Can We Please Stop Praising The Enemies Of Liberty On The Left With The Term ‘Liberal’?

Here are the top 5 reasons to stop applauding the Left with a word that implies they defend Liberty when they clearly do not.
Recent events have clearly demonstrated the Left is no longer Liberal. Perhaps that was never the case in the first place, but at present the evidence is quite clear. The Left is no longer a champion of Liberty.
We’ve all heard the rationale for this incorrect usage, such as words have changed meanings over the years. Well, words haven’t really changed, the fact is the root word for Liberal is the same as Liberty – this why they sound very similar and convey the same idea. So why compliment deceptive people who have turned their back on freedom?
So here are the Top 5 reasons – in order of importance – to stop participating in Leftist propaganda efforts.

5. Leftist and Liberal are easily interchangeable.

Old habits die-hard, many of us are just used to referring to Leftists as Liberals. Well, it’s very important to get out of that habit. Both start with the letter ‘L’ and have the same number of characters, so why not use the correct word?

4. Leftism [Socialism] and Liberalism are based on two entirely different concepts.

The Oxford English dictionary defines the term left in part as:

2 (often the Left) [treated as singular or plural] A group or party favouring radical, reforming, or socialist views:
Origin Old English lyft, left ‘weak’ (the left-hand side being regarded as the weaker side of the body), of West Germanic origin.

The Oxford English dictionary defines the term Liberal in part as:

Favourable to or respectful of individual rights and freedoms
1.2(In a political context) favouring individual liberty, free trade
Origin Middle English: via Old French from Latin liberalis, from liber ‘free (man)’.

Leftists are of a collectivist ideology while Liberals are individualists. These are two entirely different concepts that should not be confused with each other. Contradictory phrases such as ‘Far-Left Liberals’ do not make any sense because they refer to ideologies in opposition to each other. This would be akin to describing something as being Ice-Fire or Gas-solid.
Incorrect usage of these words not only confuses the issue, but this dangerously uniformed habit also reflects also badly on the Conservative cause.

3. Collectivism clearly belongs on the Socialist-Left while the word closely related to Liberty belongs on the Conservative-Right.

Again, Leftists are collectivists, while Liberals (favouring individual liberty) are individualists. They have much more in common with Conservatarians than Leftists.
Consider this quote for the Washington Post piece on Justice John Paul Stevens’ call to repeal the second amendment:

A party that was once afraid of being saddled with supporting “government-run” health care is increasingly okay with the word “liberal” and even voted in droves for a self-described socialist in 2016.

This highlights the contradictory nature of the Socialist-Left’s exploitation of the word Liberal. Collectivist [socialist] ideologies require the application of force for the implementation of their national agenda. This quite adverse to the cause of Liberty and illustrates the sheer hypocrisy in their use of this label.
Conservatives, Libertarians and Liberals are on the Right side of the political spectrum, while the authoritarian Socialists are of the Left, using the wrong word blurs this distinction.

2. Before the word was hijacked by the Left, Liberal ideals were essentially Conservative ideals.

This goes back to the ‘words have changed meaning’ rationale, except that they haven’t.
The defining principles of the word Liberal of being “favourable to or respectful of individual rights and freedoms and (In a political context) favouring individual liberty, free trade” are very much in line with Conservative principles. The word really hasn’t changed in meaning and it is closely associated with freedom. Liberty still has the same definition, so why wouldn’t that apply to a word with the same origins and a similar meaning?
Dr. Everett Piper wrote a book awhile back entitled: “Why I Am A Liberal, and Other Conservative Ideas” demonstrating that Conservatives and Liberals are essentially one in the same.

1. Using the wrong ‘L’ word undeserving praises the Left while insulting true Liberals who are potential allies in the cause of Conserving Liberty.

Conservatives derogatorily referring to Liberals is an insult to those who are true to the word. These are potential allies in the cause, so what is the point in attacking them? As mentioned before , it’s just a matter of using one ‘L’ word of the same length for another, but it will make a world of difference.
Mislabelling Leftists as a Liberals is undeservingly complimentary to them. The Left has turned their back to the cause of Liberty, so why congratulate them with a label that implies the opposite?

The Bottom Line.

In his superb video Dennis Prager pointed out that: We are fighting the Left, not Liberals.  He also asserted that we are in a non-violent civil war with the Left. It is imperative that we at least adopt some message discipline beginning with the words we use. There is absolutely no reason to confuse the issue and praise the enemies of Liberty on the Left with the undeserved label of Liberal. So for the sake of truly preserving Liberty, please stop doing so.
Please refer to some of these fine dissertations and videos on the subject. These illustrate the point that Leftist do not deserve the praise garnered from being labelled as Liberals.
Video: You’re Not A Liberal!
Video: We are fighting the Left, not Liberals – Dennis Prager.
PragerU Video: Why I Left the Left
Leftism Is Not Liberalism
Leftists are not Liberal Despite Common Misconceptions

 Originally published on the NOQ Report