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Friday, November 21, 2008 12:00 AM

Is it OK to be liberal again, instead of progressive?

Come out of the closet, liberals. Stop using the fashionable euphemism "progressive" and relaunch the old, tarnished L-word.

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  • Sunday, November 23, 2008 10:49 AM

    A meaningless exercise in semantics

    I tuned out of this treatise in the second paragraph, when the author referred to "a former Texas rock band's clever name: Teenage Immigrant Welfare Mothers on Dope." The band is the Austin Lounge Lizards, they are not a rock band, they still exist, and the song is "Teenage Immigrant Welfare Mothers on Drugs." This may seem a minor concern, but getting simple facts straight is a sign of meaningful communication.

    In perusing the rest of the article, I found it to be a pretty meaningless exercise in semantics. The polar ice caps are melting. The worldwide mass economic system is collapsing. Our system of social order is disintegrating. There are too many people on the planet. We are threatened by pandemics of uncontrollable diseases. Usable resources are becoming depleted, especially oil and water. To spend one's energy on semantics is just plain stupid.

    If we want a term for advancing human existence on this planet, how about civilizationist? From this perspective, policies and programs would focus on what makes possible and improves human civilization. Old dichotomies like "left" and "right," "liberal" and "conservative" would no longer have any relevance. Actually, they have no relevance now, except in the minds of their believers. These divides are models of reality, and have outlived their usefulness.

    "Conservatism" in particular is now in disgrace. It is really just a euphemism for mafia, a loose confederation of crony capitalists, religious fanatics, and war enthusiasts. That doesn't make "liberalism" the honorable alternative. What brought disrepute to "liberalism" in the past was the paternalism and coercive nature of its practice. School busing is the most glaring example. It's a pretty Neanderthal approach: Ugh! Integration good! Busing make integration! Let's bus! Meanwhile, the condition of the vast majority of "African Americans" continues to decline.

    Looking at the mass information media as a benchmark of our level of civilization, the mere fact that Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Bill O'Reilly are even on the air speaks volumes about the challenge we face. We may not live to see an advanced civilization, but we can at least move in that direction if we shed the chains of past mental constraints.

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