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This poor woman thinks she's being sensible and thoughtful when in fact she's superficial and trite. Regurgitating bumper sticker slogans, the author is so self unaware that it almost causes one to laugh out loud at her.
This poor woman thinks she's being sensible and thoughtful when in fact she's superficial and trite. Regurgitating bumper sticker slogans, the author is so self unaware that it almost causes one to laugh out loud at her.
An open letter to friends and family who are/were shocked to discover I'm a liberal...
This is going to be VERY long, so: TL;DR: I'm a liberal, I've always been a liberal, but that doesn't mean what a lot of you apparently think it does.
Some of you suspected. Some of you were shocked. Many of you have known me for years, even the majority of my life. We either steadfastly avoided political topics, or I carefully steered conversations away from the more incendiary subjects in the name of keeping the peace. "I'm a liberal" isn't really something you broadcast in social circles where "the liberals" can't be said without wrinkling one's nose.
But then the 2016 election happened, and staying quiet wasn't an option anymore. Since then, I've received no shortage of emails and comments from people who were shocked, horrified, disappointed, disgusted, or otherwise displeased to realize I am *wrinkles nose* a liberal. Yep. I'm one of those bleeding heart commies who hates anyone who's white, straight, or conservative, and who wants the government to dictate everything you do while taking your money and giving it to people who don't work.
Or am I?
Let's break it down, shall we? Because quite frankly, I'm getting a little tired of being told what I believe and what I stand for. Spoiler alert: Not every liberal is the same, though the majority of liberals I know think along roughly these same lines.
1. I believe a country should take care of its weakest members. A country cannot call itself civilized when its children, disabled, sick, and elderly are neglected. Period. (Who should take care of them, specifically? Government? Charities? Ms. Witt, are you personally supporting any of our weakest members?)
2. I believe healthcare is a right, not a privilege. (A right that is funded by forcing others to provide you services is not a right.)
Somehow that's interpreted as "I believe Obamacare is the end-all, be-all." This is not the case. I'm fully aware that the ACA has problems, that a national healthcare system would require everyone to chip in, (Just say it, Ms. Witt: Taxes. No one will "chip in," it's extracted.)
and that it's impossible to create one that is devoid of flaws, but I have yet to hear an argument against it that makes "let people die because they can't afford healthcare" a better alternative. (False choice.)
I believe healthcare should be far cheaper than it is, and that everyone should have access to it. And no, I'm not opposed to paying higher taxes in the name of making that happen.
3. I believe education should be affordable and accessible to everyone. It doesn't necessarily have to be free (though it works in other countries so I'm mystified as to why it can't work in the US), but at the end of the day, there is no excuse for students graduating college saddled with five- or six-figure debt. (Indeed. Perhaps you don't understand that anything that gets subsidized or made "free" is made more expensive. Basic economics is so hard...)
4. I don't believe your money should be taken from you and given to people who don't want to work. I have literally never encountered anyone who believes this. Ever. (Regardless of what you believe, this is exactly what is happening. Anyone who receives a benefit from the government has gained it at the expense of someone else. And this has happened to the tune of trillions of dollars of wealth transfer over the years. Your problem, ma'am, is that you are incapable of coping with the reality of your beliefs.)
3. I believe education should be affordable and accessible to everyone. It doesn't necessarily have to be free (though it works in other countries so I'm mystified as to why it can't work in the US), but at the end of the day, there is no excuse for students graduating college saddled with five- or six-figure debt. (Indeed. Perhaps you don't understand that anything that gets subsidized or made "free" is made more expensive. Basic economics is so hard...)
4. I don't believe your money should be taken from you and given to people who don't want to work. I have literally never encountered anyone who believes this. Ever. (Regardless of what you believe, this is exactly what is happening. Anyone who receives a benefit from the government has gained it at the expense of someone else. And this has happened to the tune of trillions of dollars of wealth transfer over the years. Your problem, ma'am, is that you are incapable of coping with the reality of your beliefs.)
I just have a massive moral problem (Which morality might that be? And why should we accept that your morality ought to carry the force of law?)
with a society where a handful of people can possess the majority of the wealth while there are people literally starving to death, freezing to death, or dying because they can't afford to go to the doctor. (Get out your check book and help someone.)
Fair wages, lower housing costs, universal healthcare, affordable education, and the wealthy actually paying their share would go a long way toward alleviating this. Somehow believing that makes me a communist. (If the shoe fits...
Having just stated that you don't believe peoples' money should be taken from them and given to others who don't want to work, you now advocate for programs that do indeed transfer money or benefits from people who have money to people who don't.)
