As Barack Obama leads us into a new era of liberalism, it's useful for each of us to think about what that means to us, why we are liberals, what we want government to achieve, and for whom.
The Carpetbagger Report had this interesting post on the Fourth about some of the differences between liberals and conservatives -- and how some of the sharpest of those differences relate to patriotism.
It's brief and worth reading. Here's an excerpt:
Conservatives believe it’s easy to be a patriot; liberals know why
it’s sometimes hard. It’s not hard because America is a bad place or
because it’s not easy to love one’s country. It’s hard because being a
true patriot means we must elevate reason over base emotions, tamp down
our worst impulses and always remember that our Constitution is more
than mere words on paper.
Conservatives believe all a patriot has to do is wear a flag lapel
pin or fly a flag outside. Liberals understand that manipulating a
symbol is not the end of patriotism; it’s just the beginning. The hard
part is what comes next: honoring and living up to the promises behind
the symbol.
Being a liberal isn't easy. Maybe that's why we get smug: we're doing the heavy lifting. Along with the smugness may come earnestness. It's good occasionally to prick that bubble of smugness. To help with that, here's a great song by Roy Zimmerman, detailing some of the difficulties of being a liberal. If you don't know about Zimmerman, you owe it to yourself to find out more.
