Judginng from your obsessive references to such, Marty, I thought that was your type of woman.

In view of the following excerpts:—

Liberalism is a political [position] current embracing several historical and present-day ideologies that claim defense of individual liberty as the purpose of government. It typically favors the right to dissent from orthodox tenets or established authorities in political or religious matters. In this respect, it is sometimes held in contrast to conservatism. Since liberalism also focuses on the ability of individuals to structure their own society, it is almost always opposed to totalitarianism, and often to collectivist ideologies, particularly communism.

The word "liberal" derives from the Latin "liber" ("free") and liberals of all stripes tend to view themselves as friends of freedom, particularly freedom from the shackles of tradition. The origins of liberalism in the Enlightenment era contrasted this philosophy to feudalism and mercantilism. Later, as more radical philosophies articulated themselves in the course of the French Revolution and through the nineteenth century, liberalism equally defined itself in contrast to socialism and communism, although some adherents of liberalism sympathize with some of the aims and methods of social democracy.
###In general, liberals favor constitutional government, representative democracy and the rule of law. Liberals at various times have embraced both constitutional monarchy and republican government. They are generally opposed to any but the milder forms of nationalism, and usually stand in contrast to conservatives by their broader tolerance and in more readily embracing multiculturalism. Furthermore, they generally favor human rights and civil liberties, especially freedom of speech and freedom of the press…. However, the liberal commitment to unrestricted individual liberty is not necessarily absolute: as Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. said, "The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre…," and liberal parties support restrictions on incitement to violence.

Liberals also typically believe in a free market and free trade, but they differ in the degree of limited government intervention in the economy which they advocate. In general, government responsibility for health, education and alleviating poverty fits into the policies of most liberal parties. But all of them, even American liberals, tend to believe in a far smaller role for the state than would be supported by most social democrats, let alone socialists or communists.

Liberals generally believe in a neutral government, in the sense that it is not for the state to determine how individuals can pursue happiness This self-determination gives way to an open mind in ethical questions. Most liberal parties support the 'pro choice' movement and advocate equal rights for women and for homosexuals. Equality before the law is crucial in liberal policies, and racism is incompatible with liberalism. All liberal parties are secular, but they differ on the issue of anti-clericalism. Liberal parties in Latin countries tend to be very anti-clerical.

Liberals agree on the idea that society should have very limited interests in the private behavior of its citizens in the areas of private sexual relations, free speech, personal conscience or religious beliefs, as well as political association. Assurance of personal liberties and freedom, particularly in the case of individual expression, is highly important to liberalism. As John Rawls put it, "The state has no right to determine a particular conception of the good life". The left-wing of liberalism, especially in the United States, considers it fundamental that society has a responsibility to guarantee equal opportunity for each of its citizens. In general, liberals do not believe that the government should directly control any industrial production through state owned enterprises, which places them in opposition to social democrats.
###Since liberalism is broad, and generally pragmatic in its orientation, there is no hard and fast list of policy prescriptions which can be universally assumed to be "liberal"…. Most liberal parties argue that the government should provide some form of health services and basic education. Also, most liberals believe that social security benefits should be financed from taxes….

Most mature, civilized countries embrace various flavors of this position, and although they may not be as wealthy and powerful as the United States, nor do they necessarily have as many citizens who are mega-billionaires, the citizenry in general is free, happy, productive, and secure, and such things as poverty and homelessness are rare to nonexistant. Working to live rather than living to work, they are less driven by the urge to acquire goods (such as a new SUV every year or a larger television set or the latest electronic gizmo), and due to humanitarian labor laws (restrictions on the number of hours per week they can be required to work and with several weeks of vacation per year rather than a mere week or two), they are able to enjoy much more leisure time with family and friends, education, cultural events, amusement, and recreation. Seasoned travelers frequently attest that most Europeans are relaxed and open, and tend to enjoy life in general much more than most Americans, who, by contrast, are driven, overworked, worried, and generally up-tight, rarely seeming to have time to enjoy themselves, and don't seem to know how even when they do get a little time off.

In a country in which the primary concern is not the welfare and well-being of the people, and in which the government is of the corporations, by the corporations, and for the corporations, such concerns as the welfare of the populace is often inimical to the primary concern of those corporations. That primary concern is not goods and services (which should be the purpose of their existence in the first place), but the bottom line and the quarterly report to stockholders, i.e. maximizing profit. This, as we have seen, "justifies" all manner of ethical bottom-feeding, resulting in a total disregard for the welfare of those whom the system ultimately depends on, including its investors (pension funds, for example). This promotes a culture driven by greed and lust for acquisition that results in the insecurity and anxiety that plagues and drives most American working people at all levels, including the highest paid. And ultimately, it influences the foreign policy iu a way that brings the country into unnecessary conflict with the rest of the world.

I am a liberal and proud of the fact. I need no help, thank you very much.

Don Firth

The full article (entry) HERE