So what makes me a liberal?

I got to thinking more yesterday about how Google Adsense has connected the content of my blog to conservative advertisers, here (scroll down to the bottom).

Maybe the machine is on to something. So what makes me a liberal?

Well, as I’ve explained earlier, some things that I think are classically conservative have ended up in the liberal camp. But that’s not the whole story. Here’s some more:

I am opposed to religious fundamentalism, no matter what the religion is.

I support the separation of church and state.

I am opposed to free market fundamentalism. The so-called “free” market is not the solution to all of the world’s ills.

I think democratically elected government has a legitimate and important role in our society.

I support civil liberties as defined by legal tradition and Bill of Rights. I oppose the development of a police and surveillance state.

I support the rule of law.

I oppose militarism, which I define as an ultra-nationalist, “America right or wrong!”, violence-is-the-best-solution view of the world. Related to this, I oppose the idea that America has become and needs to act like an empire.

I think there are goods we hold in common in our society, and taxes are the way we pay for some of them.

I support campaign finance reform. People might have a right to earned wealth, but no one gave them the right to buy our politics, too.

I support expanded gay rights.

I oppose making all abortions illegal in this country.

Now, to my mind and by my reading of the current political climate, there’s stuff in here to satisfy both liberals and conservatives. “Aha!” you say, “So you’re a centrist!” Oh, no. Don’t pin that one on me. But that’s tomorrow’s post. And over time, I’ll write more about these ideas, so some of it might make more sense.

A note on the proper use of the English language

I looked at yesterday’s post and found that I had used an “a” where I should have used an “an”. Man, that drives me crazy. That’s why newspapers have copy editors. Anal? Sure, but my apologies anyway for mistakes made in haste as this blog rolls along.