Liberalism

In my youth, aeons ago, the word liberal meant "generous; understanding; open-minded; tolerant." When Lionel Trilling opined that liberalism incarnated what was best about American culture, I agreed.

That is no longer so clear to me, especially when I am bombarded by memes from "Being Liberal" and other such cheer-leading sites. In their unending lambasting of conservatives, generosity and tolerance no longer seem so evident. The content of many of these postings demonstrates confirmation bias - that is, an assemblage of facts and factoids that tend to suggest that the liberal view of the world is simply the way the world is.

Of course similar things can be said about conservative postings - and worse. But I do not see many of these. To be sure, I could immerse myself in Fox News, but that, to judge by what little I have seen, is not a useful deployment of my time.

I take no joy in seconding this observation, but it appears that the Republicans have a good chance of taking over the Senate in the forthcoming election. It is a little late to change tactics now, but couldn't some of these conservative voters eventually be pried away by an appeal to reason, instead of the insults that are commonly dished up - and eagerly devoured by the the base - on "Being Liberal" and other such sites?