The Liberal Identity Crisis

Like... err... thanks Google.

A long time ago, both working people and ivory tower intellectuals proudly embraced the term 'liberal' and the implied principles of liberty under law, tolerance, fairness and pluralism. At least, that is, until Newt Gingrich came along and told them 'liberal' was a dirty word.

Sad as it was, too many liberals bowed to the wingnuts and started eschewing liberalism instead of defending it. We played straight into Gingrich's pudgy hands like so many pussies. Even Hillary Clinton, when asked whether she was a liberal in 2007, claimed the label "modern progressive" instead. Shame, shame, shame...

But I'd still proudly call myself a liberal. And I won't fold and let wingnuts convince me to be ashamed of the core sense of right and wrong I've held all my life. But too many others do. And that's why we take a beating whenever conservatives start pushing their 'philosophy'. And that's why we've been sidelined as powerless dweebs by the determinedly centrist Obama administration.

Now 'liberal' is up there with al Qaeda and NAMBLA in terms of stigma, it might feel that the conservatives have won and this is as bad as it gets. But there's worse: Now they're gunning for the word "Progressive" too. So much so that a recent USA Today/Gallup poll found that three out of four liberals would no longer label themselves "progressives" either. WTF? Are we really so eager to help the wingnut revisionists beat us that we'll surrender the word progressive as well???

Sh*t, I guess we'll eventually give in entirely and just ask the conservatives what we should call ourselves. Because that's how lame, self-defeating and utterly sac-less we have become.