Essay:The Downsides of Being a Liberal

This whole election has been a truly historic moment in American history, it has brought the largely ignored issues of Race and Gender Politics to the forefront of debate, it has revealed very deep seated fears held by certain individuals and has forced the average citizen to really sit and gauge their feelings, beliefs and values.

Unfortunately, it has also brought out the major downsides of being a Liberal in modern America. I first got the idea for this while skimming through Conservative editorials and blog postings. I refined my thoughts and came up with the four major negative points. Here they are in no particular order:

• Liberals rely on logic and observation, not faith

This is something that drives Liberals crazy all the time. Liberals (I'm generalizing here) tend to look into thing in a full, intelligent manner, whereas Conservatives just accept the vision foisted upon them by their handlers. When I first heard about Sarah Palin as a nominee, I researched (as best I could) her background, her values, what she has done as a Governor. For the record, I didn't think she faked a pregnancy to cover up her daughter's (and I think you'd have to be a rather sick individual to believe that ridiculous soap opera tale). But I do think she has a serious history of ethics abuses and questions about her sudden shift in political positions. She was almost recalled as mayor for politically motivated firings (she's accused of firing anyone who supported her opponent in the election) and there have been stories about her demanding loyalty oaths from city employees.

There are many others, but this is not a lecture on her history. However, Conservatives are happy to ignore all of this as politically motivated and just accept the Republican talking point that she is a gun and baby loving hockey mom from Alaska. I never just accepted the Democratic line that Joe Biden was a tough speaker from Delaware that will help shore up support among blue collar (read: white) workers in the Obama campaign. I researched his history and came to my own conclusions about him.

I'm sure that if I were to just accept the faith and follow party line on everything, my life would be much much easier, but I can't bring myself to do that.

• Liberals don't see things in black and white*

Nothing sums up the difference between Liberal and Conservative better that stated opinions on abortion. I can't speak for all liberals, but I can tell you that I find abortion a very difficult, nuanced decision that should only be made by the two respective parents and no one else. I don't enjoy abortions, nor do I "cheer the massacre of millions of dead babies" as our Conservative friends love to shout to the masses. However, I think an abortion is much better than forcing a 15 year old girl to carry a baby conceived from a rape. I think an abortion is better than driving a girl who made a poor choice into poverty and a lifetime of difficulty. On the other hand, I don't think abortion should be used as a form of birth control. I don't think abortion should be the only option considered, and I don't think the average person would undergo the procedure without a thorough thought process. Across the aisle, Conservatives think its wrong, end of story (again, I'm generalizing.) The can simply accept that abortion is wrong, some people think it's wrong in any circumstances, and refuse to even consider an alternative viewpoint.

The same is true with guns, I own a shotgun, 12 gauge, made by New England Firearms. I shoot trap and skeet, and I hope to get a new rifle for Christmas this year. However, I see no reason to own a handgun, I think there is absolutely no reason for the average citizen to own an automatic weapon and I also fail to see why armor piercing bullets are necessary. This may seem self contradictory, but it's a very rational POV to me. Handguns are meant to be easily carried and therefore, easily concealed, which just leads to trouble. A large amount of Conservative just think that guns are great and we have the right to carry them.

Seeing the world in a nuanced and subtle shade is a great thing. It allows for intelligent thoughts and rational decisions, but it makes it much harder to explain our views to others and it allows political opponents an easy opening to pain us with a wide brush. How many Republicans love to attack Obama a Liberal "willing to let babies die by the millions?" It can be found in just about every political forum, especially online, where the anonymity of the internet allows them to spew hatred with no fear of reprisal?

• Liberals don't fight dirty enough

Like it or not, the right wing smear machine not only exists, but it's running at near 100% efficiency. Conservatives have literally dozens of outlets for Republican talking points, smears against Liberal opponents and the ability to constantly reinforce their viewpoint (again, easily broken down to terms of black and white). We on the left simply don't have this. It's not that we can't, it would be very easy, it's simply that Liberals don't like to deal that way. Franken, Olbermann, Chris Matthews and others have all taken on Ann Coulter. How do they do it? They attack her baseless accusations, her manipulation of end notes and out of context quotes and use videotape and transcripts to knock her argument away. How does she respond? She doesn't. She has, to the best of my knowledge penned one column (called answering my critics) wherein she "responds." But she doesn't, she lies again and then churns out more crap.

Conservatives have no qualms about fighting dirty and smearing opponents, but when Liberals put forth a legitimate criticism, they scream foul and we usually back off. Chelsea Clinton was cited for underage drinking and it was national news for a week, but what about the Bush twins? Any jokes against them were attacked and degraded like biochemical warfare. John Kerry mentioned Lynne Cheney and the right flew into a rage, but Al Gore's son? Fair game. Bristol Palin's pregnancy is off limits, it's a personal matter, but Edward's and Clinton's affairs are ripe for attacks. We don't fight nearly as hard as we should be, for fear of becoming what we despise.

• Liberals voice their criticisms

There are many things I don't like about the Obama campaign. I hate how quickly he capitulated to the religious right and his plan to continue Bush's "faith based initiatives" drives me crazy. As George Carlin once noted, faith based was chosen to replace religious because no one's ever heard of a faith based war. I also dislike some of his energy plans, I think they're great goals, but that he may be setting too soon a timetable to be on alternative energy sources. If Conservatives have similar qualms about Sarah Palin and John McCain, you wouldn't know it by watching them. Conservative very quickly fall into line and support their candidate no matter what. No one can seriously argue that Palin is prepared to become President if needed, and no one is stupid enough to think that running a business and being governor of the 47th most populous state is comparable to running the country. Yet, every major Conservative columnist and pundit has been playing cheerleader for her qualifications on television and the internet. Even higher, just look at the sudden shift in opinion for McCain. See the Conservapedia whitewash or the Hannity flip flop. Hell, take a look at Ann Coulter who, until about ten months ago, loathed John McCain as the scourge of the earth, now she supports him for president.

Airing our criticisms is necessary and a very important part of Democracy. But doing so just leaves the door open for those criticisms to be levied against you. Look at how quickly Conservatives took Joe Biden to task for his comment during the primary. His criticisms were all very valid and he made good points, but Republicans and their simple minded sheep just see that Obama is being criticized by his own party. The mindless masses that refuse to air criticisms see this as weakness.

As much as I hate these points, there's nothing I can do about it. I'm a Liberal and that isn't going to change anytime soon. Many people have said (to my constant annoyance) that my views will become much more Conservative as I grow older. Aside from the patronizing sentiments behind that type of thinking, I disagree with the very notion that my core values are going to shift in the wind just because I become older. I also resent the implication that my Liberal views are do to youthful ignorance. Whenever someone tells me this, I usually reply that my views are not the product of ignorance, but the product of ration inquiry and a sense of what's right in the world. So although I may not agree with everything my side does, I will continue my Liberal ways till the day I die.