Being Liberal-ized

Why are there so many negative connotations to the word "liberal?" I don't get it. I've heard from angry media folk like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, and Sean Hannity that "liberals" are basically worthless, scum, ignorant, clueless, Anti-American. They're bad for this country. They don't know what's going on. No idea of theirs is pertinent and worthwhile. Whenever I hear people talking politics, I don't hear anyone say things such as, "He is soooo conservative." "That person is way too conservative for me." "They're just another angry conservative." No, I don't hear that kind of chatter. What I hear are things like, "Gosh, they're so liberal." "That guy is way too liberal for me." "It's just another tree hugging, peacenik liberal." It's obvious what some people in power want the public to believe is the true identity of what is liberal and what is conservative, so, I, myself, got confused. I thought, I should just go to Webster for guidance and did just that. Check that, the pocket dictionary is what is closest, so I'll just go with that. Okay, conservative means: 1. Favoring preservation of the existing order, 2. Moderate; cautious, 3. Traditional. Liberal translates to: 1. Favoring individual freedom and nonrevolutionary reform, 2. Broad-minded or tolerant, 3. Generous; bountiful. There you have it from the omniscient one, the dictionary. Alrighty, so when Limbaugh calls someone a liberal idiot, is he really saying, "My, he's such a generous idiot?" Hmmm...let me check my magic 8 ball...ahh, just as I thought, signs point to no. What about, a broad-minded or tolerant idiot? Is Limbaugh really saying that? I don't think so. I mean, the definition for conservative hasn't been tinkered with too much over the years. When I think conservative, I think of a person who doesn't favor much change, who is very traditional, cautious, and not as broad-minded or tolerant as someone who is more liberal. But, the word liberal has been messed with a great deal. Anymore, it seems that the hard-core right wingers want people to think that liberal is synonymous with terms like wishy-washy, flip-flopper, soft, weak, indecisive, anti-war, nontraditional, anti-church, anti-religion, pro-choice, pro-minority (any), pro-heavy taxes, need I continue? So, many people have strayed away from referring to themselves as "liberal," from fear of the general public's perception of them if they were to claim to be such a thing. Why does this happen? I don't want to get into an argument about if the media is too conservative or too liberal. Both political parties are going to claim it's biased toward the other side. Overall, I don't see a bias. It all depends on what party holds office. When Clinton was in office, what do you expect the media to report on, bills that ex-President Reagan worked on and what he had done that exact same day that Clinton held office? And then bash Reagan? No, not going to happen. When a democrat is in office, they will receive the credit and the bashing. Same with republicans. Right now, it is "liberally" biased, in the sense that a conservative holds office and the reports and bashing come out against him. With Clinton, it was "conservatively" biased, in that a liberal held office. It's as simple as that. But, here's the key. The head speakers to the liberal media are not very loud and outspoken. You've got guys like Al Franken and Michael Moore, who like to be smart alecs and crack jokes, almost like a late night talk show host. That's going to make viewers and listeners laugh. But, that's not the case with the headspeakers to the conservative media. Limbaugh, O'Reilly, and Hannity are very loud, angry, and outspoken. They don't use much comedy in their acts. They just bash on the other party and with vigor! So, viewers and listeners are not going to be laughing at jokes and having fun with the show. They're going to be angry, ticked off, and ready to bash on those "evil" liberals. While, I personally, much prefer listening to jokers than yellers and screamers, the yellers and screamers are much more prone to brainwashing their audience than the jokers. So, in that sense, they are more effective at that part of their job. But, I, myself, have read, researched, studied. I even went to ol' reliable, the dictionary, just to make sure I was thinking appropriately regarding the terms. So, I can happily say I am liberal and not feel ashamed or embarrassed about it in the least bit. Why deny it? I think if someone denies that they have some liberal beliefs and some conservative beliefs, then they're just lying to themselves. It's like this...I'm sure there are some things in our life that set a certain comfortability, a certain familiarity, a certain base and foundation that makes us feel safe and secure. We wouldn't want that changed. On the other side, I'm sure there are some things we want to work on, want to progress through, and want to move toward to provide changes in our life, no matter how near or far they may be. So, if anyone out there is feeling ashamed or embarrassed that they may even be a little bit liberal, don't worry about it. Those that are bashing them don't even know the definition, don't know it's true meaning, and they are therefore out of their frame of reference...and when O'Reilly screams his head off, making it look like it's about ready to explode, just shake your head, laugh, pray that he receives proper medication, and thank God you're not him.