No Wonder Liberal is a Dirty Word

Often during the recent election one Republican or another tosses out the label "liberal" as a vile condemnation of their Democrat opponent.

"She's just too Liberal for our state."

"He's a Nancy Pelosi Liberal."

"The good folks around here don't accept those left coast Liberal ideas."
How did Liberal become such a dirty word?

The problem isn't really the name calling of reactionary Republicans. There is ample name calling in every election cycle by both sides.

And the problem really isn't that Liberals are tolerant and even open to new ideas. Or that liberals tend to support alternative concepts, beliefs or even lifestyles. I've learned that most people of all political leanings tend to be tolerant and understanding. Some conservatives actually are compassionate.

The problem is there are a large bunch of tyrannical fascists parading around pretending to be liberals.

I am, as my personal friends and long time readers here know, one of the dreaded Secular Humanists. I am a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church, one of the most liberal religious fellowships on earth. At most of our churches and fellowships, on any given Sunday, you'll find Wiccans, Hindus, Jews, Christians, Muslims, even far eastern metaphysical religious followers and all of us secular humanists gathered over coffee, donuts and some of the best soups ever created.

We'll be discussing the upcoming wedding of two of our dear gay friends and the upcoming Christian baptism of our newest member.

Over in the corner there will be a heated discussion about immigration, or Iraq or school uniforms.

O.K., enough of the personal anecdotes. I have a point to make.

Liberals are reviled not because of what they stand for, but because of what some people pretending to be liberal stand against!! Many pseudo-liberals practice so damn much hatred, intolerance, fear mongering and dictatorial control, it's no wonder liberals become hated.

Bill O'Reilly is able to rant against what he calls the secular humanist "agenda" because he sees the constant and unceasing attacks on Christianity around the nation. And if my liberal friends think O'Reilly is just full of Christian paranoia, they need to open their eyes and look at what is really happening.

A real liberal never, ever forbids or denies the open practice of Christianity. We do actually wish our Christian friends "Merry Christmas" and use the actual words.

We accept Christianity as a worthy religion, equal to the world's other great religions (although not better or worse). We may rail against its flaws or disagree with some of its prejudices, but we welcome its followers as friends and companions on the very human journey through life.

Let me finally get to my point.

Today we have another, glaring example of dictatorial tyranny masquerading under the label of liberalism. The narrow minded, prejudiced, despots of the San Francisco School Board have decided to deny their students the option participating in the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) program.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

SAN FRANCISCO School board votes to dump JROTC program After 90 years in San Francisco high schools, the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps must go, the San Francisco school board decided Tuesday night. The Board of Education voted 4-2 to eliminate the popular program, phasing it out over two years. Dozens of JROTC cadets at the board meeting burst into tears or covered their faces after the votes were cast. "We're really shocked,'' said fourth-year Cadet Eric Chu, a senior at Lowell High School, his eyes filling with tears. "It provided me with a place to go." The board's decision was loudly applauded by opponents of the program. Their position was summed up by a former teacher, Nancy Mancias, who said, "We need to teach a curriculum of peace."

Ann Coulter in her thought provoking (and very funny) book, Godless, talks about the "religion of liberalism" and how the left is forcing it upon America while denying competing religions.

She is able to make that horrible accusation precisely because there are people operating under the guise of liberalism who want to prohibit competing ideas and concepts. They want to allow only the teaching of ideas that meet their strict moral code.

Coulter gets away with calling liberalism a religion because some folks want it ramed down the throats of others like a over zealous religious prophet.

What San Francisco has done is closer to the Sharia Schools of Saudi Arabia, than the teaching of good liberal schools in America.

What the hell does the San Francisco School Board think a "liberal education is?" One that prohibits the open and free exchange of ideas? One that denies alternative lifestyles? One that prevents students from seeking structure, support and leadership training?

Tyranny of the left is not liberalism. It's tyranny.

TECHNORATI TAGS: ROTC JROTC SAN FRANCISCO SCHOOL BOARD UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISM RELIGION LIBERALISM CHRISTIANITY ANN COULTER TYRANNY EDUCATION PREJUDICE

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