Recently sent to Kerry by a local liberal who is highly intelligent and experienced in successful business operations:

Dear Senator Kerry,

I'm certain that you have noted the current mantra of many of the conservative talk show hosts – "we are proud to call ourselves conservatives so why are liberals afraid to call themselves liberals". Indeed, the word liberal has been vilified by the Republican Party for the past 20 years, but in a broader sense, Liberalism, is the very basis of our democracy and the unparalleled freedom that we, as Americans recognize to be our right as members of the republic. The founding fathers imbued the Constitution with liberal ideas of freedom and the Declaration of Independence is itself, a declaration of Liberalism:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

I believe that we all conform to the liberal idea of freedom – that by reason of our inclusion in the union, by our very humanness, we have the right to order our lives as to what we see as good for us and that this right is universal to all. The legitimacy of our government rests on the premise that we consent to it and if we subsequently believe that the government is errant in protecting the truths that we hold to be universal, we have the right to remove it.

And that's just what we intend to do on November 2nd.

My point is that I believe that Democrats should pull the term Liberal out of the mire and hold up Liberalism as a banner for freedom. I am proud to be a Liberal. I am proud that I value the possibilities of all humankind. I am proud that I am not threatened by another's political, spiritual or sexual orientation. I am proud that I believe education is the cornerstone to advancing a society. I am proud of the contributions of science and technology. I am proud to be awed by a painting or a song. I am proud to be a small part of a grand ecosystem. And, I am proud to be an American. I hold these truths to be self-evident.

Humbly Yours,

H. K.