5. I don't throw around "I'm willing to pay higher taxes" lightly. I'm self-employed, so I already pay a shitload of taxes. (So you pay all these taxes and the result right before your eyes is wealth disparity and people hurting? So, how does your high tax burden feel now?)
5. I don't throw around "I'm willing to pay higher taxes" lightly. I'm self-employed, so I already pay a shitload of taxes. (So you pay all these taxes and the result right before your eyes is wealth disparity and people hurting? So, how does your high tax burden feel now?)
If I'm suggesting something that involves paying more, that means increasing my already eye-watering tax bill. I'm fine with paying my share as long as it's actually going to something besides lining corporate pockets or bombing other countries while Americans die without healthcare. (False choice.)
6. I believe companies should be required to pay their employees a decent, livable wage. Somehow this is always interpreted as me wanting burger flippers to be able to afford a penthouse apartment and a Mercedes. What it actually means is that no one should have to work three full-time jobs just to keep their head above water. (Why not?)
6. I believe companies should be required to pay their employees a decent, livable wage. Somehow this is always interpreted as me wanting burger flippers to be able to afford a penthouse apartment and a Mercedes. What it actually means is that no one should have to work three full-time jobs just to keep their head above water. (Why not?)
Restaurant servers should not have to rely on tips, multibillion dollar companies should not have employees on food stamps, workers shouldn't have to work themselves into the ground just to barely make ends meet, and minimum wage should be enough for someone to work 40 hours and live. (The purpose of employment is an exchange of value. The business needs the labor of a qualified worker and is willing to exchange money for that labor, and the worker is willing to give his labor in exchange for the agreed wage. The value of that labor is commensurate with the skill and training of the worker.
The worker is not paid based on how much it takes to live, but on how valuable his labor is.)
7. I am not anti-Christian. I have no desire to stop Christians from being Christians, to close churches, to ban the Bible, to forbid prayer in school, etc. (BTW, prayer in school is NOT illegal; *compulsory* prayer in school is - and should be - illegal) All I ask is that Christians recognize *my* right to live according to *my* beliefs. When I get pissed off that a politician is trying to legislate Scripture into law, I'm not "offended by Christianity" -- I'm offended that you're trying to force me to live by your religion's rules. You know how you get really upset at the thought of Muslims imposing Sharia on you? That's how I feel about Christians trying to impose biblical law on me. Be a Christian. Do your thing. Just don't force it on me or mine. (Agreed, if you would stop forcing your leftism on Christians.)
8. I don't believe LGBT people should have more rights than you. I just believe we should have the *same* rights as you. (Name the rights LGBT people lack.)
9. I don't believe illegal immigrants should come to America and have the world at their feet, especially since THIS ISN'T WHAT THEY DO (spoiler: undocumented immigrants are ineligible for all those programs they're supposed to be abusing, and if they're "stealing" your job it's because your employer is hiring illegally.). (??? Should employers not hire illegal aliens? Then how will they be able to live without a living wage?)
7. I am not anti-Christian. I have no desire to stop Christians from being Christians, to close churches, to ban the Bible, to forbid prayer in school, etc. (BTW, prayer in school is NOT illegal; *compulsory* prayer in school is - and should be - illegal) All I ask is that Christians recognize *my* right to live according to *my* beliefs. When I get pissed off that a politician is trying to legislate Scripture into law, I'm not "offended by Christianity" -- I'm offended that you're trying to force me to live by your religion's rules. You know how you get really upset at the thought of Muslims imposing Sharia on you? That's how I feel about Christians trying to impose biblical law on me. Be a Christian. Do your thing. Just don't force it on me or mine. (Agreed, if you would stop forcing your leftism on Christians.)
8. I don't believe LGBT people should have more rights than you. I just believe we should have the *same* rights as you. (Name the rights LGBT people lack.)
9. I don't believe illegal immigrants should come to America and have the world at their feet, especially since THIS ISN'T WHAT THEY DO (spoiler: undocumented immigrants are ineligible for all those programs they're supposed to be abusing, and if they're "stealing" your job it's because your employer is hiring illegally.). (??? Should employers not hire illegal aliens? Then how will they be able to live without a living wage?)
I'm not opposed to deporting people who are here illegally, but I believe there are far more humane ways to handle undocumented immigration than our current practices (i.e., detaining children, splitting up families, ending DACA, etc).
10. I believe we should take in refugees, or at the very least not turn them away without due consideration. (Where is this happening?)
10. I believe we should take in refugees, or at the very least not turn them away without due consideration. (Where is this happening?)
