• DragonTypeWyvern@literature.cafe
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    15
    arrow-down
    10
    ·
    1 year ago

    He is literally a liberal.

    The Republican party has lost the plot so hard it’s time to join the rest of the world and actually know what the word means, which isn’t “Democrat.”

    • AFK BRB Chocolate@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      15
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      He is literally a liberal.

      How do you figure? A Roman Catholic to the point he was a member of Knights of Columbus. Appointed chairman of the joint chiefs of staff by Trump, who pretty much only appointed hard right cabinet members. What criteria are you using to define him a liberal?

      • AA5B@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        Damn, I considered joining Knights of Columbus because it’s a social organization that does some good fundraising and service projects. I didn’t know I’d have to change my politics

        • AFK BRB Chocolate@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          I just mean it’s a very Roman Catholic organization. Of course you can be liberal and Roman Catholic at the same time, but generally they’re a pretty conservative bunch.

      • DragonTypeWyvern@literature.cafe
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        arrow-down
        26
        ·
        1 year ago

        The criteria of people that know what liberalism is.

        It’s just the defining ideology of the country, the one practically invented by us, why would the average American be able to clearly define it?

        • AFK BRB Chocolate@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          27
          arrow-down
          3
          ·
          1 year ago

          Wait, no, that’s bullshit. You can’t say “he’s literally a liberal” and then just say “because I know one when I see one.” You’re proving my point: you only think he’s a liberal because he’s said things against Trump.

          On average, the members of our military are way more conservative than the average American, and that’s even more true for their leadership. But Trump has consistently alienated them, and it’s no surprise that many of them are disgusted with him. That does not make them liberal.

          • HelluvaKick@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            4
            arrow-down
            15
            ·
            1 year ago

            Liberalism isn’t the same as being liberal as in liberal or conservative. Liberalism is based on the ideals of 18th century political philosophers that governments should protect individual rights and liberties and so on. Our whole government sttucture is rooted in this philosophy, and most people who believe in good faith democracy would fall into this category.

            • AFK BRB Chocolate@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              19
              arrow-down
              3
              ·
              1 year ago

              That’s not how it was used in the context of this discussion. I said the right thinks Milley is a liberal. He said Milley is liberal, then said based on people who know what liberalism is. We’re pretty clearly talking about the US political left and right.

            • AFK BRB Chocolate@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              9
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              I don’t need to Google it, and I can define the concepts just fine. I was asking you to define it because there are different norms and criteria use to determine what constitutes a liberal or a conservative. Most of the time it boils down to their views on government priorities, personal freedoms, taxation, and other topics. I can tell you what it means to me, but you use the word without even knowing what you mean.

            • maporita@unilem.org
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              5
              arrow-down
              2
              ·
              1 year ago

              Liberalism is the founding basis of modern Western democracy. So not quite the same as an obscure fact about a species of tree.

              • DragonTypeWyvern@literature.cafe
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                3
                arrow-down
                9
                ·
                edit-2
                1 year ago

                “Obscure fact” is a weird way to say “literally the defining characteristics.”

                But you’re right, it’s far, far more embarrassing for an American to not be able to define liberal, or at least vaguely recognize its meaning in this context.

                • Muddybulldog@mylemmy.win
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  5
                  arrow-down
                  3
                  ·
                  1 year ago

                  Liberal, in US English, is almost solely used to describe left of center politics. For the definition of liberal that you’re referring to the common term is Libertarian.

                  • hydrospanner@lemmy.world
                    link
                    fedilink
                    arrow-up
                    3
                    ·
                    1 year ago

                    The trouble I have with a definition like that is that it raises another question: what’s ‘center’?

                    And if you define that by a point between hard right and hard left, then as the right goes even farther into their own reactionary bubble, diving even farther right, the “center” skews to the right to account for it.

                  • DragonTypeWyvern@literature.cafe
                    link
                    fedilink
                    arrow-up
                    1
                    arrow-down
                    3
                    ·
                    1 year ago

                    Leaving aside for the moment that the most common “libertarian” identifies as a “classical liberal” how do you people keep having dumber takes?