tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37831709.post1067498985671118600..comments2023-06-26T10:30:10.269-04:00Comments on This Liberal Blog: On LiberalismAF Zamarrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01667548863397210215noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37831709.post-22040978579544329352008-05-06T07:35:00.000-04:002008-05-06T07:35:00.000-04:00Well put, Bob.But aren't we Christian idealists? ...Well put, Bob.<BR/><BR/>But aren't we Christian idealists? I would understand an idealist to be one who would base action and thought upon an "ideal". For Christians, our ideal is supposed to be love.<BR/><BR/>I don't think abandonment to ideals is a bad thing, and I wouldn't want to "negate" idealism. A long string of ever-improving ideals led me to Christ.<BR/><BR/>I can understand using ideology as a pivot point to define conservatism and liberalism. But I fear the negation of idealism more than I fear its promotion. Maybe that's why I identify as a liberal.This Liberalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18432016129904660505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37831709.post-83052630426159838962008-05-05T14:26:00.000-04:002008-05-05T14:26:00.000-04:00I don't mind identifying as a classical liberal, a...I don't mind identifying as a classical liberal, and I would deny that claim to libertarians who believe they are the rightful heirs to that tradition. Pah! They won't recognize a tradition if it hit them between the eyes.<BR/><BR/>But I mostly identify as a conservative because it is the larger thing -- I could preserve the liberal tradition as an American conservative (a European conservative would mean a different thing).<BR/><BR/>Conservatism is the negation of ideology. Ideology is the dirty side of liberalism. Freedom or liberty are not the most important thing in men's lives although for a well lived life it is important to express it.<BR/><BR/>This age is more illiberal than that of the founding father's time, though even then, they were imperfect. We live under the dictatorship of relativism. Freedom is having the right to do what we ought (re: Lord Acton) and there's less of that sort of freedom as the tyranny of relativism grows.Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05282128995443204747noreply@blogger.com