to come out in full force and call me names. I expect all of the Republicans to denounce me as a heathen and a leftist nut. To that, I say “prove me wrong.” Show everyone that you’re big enough to accept someone else’s opinion. Go ahead. It’s what a true American would do.

Finally, you’re not going to deter me. I’m comfortable in my skin. How about you?

We'll see what they have to say. I'm sure it will be intellectually stimulating.