My Liberalism
My liberalism frees me from the preponderancy of conservative cowardliness... those that deem what is right for me, those that call halt to my doings, those that fear change and tomorrows that they cannot grasp, those that follow the moral codes engraved into their psyches by foolish archetypes that profess to know what my own spirit should demonstrate to their immature attitudes.My liberalism allows every man/woman to face their own challenges in life, allows each person to speak the truths that they believe, allows anyone’s religion a ground to pray on, allows mankind to coexist and respect others beliefs, philosophies, ideas to root, even on the sidewalk cracks, to bloom and draw forth the undiscriminating bee to its nectars.
My liberalism gives all the opportunity to express their own god-given being, gives the diversity of life its due respect, gives halt to the reckless behavior of conservative greed to fill their own wallets, leaving others penniless and at their mercy.
My liberalism shows itself naked to the world, with all its imperfections, its pimples and boils, its warts and moles, to show others that perfection is not what we wish it to be, but perfection lies in the acceptance of this stage of life to perform it's script, without interference from kings or queens, without interference from monarchs or oligarchs, without interference from the self professed one-to-one-with-god pseudo-saints.
My liberalism is something which is as cultivated as the redwood forest, as confined as the flooded river that overflows its banks, as beautiful as the universe on a new moon night, as loving as the innocence of a child, and as spiritual as the cactus that grows on the south side of a desert mountain.
The big daddy that shakes his finger is my own ego reprimanding myself for not obeying the dictates of past efforts... my fat mama offering her pie is my feminine side that enjoys the safety of warm embraces and submits to the fears of the unknown of night’s dark futures.
My nerves are frayed from my own self-imposed ideals that get shaken every time something rattles those delicate beliefs that I have nurtured thru snow and drought, revealing how foolish I truly am to hang on to a dust covered past.
Without liberalism I would succumb to the beliefs of all others that have passed before me, not recognizing my own individuality. Liberalism has allowed that one treasure, individuality, to be dug up from the grave of indifference and greed, to finally see the light of day that it so eagerly needs to flourish upon this most liberal of planets in our solar system.
I salute life with all its diversity...we are all flowers in this garden of eternal life, each bloom with its own essence, each flower its own beauty... and I liberally celebrate those differences.
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Although I'd do a bit of rephrasing here and there, the overall writing is still valid for me. But the main reason is how misunderstood and somehow fearful of what we call liberalism is to so many. The core of liberalism is questioning. This inherent quality that we self-defined hominids have is further explained by the word 'sapiens' from Latin meaning both 'to taste' and 'be wise.'
One cannot fully 'taste life' without having the freedom, i.e., liberty to do so. This very innate quality is how we grow in our wisdom.
The current flood of conservatism is so contrary to our natural desire to learn, to grow and thrive within an environment of a sense of freedom to attain our full potential is puzzling to me, puzzling because there are so many of us that strongly embrace what is called 'conservatism.' Hence my use of the phrase 'conservative cowardliness' in my essay.
It's not to refute any sense of conservatism, but to allow this strict belief code to become the overlying sense of commonality is, as I see it, a danger to humanity. In our own politics anything inferred 'liberal' is under suspicion, if not outright fear. The evangelical movement is growing under the strict belief that anyone that does not believe in Jesus as the Lord Almighty Incarnate is doomed to spend their eternity in a geographical Hell.
In the Middle East the radical Islamic followers have a strict code that is believed to have been written by one prophet, Mohammad, that personally knows God, much like Christianity's Jesus, or Judaism's Moses - those that personally spoke with and unquestioningly understood the wishes of the One Grand Master of Life, Allah/God/Yahweh... whichever word is most suitable to the followers.
Does not adhering to any of these, unquestioningly, reduce our ability to be 'sapiens'? If mankind is discouraged, (if not forbidden), by the interpretation of these select few to question what actually amounts to these limited views of "God's words", this would put barriers upon our gene-given naturalness to question.
The same with our current politics which is more heavily influenced by the extreme right-wing evangelical movement than ever before; not all that different from the theocratic-based fundamentalism of the Islamic radicals. The more powerful a base for politics this force controls, the overall less control 'liberal mindedness' will become. Would it not follow individuality would become reduced... this "god-given gift" that is beyond our comprehension but absolutely our right to pursue? America's own Constitution supposedly guarantees it. Even our current President uses mankind's gift of freedom as a rallying cry (sadly for his own agenda).
Oddly, religions are called 'faith based' but when faith in our own ability to define our individuality using our capacity to think freely, somehow creates a divide between thinkers and believers, both of which are 'homo sapiens' - thinking beings.
When the climate to continue thinking freely outside the box is repressed thru society or culture, the same box becomes a cage, confining the potential for wisdom into criminals of our own shame for being less than what we are capable of being.
Cecil
01 October 2006
The Door
never lock your door
without having the key
without having the key
