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Gederer says it perfectly:
I have always called myself a liberal. When the term 'progressive' started gaining currency, I started going out of my way to call myself a liberal. It always struck me that people who called themselves progressive were behaving as though they were ashamed of what they were. Liberals have nothing to be ashamed of, and much to be proud of.
The truth is, I have only used the word "progressive" in some letters posted on left-leaning blogs, like Salon and Kos and the rest. That was always uncomfortable to do, but it seemed to be the argot most used and approved of.
But in real life, I've been "a liberal" since before I got a bloody nose for defending Truman over MacArthur in 7th grade, and I've called myself by that term my entire long life. Others may debate the niceties of 'progressive' vs 'liberal'; for me as for Gederer, it always seemed folks were ashamed of being liberals for remarkably silly reasons.
liberal, liberal, liberal! Yeah, man!
