lib·er·al

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          I aspire to be a true liberal someday; I'm nowhere near it yet.  You might, too, but you wouldn't know it because the word has been so distorted by people too arrogant or ignorant to look it up in a dictionary.  As a follower of Jesus Christ, the definitions and synonyms of this word describe in a secular way the kind of person I would most like to be.  Nowhere on this list do I see "alcoholic Senator from Massachusetts," just like under the definition of Christian you won't see "boorish President of a Christian college in Virginia."  Do your own word search- look up as many definitions and synonyms for the words "conservative" and "liberal" as you can find and ask yourself honestly as a believer in Jesus which word most describes you.  The word "liberal" has been perverted almost as much as the word "Christian."  
          If you did a man-on-the-street random sampling of the first word that pops in your head when you hear the word "Christian," what do you think the answer would be?  How far down the list would Jesus be?  Probably somewhere behind the President of a Christian college in Virginia. Quick–Christian? Conservative. Christian? Republican. Christian? Right-wing. Christian? Fundamentalist.  Christian? Intolerant. Christian? Fish on the back of a car.  Christian? That Tammy Faye lady.  Christian? Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell.  Jesus would probably make an appearance right about here. This is unbelievably sad.  Doesn't it make you want to say, "People! You've got it all wrong! Being a Christian is all about love, and humility, and giving, and self-sacrifice, and Jesus!"  Unfortunately, people who for the most part have only a passing and incomplete knowledge of what "Christian" really means have perverted the word.  The people who have gotten the most national exposure representing you and I have, with a few exceptions, been pretty embarrassing characters.  You want to reach through the TV sometimes and say, "That's not me! That self-righteous pompadour does not represent me!" But to many unbelievers, he does.
          Now, let's do a word association with the average conservative Christian on the word "liberal."  Liberal? Left-wing.  Liberal? Environmentalist wacko.  Liberal? Democrat.  Liberal? Socialist or communist.  Liberal? Tree-hugger.  Liberal? Jessie Jackson. Liberal? Al Sharpton.  Liberal? Feminazi.  Liberal? Northeastern elitist, intellectual snobs.  Liberal? The media.  Liberal? Un-American.  Am I making my point?
          How would you like Howard Stern to define the word "Christian" on your behalf?  Five days a week, fifty some-odd weeks a year, Howard is out there defining what the word "Christian" means.  And there are millions and millions of people believing him!  That's what has happened to the word "liberal."  Starting with Rush Limbaugh, the word has been successfully re-defined by the very people who seem to understand its real definition the least and misuse that definition the most.  The outer wing of each political party has loud-mouthed camera hogs who most sensible people are loathe to have speak for them, much less define them.  I'm sure, no matter which side of the aisle you're on, you can think of a few.  
          There was a woman at the church I used to attend, a conservative Republican political lobbyist–obviously intelligent and very well respected.  I mentioned to her the book I was writing and what it was about and she commented, in an almost off-hand way, "Well, you know, Jesus was a liberal," as if it was a universally understood thing.  I honestly didn't know what to say.  This represented a snapshot of the disconnect that I have with much of the evangelical Christian community. Somewhere in the back of this woman's mind is the image of our Lord and Savior as a liberal human being, probably in the manner of the definitions that I so over-did in the preceding pages.  This same woman was taking a group of conservative talk-show hosts to Baghdad to broadcast their shows from there (to which I heard from another member of my church, “Great! We'll finally hear some truth from Iraq!" as if everything we know and hear about from over there isn't strictly controlled by our government).  The word "liberal" is the most dirty word one could speak or hear from this group.  In fact, it would not be unreasonable to assume that this same woman spends most of her professional life doing battle with some definition of the word "liberal" that I can't find. And yet, for some mystical reason, it was extremely easy for her to say, "Jesus was a liberal" as if everybody knows that.  Maybe she was just being polite, and didn't want to hurt my feelings.  
          The word 'liberal' has been so demonized by the Right that even liberals aren't using the word 'liberal' anymore. The more common word today is 'progressive'. That's fine with me. It's another word for the same thing.
           I think writer Joe Conason says it best in defining what a liberal is:
"If your workplace is safe; if your children go to school rather than being forced into labor; if you are paid a living wage, including overtime; if you enjoy a forty-hour work week and you are allowed to join a union to protect your rights–you can thank liberals.  If your food is not poisoned and your water is drinkable–you can thank liberals.  If your parents are eligible for Medicare and Social Security, so they can grow old with dignity without bankrupting your family–you can thank liberals.  If our rivers are getting cleaner and our air isn't black with pollution; if our wilderness is protected and our countryside is still green–you can thank liberals.  If people of all races can share the same facilities; if everyone has the right to vote; if couples fall in love and marry regardless of race; if we have finally begun to transcend a segregated society–you can thank liberals."  I would add that if you appreciate the safety of seat belts in your car, or the fact that people can't smoke at the table next to you in restaurants, or in your office space, elevators, or airplanes, you can also thank liberals.  
          What I am proposing is no less heretical than the marrying of the words 'liberal' and 'Christian'.  I am trying to be a liberal, or progressive Christian.  Not the Rush Limbaugh-defined liberal,  and not the Howard Stern-defined Christian.  If you re-read the definitions and synonyms of the word 'liberal', you'll see that they go quite nicely with the definition of 'Christian' that most Christians would agree on.  Two words, both misunderstood, both poorly defined by the last people who should be doing so.  Two words whose meanings have strayed a long way from where they ought to be.