 I am a Christian, and a small-l liberal on many issues. These two things are in no way mutually exclusive. Let me explain. As a liberal Christian, I believe in fighting for human rights, as well as economic and environmental justice. I believe a country should take care of its weakest members. A country cannot call itself civilized when its children, disabled, sick, and elderly are neglected. I believe healthcare is a right, not a privilege. I believe education should be affordable. I don’t believe your money should be taken from you and given to people who don’t want to work. I have a huge problem with a society where a handful of people can possess the majority of the wealth, while there are people literally starving to death, freezing to death, or dying because they can’t afford to go to the doctor. Companies should be required to pay their employees a decent, livable wage. No one should have to work three full-time jobs just to keep their head above water. "A liberal is someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties". Liberals spearheaded the environmental movement, much to the outrage of conservatives who believed — in fact, still believe today — that companies possess some kind of sacrosanct right to poison our soil, water and air without government interference, all in the name of higher profits. I don’t believe the government should regulate everything, but I just don’t trust people trying to make money to be in charge of ensuring that their products/practices/etc. are actually safe. This has never worked. I don’t believe LGBT people should have more rights than you. I just believe they should have the *same* rights as you. I believe the systemic racism and misogyny in our society is much worse than many people think, and needs to be addressed. Liberals have supported the rights of workers to form unions and to bargain collectively for better wages and working conditions. Conservatives opposed organized labour tooth and nail — indeed, they still do to this day. In the United States, liberals enacted both Social Security and Medicare over the strident objections of conservatives. I’m a liberal Christian because I think we should take care of each other, and our governments should act accordingly. |