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When did
"liberal" become a dirty word? By Glenn Danforth © Copyright 1996 Glenn Danforth |
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| Liberal: A
term once worn as a badge of honor has recently become a term of derision. Only 30 years ago liberalism was associated with the idealism of leaders the likes of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, and students protesting a war they believed unjust. Liberals were brave men and women risking their lives helping register black voters in Mississippi. Liberals were those fighting for women’s rights and trying to help Ceasar Chavez and the Mexican farm workers in their struggle for basic human rights. Liberals were people who put the environment ahead of corporate wealth. What caused liberal to become a term so hideous Bob Dole believed he could overcome an insurmountable deficit in the polls by running ads attempting to pin the liberal label on Bill Clinton? The answer can be summed up in a term as abhorrent as liberal: Politically correct. Left-wing extremists took a decent concept and used it to turn an entire political movement into a pathetic caricature of itself. The terms liberal and politically correct have become synonymous. Even once proud liberals aren’t safe from the self-appointed “policepeople” of politically-correct terminology. In 1988, I, a once-proud liberal, traveled to Washington to join over 300,000 people in a march for women’s rights. This was one of many liberal causes I once devoted my energies to. My current political views  (centrist) are due in part to my disgust with the
political correctness movement.The final straw came in 1994 when I was verbally attacked in a grocery store by a woman who was offended when she overheard me use the term ‘girls’ to refer to a group of female friends. "We aren't girls," she berated me, "we are women." "You'll have to excuse me," was the best response I could muster, "I guess I never received the latest fax." The absurdities of the politically-correct world of hyphenation have become fodder for comedians who thrive on inventing politically-correct terms. People are no longer fat, they’re gravity-challenged. Students no longer fail courses, they become report card-impaired. Unfortunately comedians have no need to write such jokes. The truth, at least when it comes to left-wing extremists, is much funnier than fiction. Children too young to spell the word sex are accused of sexual harassment for kissing classmates on the cheek, while the school paper of an Ivy League bastion of liberalism, Yale, refers to freshmen as "freshpeople." Feminist extremists want so desperately to rid the world of any words that might be anti-female, they are trying to rid the English language of the horrific word, humanity. Why? It has the word man in it. The world’s best comedy writer couldn’t make that up. The only people benefiting from the inane political correctness movement are people such as Rush Limbaugh, who can thank the backlash against the movement for his entire career. Like socialism, another failed left-wing movement that started with the selfless goal of helping the less-fortunate, the political correctness movement has turned into something to be feared and ridiculed. It’s time to end the absurdity and return the term liberal to the badge of honor it once was.
Previously published in The Capsule. |
