There was once a time...
When the liberals of this country vowed to never back down, and never give in, to forever promote freedom, self-government, human rights, and so on.
What happened to them?
Not since the ending days of WWII have "liberals" advocated a policy of defending someone's rights by force.
Once upon a time, liberals actually believed that ALL PEOPLE, regardless of color, race, religion, ethnicity, or any other arbitary distinction deserved freedom, and that WE owed everyone on the globe the chance to have it. Fight and die for freedom, not just ours, but for the world's? Absolutely.
Today, the liberals of our nation struggle valiantly to avoid criticising Islamic nations of the middle east, who recognize NO human rights. They can raise no hue and cry to end the abhorrent treatment of women, the utter lack of equality, justice, individual liberty that abounds in the Middle East.
No liberal today is carping endlessly that China, Cuba, North Korea and so on, MUST change to recognize the most fundamental of human rights.
In fact, today's liberals are talking about admiring Cuba (for having "free" education and health care), openly side with the mullahs and other radicals in the Middle East when they bash America, they acidly vituperate about how we must not "force" freedom upon other societies.
As a one-time former liberal, back in my youth, I was a flag waving patriot. I was proud of our equal rights achievements. I was proud of our history of being ground-breaking the world over for ending slavery, universal voting, for Constitutional protections. I admired the country that would send it's people to fight and die on ANY spot on the globe to fight injustice and tyrrany - because we so strongly beleived that humanity was universally deserving.
Funny thing, I still believe and think all those things. I am still proud of our nation for all those things. Except, I still believe we should bring light to the people of the world who live without the light of freedom. I am mortified that we have let decades and decades pass, with only the presidency of Reagan actively promoting freedom.
And now another president, upholding the values and foundation of my Americanism, even those values I hold from my days of a youthful liberal, commits the ultimate act of virtue... Liberation.
And the whole "liberal" world explodes in anger and disgust.
Frankly, as Christopher Hitchens has noted, the left IS bankrupt. I doubt we'll ever see eye to eye on much else.
It also reminds me how much the right has drifted. With no "left" promoting the true virtues... It seems the right hasn't any opposition to sharpen it's keen intellects upon.
As the author of the article wrote... They "need" Hitchens... The right needs the same... We need a credible opposition, to sharpen our vision, to renew our commitment to principle over political expediency...
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/ne...p?story=566537
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