TheWiseOldFart

I am not certain that this is the fifth article I have written about why I am proud to be a liberal, or the fourth or the sixth. I only know that on occasion I find it necessary to explain how I learned right from wrong, and how I became aware that the past is only good for one thing: it is a place where the most important things I learned were from my mistakes, and the mistakes of my government.   As an original “baby boomer,” born in July of 1946, I began my life in an atmosphere of patriotism, and rebirth. The war to defeat fascism had been won, and America was changing quickly, attempting to leave the horrors of war behind us and move our nation forward with changes which no one could have imagined just a few years ago. Millions of women who had become workers in our factories in support of the need to create weapons of mass destruction stepped aside, allowing America’s returning heroes to secure employment in the private sector. Factories were re-tooled, manufacturing eve...

Since 2017, the label “conservative” has become synonymous with “right-wing extremism,” and more recently “fascism.” Trump and his anti-American supporters love to call real Americans “radical, liberal leftists.” Let me offer the facts, one more time. I am proud to be a liberal, or, if you prefer, “progressive.” I have many reasons, but two of them clearly define my beliefs. I cherish the principles contained in the Constitution, and I care about other Americans as much as I care about myself. Conservatives are first and foremost liars and hypocrites. They tell the American people what they want to hear: pandering to the worst. Their only goals in the 21 st century are increasing their own power and wealth by serving their masters: our nation’s 756 oligarchs/billionaires. America was not always this fucked up. In 1968, at the age of 22, I was planning to vote in my first national election. Like all men and women my age, who were in high school when John F. Kennedy was elected, voting ...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart I am registered as a Democrat, but only because if I am not, I cannot vote in the primaries. In reality, I have been a lifelong Independent, and believe that everyone should reject all political parties. Every voter should cast their ballots for the best candidate regardless of the party funding their campaigns. Voting for a party is an act of pure ignorance. What I am proud of is being a liberal, or if you choose, a progressive. If you are not a liberal, why not? Liberals care about others. We are concerned about the future of our nation’s people; all of them. We are also involved in the fight against climate change, a woman’s right to make decisions about her personal physical and mental health, and the right to have access to healthcare without excessive and life-altering financial burden. We care about the growing gap in income inequality, and will protect the Constitution: all of it, not just the Second Amendment. Unlike those who call themselves “conservat...