Why liberalism has a bad name

Why liberals are always compare to what is wrong in our country?

Right now everything is going down the hill . . . and we have a conservative government.

Still people complain that is liberalism at fault.

liberalism seem to be the bad word now a days a shameful stain a scarlet letter.

Words like communist, terrorist sympathizer, pro terrorist, anti-American radicals and even totalitarian radicals has been tag to liberals all around the nation.

Many so call experts said that liberalism is a psychology, not an ideology and as such, it’s unreasonable.

What do you think.

Where the bad reputation came from.

Marg, good question. I remember hearing George H.W.Bush referring to Liberals in a denigrating tone. I don't know if it was before that, that it started or what, but when GHWB said it, it was picked up by the conservatives and used in a denigrating way, that's when it caught on. More govt propaganda paid for with your tax dollars.

I also wonder how liberalism became such a dirty word.

I guess you are right it was with Bush campaign.

"Liberals" has become a denigrating term because, in the US, the Liberals were the far left, allied with the socialists and communists, which were themselves openly opposed to the US and trying to foment a revolution.

The 'regular' Left disasociated with the communists, and even the 'liberals', so Liberal became an extremism. Just like 'neocon' is used as an insult by the left, when, in reality, the terms are just political descriptions, not insults.

It started long before the older Bush, he didn't invent it or something like that.

Originally posted by marg6043
I also wonder how liberalism became such a dirty word.

Lets start with the dumbing down of society by politicans and the media and when people swaped Fox news for reality. Liberalism became a convient enemy for anyone who was against the following. Politicans and the Christian taliban trying to hijack science and impose socially retared policys on American society.

The great political divide suits both sides of the political spectrum it prevents Americans and there leaders from dealing with real issues.

xpert11

That is a good point to bring there, I was doing research about why liberalism was so bad and I found out that it has links to hitler and Hitler policies before becoming a totalitarian leader.

Some seem to link Hitler with been liberal and actually perhaps a democrat in his views but that was before he became such a powerful and hated man in Europe.

But I actually I kind not find any differences between liberalism and conservatism since the present administration took office.

They do not act very much conservative to me they seem to be putting conservatism as a dirty word also.

Originally posted by marg6043
That is a good point to bring there, I was doing research about why liberalism was so bad and I found out that it has links to hitler and Hitler policies before becoming a totalitarian leader.

Some seem to link Hitler with been liberal and actually perhaps a democrat in his views but that was before he became such a powerful and hated man in Europe.

Linking so called Liberals to Hitler is propgander from the American right.

Hitler's beer hall oratory, attacking Jews, social democrats, liberals, reactionary monarchists, capitalists and communists, began attracting adherents. He also attracted the attention of local business interests, was accepted into influential circles of Munich society and became associated with wartime General Erich Ludendorff during this time.

link

Its also worth noting that the NAZIs used private companys in recent times IBM has been under the spot light. Hitler was a right wing extremist .

Stalin was a left wing extremist and the leader that without using logical thought process you could compare "Liberals" to Stalin. Stalin was also an extremist as with all extremists from the political spectrum there is no or very little differnce bewteen them despite the hatred.

Originally posted by marg6043
I also wonder how liberalism became such a dirty word.

I guess you are right it was with Bush campaign.

I would say it goes way back to the 60's when hippies and such where the trade mark of a degrading society. Drugs, sex, lack of moral fiber, disregard to religion, all of that is what the Right sees in the Left. We get the whole terrorist thing from supporting burning flags, taking god out of the constitution, protesting troops and supporting trials for terrorist. You get communist from the social give away programs like medicade medicare and welfare to name a few.

Now I am not saying that is how I view all leftist, that would be a mistake. That would be like a leftist comparing me to the far Christian Right. I am far from being Christian conservative. Conservative yes, but religion has nothing to do with my views. Liberal is just a term used by those on the right to drag you down, to classify you and those "like" you, even if they actually are not. Democrats that are in the middle, which is actually the vast majority, just like republicans are mostly in the middle are stereotyped into these catagories, a democrat with conservative views but votes democrat because he or she believes in free choice is then unfairly declared a raging liberal.

In reality I think we attack eachother, devide ourselves when the majority of Americans are not all that different. Blame the media and our two party system for that . That is just my view marg.

Originally posted by Nygdan
"Liberals" has become a denigrating term because, in the US, the Liberals were the far left, allied with the socialists and communists, which were themselves openly opposed to the US and trying to foment a revolution.

Oh, puh-LEEZE. Nygdan, I'd like you to name a single prominent liberal politician in the U.S. during the 1960s and 1970s (the only time in my lifetime when we even HAD a "far left") who were allied with, say, the Weather Underground or the Communist Party U.S.A. or the Revolutionary Communist Party or any other American radical group of the time. Go ahead. Back up your absurd charge.

Really, you're usually much better than this. I'm embarrassed for you, frankly.

The 'regular' Left disasociated with the communists, and even the 'liberals'

BS. The "regular" left and the "liberals" have always been one and the same. The closest you can come to this in reality was when, in the 1980s, after an extensive propaganda campaign by very skillful Republican spin-artists, some liberal Democratic pols shied away from using the label. But there were no "liberals" to whom the label was applied, that those pols also shied away from.

It started long before the older Bush, he didn't invent it or something like that.

Correct. It began with the Reagan administration. Although the deliberate linking of liberalism with Communism, as you have attempted above, began even earlier than that, during the McCarthy era.