Bashing the spirit of responsibility on the Left

Let's do everyone a favor and can the holier-than-thou crap, all right?

Down in Florida, apparently a group of Democrats, unable to accept Kerry's defeat on Tuesday, are so upset that they're getting therapy to help them cope. That's an overreaction, I agree, but what's irritated me right now is one conservative acquaintance who has taken this as proof that liberalism is a philosophy that attracts irresponsible people and encourages irresponsible behavior. The attitude appears to be a common one on the Right.

Maybe if they would stop recycling what conservatives say liberalism is about and consider what liberals say liberalism is about, we'd find a point of commonality.

Liberalism is a socio-political philosophy of responsibility. It called for an end to segregation amid the Civil Rights movement because segregation was oppressive toward blacks. It called for women's suffrage in the early 20th century because the status quo had restricted their voice. Liberals call for a hand up for the poor and needy; they continue to call for a voice for blacks and other minorities; and they call for across-the-board respect for differing worldviews and political positions.

By contrast, if one wanted to be uncharitable we could claim that Republicanism encourages selfishness, inequity and a disregard for the well-being of others.

There are sore losers on the Democratic side, and sore winners on the GOP side. Why? Because both parties have a fair number of boneheads, bedwetters and self-righteous crybabies, to use the language I've been hearing from acquaintances on the Right.

Maybe some have forgotten, but during the Clinton years, there were any number of people on the Right who called for Christians to question their allegiance to the American government (James Dobson, re: partial-birth abortion), who kept bumper stickers on their car that said "Pray for our president / May his days be few, may another take his place" and who acted like the nation had fallen off a spiritual precipice by electing Clinton.

Four years ago, I knew a couple Bush-supporters who were practically paralyzed with dread at the thought that Gore might win and Bush lose.

So let's stop knocking one another as whiners. I've had enough of the self-righteous aggrandizement of the Right, the GOP and Bush, I've had enough of the vilification of the Left and the Democratic Party, and I've had enough of this whole sorry mess.

If you want to remove the speck of dust from my eye, take the log out of your own eye first.