Floyd Brown Loc: Milwaukee WI

I am Liberal in my Personal view.
I feel that we all live together & it is important the we have a system that provides Us with what the Constitution & the Bill of Rights grants us.

When first wrote the Constitution was about granting & protecting property Rights. The Bill of Rights was added to include Individual Rights.

What we have is a division between the Property Rights wanted by those on the Right & the Individual Rights wanted by those on the left.

So what we have today is Property Rights have gained over Individual Rights.

So much so that those with Property have gained most of the Property Rights leaving Individuals with less freedom to carry on & enjoy the Individual Rights granted them.

"Life, Liberty & the pursuit of Happiness."

lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

If all of us have "inalienable" rights, we don't need laws to guarantee them. What we've allowed to be done, is the writing of laws that PROSCRIBE our freedoms - to benefit the very rich and very powerful.

We are, in fact, now returned to a feudal state - where laws are designed to benefit the nobility, that is, the rich and powerful - and keep the peasants ( 99% of Americans ) in their place and helpless.

We did this to ourselves, through apathy and inattention.

Floyd Brown Loc: Milwaukee WI

If only we can give it all a bump in the right direction.

Most of the people are mostly good. A good start is to see the good that is in each of us & how much better it will be as we see that goodness in each other.

Just as doom & gloom never far away so is it that kindness & love is always within reach. We can find what we want & have what we want.

cSc61 Loc: Austin

Floyd, liberalism by definition takes from one so as to give to another. That is not liberty - that is tyranny. Not to put words in your mouth but perhaps your personal views are more along the lines of a libertarian not a liberal.

Olden McGroen Loc: Texas

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Your individual liberties end at the edge of my property.

Floyd Brown Loc: Milwaukee WI

Call me what you will but when I say I am liberal in my views I mean just that.

I don't mean it in the political sense.

So I looked it up & thanks to you I wish to be known for being open minded.

I can not bring my self to believe that being open minded leads to tyranny.

cSc61 Loc: Austin

Very well then.

Hey, I was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI (and Menomonee Falls). So we'll always have that in common at least. :)

northernlights

I agree we've have done this to ourselves, as we do need to be active and watchful of our politicians. It is our fault, at the same time we are constantly being under minded by our own electives.

It would be a great help to us if ou elected officials actually worked for the people and not the lobbyists, secondly people who sell themselves out for monetary gain, and sell the country's interest by signing a contract to people like Grover Norquist, were more easily terminated from office.

That we put bylaws in place to protect us from this type of political manipulation which cripples our governing process and not allow it to be . Where are those candidates? Some believe this to be Trump? I am doubtful of that.

Floyd Brown Loc: Milwaukee WI

I made a mistake in putting property in its simplest form & not in it's complete context.

Today Property held as corporations have the rights of humans.

Humans use corporations to do things that are harmful to people to escape personal liability.

As most property is now in the hands of so few & is treated much more favorable with taxation as to human labor there has been a steady increase in the % of property in few hands.

One way or another the having of property to produce income as been remove from most.

Having no means to enjoy some freedoms is not much different from not having a freedom.

I guess that was over kill.

Floyd Brown Loc: Milwaukee WI

I was born upstate but have lived in Milwaukee since 1957.

Have spent the last 50 some years as a self employed handyman.

Now I mostly spend too much time on the computer.

Olden McGroen Loc: Texas

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You might want to further explain your position.

How is it that corporations are treated more favorably than individuals with respect to taxation? Maybe on a local level when cronyism rears its ugly head. The federal corporate rate is 39%, the highest on the planet. Individuals, like corporations, benefit from tax credits/loopholes. I fail to get your point.

Sure, if you're talking about cronyism (government colluding with corporations) then that's an issue we all can get behind to oppose. Same goes for government subsidies...which, again, is government picking winners and losers.

The "having of property" has been removed from most? Ok, again...why is that? One word...government intervention. Manifested in the form of taxation, legislation and regulation. They're like the mob. They have to get their fingers in everything to get their cut.

One thing is certain, corporations don't owe you a job. No one owes you anything. It's your responsibility to provide for yourself. Corporations are businesses. Business is designed to turn a profit, not provide jobs to people out of charity.

I think you'll find that the less government is involved, the better things operate.

lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

That is NOT, in fact, liberalism at all. Someone has been feeding you propaganda. To be fair though, as many people have misrepresented liberalism, as there have been those misrepresenting conservatism.

The very best way to determine what something is, or is not - is to avoid literature generated by those for a thing, as well as those against a thing - as they are both liable to bias. Find literature that does not represent either side and you'll find the truth more readily.

cSc61 Loc: Austin

Very well ... you've told me what liberalism is not -- now I'm ready to hear from you what you think it is, and how it has nothing to do with the spread of socialism.

lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

Those candidates never see the light of day on the campaign trail. The rich and powerful do not donate to candidates that espouse limiting their power and wealth.

Every election year, since 2006, the amount of money spent on elections, breaks the previous record and it is no coincidence, that laws limiting campaign financing and reining in Wall Street, have been gutted or eliminated - that's what the rich and powerful are paying for - and the rich ALWAYS get good value for their money.

Instead of the citizens of the United States of America focusing on calling their representatives to account, or demanding that the wholesaling of our Government stop - the politicians keep them distracted with one controversy after another, one problem after another, or a combination of the two - and if there isn't one of those readily available, they'll create one.

lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

Socialism isn't communism, despite the fear mongering associated with it, although they do share some common elements. By the same token, democracy shares some of the same elements as well and so does capitalism. The elements all these ideologies share, is a result of many years of trial and error and some things have been found to work - in all cases.

Liberalism and conservatism all have the same goals, they just differ in the methods they believe will achieve those goals. All believe in "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". Some believe the society as whole is responsible for ensuring that all share equally in the success of that society and some believe that the individual is responsible for obtaining his/her fair share - but in practicality, some of both are utilized in this country.

If we could all at least agree that our goals are the same, we would see less squabbling on how to achieve those goals, but we won't even do that. The goals of a mega corporation, are different than the goals of a middle class family - and I'll give you one guess, as to who's goals take precedent. So, you can remain scared of the evils of socialism, if you want, or you can educate yourself on what that actually is - and discover that America practices socialism, when it comes to big business, or more accurately, capital socialism, which is an amalgam of socialism and capitalism - whereby the most liberal elements of both are utilized.