The Jan 16 edition of The Lima News had the following headline: “Group holds march to bring awareness to liberal causes.”
I attended the meeting and take objection to being called a political liberal. A liberal is associated with ideals of individual economic freedom, greater individual participation in government, and constitutional, political, and administrative reforms designed to secure these objectives.
We met to support ideas of collective freedom that lead to public policies supporting the human rights to good education, health care for all, and majority rule in the political process.
Since the 1980s in the USA, religious and political pundits have used a vaguely undefined term “liberal” as a pejorative. It seems to be used as a term for the bad things that people learn in college.
Maybe you should have a moratorium on the word at your newspaper, or have a discussion of what the term means in 2017. At least qualify and explain the term when it is used.
Robert Kemp, Bluffton
