BRAINPAN LEAKAGE

This election season has been trying. To be honest, it has just about done me in. Normally, I am somewhat like the character Chris from the old TV show, Northern Exposure. As anti-establishment as this character tended to be, he had a great respect for the process. For the whole idea of democracy, and voting. Exercising free will, free thought, free expression… Freedom.

Honestly, I still am like Chris in that regard. But, like I said, this has been a long, trying election season.

As it turned out, my preferred candidate didn’t get the nod in the primaries, so I was left with a field I didn’t particularly like. And, I’m not just talking about the two party system here, I’m talking about all of them…. Dems, Pubs, Constitution, Libertarian, Green, all of them…

There were things I liked about each candidate, but then there were things I absolutely couldn’t stand about each of them as well. This left me with a hard decision, and one that I was wholly unable to make until this morning, while standing in line at the polling place, and thoughts of freedom of choice bounced around inside my head…

Normally, my vote is played close to the vest. It is my vote, and no one else’s. That is why we have the secret ballot in this country. So, I generally don’t make my vote known to anyone, with the exception of family and a few close friends.

This year, I am breaking with that tradition.

Since I couldn’t see my way clear to cast my vote for any of the candidates listed on the ballot, I exercised my rights to use the write-in option. And, yes… I voted for EK.

When I told her this she thought I was kidding. Once I convinced her that I was deadly serious, she informed me she doesn’t want the job. In my mind, that makes her far more qualified than any of the folks clamoring for it…

More to come…

Murv

Got your attention, didn’t I?

So, here’s my thing. I’m not going to ramble on about which candidate I endorse, or anything like that. I have always been of the opinion that we vote by secret ballot for a reason. Plus, I don’t want to torque off any readers who don’t share my political views. Politics, like religion, is a very personal thing. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, but by the same token, if you express your opinion you need to be prepared to take a few hits from those who don’t agree.

No, I’m not chicken. I just don’t have time to deal with it right now, at least, not in THIS forum…

So, anyway, back to the title of this blog…

I keep seeing ads by the RNC and Senator McCain which use the word “Liberal” as if it is a bad thing. As if it carries with it a horribly negative definition.

What’s up with that? According to what I have been able to research, the word liberal carries with it no negative connotation. (see below)

lib·er·al      /lib eral, lib rel/ [lib-er-uhl, lib-ruhl] –adjective

1. favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.
2. (often initial capital letter) noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform.
3. of, pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism.
4. favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, esp. as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.
5. favoring or permitting freedom of action, esp. with respect to matters of personal belief or expression: a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.
6. of or pertaining to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies and monarchies.
7. free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant: a liberal attitude toward foreigners.
8. open-minded or tolerant, esp. free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc.
9. characterized by generosity and willingness to give in large amounts: a liberal donor.
10. given freely or abundantly; generous: a liberal donation.
11. not strict or rigorous; free; not literal: a liberal interpretation of a rule.
12. of, pertaining to, or based on the liberal arts.
13. of, pertaining to, or befitting a freeman.
–noun 14. a person of liberal principles or views, esp. in politics or religion.
15. (often initial capital letter) a member of a liberal party in politics, esp. of the Liberal party in Great Britain.

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[Origin: 1325–75; ME < L l?ber?lis of freedom, befitting the free, equiv. to l?ber free + -?lis -al1]

—Related forms
lib·er·al·ly, adverb
lib·er·al·ness, noun

—Synonyms 1. progressive. 7. broad-minded, unprejudiced. 9. beneficent, charitable, openhanded, munificent, unstinting, lavish. See generous. 10. See ample.
—Antonyms 1. reactionary. 8. intolerant. 9, 10. niggardly.

So, thus far I haven’t seen Obama or the DNC running any ads using the word “conservative” with the implication that it means “intolerant reactionary”… Maybe I’m wrong. Perhaps they have and I just missed it. If so, my bad… But, so far, I’m not seeing it…

But, I’ll say this much… Tactics like changing the meaning of a word for the purpose of denigrating a person or group sounds pretty intolerant and reactionary to me… And, that goes for BOTH sides of this fence…