Turning thousands of people away because a terrorist might slip through is inhumane, (Allowing terrorists into the country is inhumane.)
especially when we consider what has happened historically to refugees who were turned away (see: MS St. Louis). If we're so opposed to taking in refugees, maybe we should consider not causing them to become refugees in the first place. Because we're fooling ourselves if we think that somewhere in the chain of events leading to these people becoming refugees, there isn't a line describing something the US did. (It's our fault there are refugees, so we should take them in along with any terrorists who happen to be in the crowd.)
11. I don't believe the government should regulate everything, but since greed is such a driving force in our country, (Greed is a moral problem. Ms. Witt, should we legislate morality?)
11. I don't believe the government should regulate everything, but since greed is such a driving force in our country, (Greed is a moral problem. Ms. Witt, should we legislate morality?)
we NEED regulations to prevent cut corners, environmental destruction, tainted food/water, unsafe materials in consumable goods or medical equipment, etc. (Um, we HAVE all these regulations.)
It's not that I want the government's hands in everything -- I just don't trust people trying to make money to ensure that their products/practices/etc are actually SAFE. Is the government devoid of shadiness? Of course not. But with those regulations in place, consumers have recourse if they're harmed and companies are liable for medical bills, environmental cleanup, etc. Just kind of seems like common sense when the alternative to government regulation is letting companies bring their bottom line into the equation. (False choice.)
12. I believe our current administration is fascist. Not because I dislike them or because I'm butthurt over an election, but because I've spent too many years reading and learning about the Third Reich to miss the similarities. (Better go back and study a little more, because it's clear you have no idea what fascism is.)
12. I believe our current administration is fascist. Not because I dislike them or because I'm butthurt over an election, but because I've spent too many years reading and learning about the Third Reich to miss the similarities. (Better go back and study a little more, because it's clear you have no idea what fascism is.)
Not because any administration I dislike must be Nazis, but because things are actually mirroring authoritarian and fascist regimes of the past.
13. I believe the systemic racism and misogyny in our society is much worse than many people think, and desperately needs to be addressed. (There is no such thing as systemic racism.)
13. I believe the systemic racism and misogyny in our society is much worse than many people think, and desperately needs to be addressed. (There is no such thing as systemic racism.)
Which means those with privilege -- white, straight, male, economic, etc -- need to start listening, even if you don't like what you're hearing, so we can start dismantling everything that's causing people to be marginalized. (There it is, finally. Dismantle everything, the clarion call of the far left radical. Tear down the system, it's racist. Replace it with a new system, Marxism.)
14. I believe in so-called political correctness. Not because everyone is a delicate snowflake, but because as Maya Angelou put it, when we know better, we do better. When someone tells you that a term or phrase is more accurate/less hurtful than the one you're using, you now know better. So why not do better? How does it hurt you to NOT hurt another person? Your refusal to adjust your vocabulary in the name of not being an asshole kind of makes YOU the snowflake. (Political correctness, i.e., the thought police. It's a moving target, where a person can never satisfy the requirements of the perpetually offended. So we have speech codes and the shutting down of dissent.
14. I believe in so-called political correctness. Not because everyone is a delicate snowflake, but because as Maya Angelou put it, when we know better, we do better. When someone tells you that a term or phrase is more accurate/less hurtful than the one you're using, you now know better. So why not do better? How does it hurt you to NOT hurt another person? Your refusal to adjust your vocabulary in the name of not being an asshole kind of makes YOU the snowflake. (Political correctness, i.e., the thought police. It's a moving target, where a person can never satisfy the requirements of the perpetually offended. So we have speech codes and the shutting down of dissent.
Odd, weren't you just complaining about fascism?)
15. I believe in funding sustainable energy, including offering education to people currently working in coal or oil so they can change jobs. There are too many sustainable options available for us to continue with coal and oil. Sorry, billionaires. Maybe try investing in something else. (Sustainable energy has billionaires behind it.)
I think that about covers it. Bottom line is that I'm a liberal because I think we should take care of each other. That doesn't mean you should work 80 hours a week so your lazy neighbor can get all your money. It just means I don't believe there is any scenario in which preventable suffering is an acceptable outcome as long as money is saved. (The self-deception is strong in this one...)
So, I'm a liberal.
15. I believe in funding sustainable energy, including offering education to people currently working in coal or oil so they can change jobs. There are too many sustainable options available for us to continue with coal and oil. Sorry, billionaires. Maybe try investing in something else. (Sustainable energy has billionaires behind it.)
I think that about covers it. Bottom line is that I'm a liberal because I think we should take care of each other. That doesn't mean you should work 80 hours a week so your lazy neighbor can get all your money. It just means I don't believe there is any scenario in which preventable suffering is an acceptable outcome as long as money is saved. (The self-deception is strong in this one...)
So, I'm a liberal.
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