I've been doing a lot of Bible study recently, preparing to write my first book in several years.
I haven't had time to write books lately. To give you an idea of how long it has been, my last one was called, "The Tea Party Manifesto."
Obviously, that did not work out as planned. I guess I was a little more optimistic about political change in 2010. Perhaps I can take some solace in the fact that no one listened to my advice in that book.
But now I'm writing a spiritual book. Hardly a smidgen of politics in it. Well, maybe a smidgen …
In my Bible studies, though, I ran across this verse in Isaiah 32:5: "The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful."
My first thought was: Isaiah lived a long time ago. If he could transport himself to 2016, he might see things very differently. Then I thought maybe there was a typo in my King James.
Today, for many of us, "liberal" equals "vile."
It's true of the most famous ones for sure – Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. (I'd throw in Bernie Sanders, but he's an admitted socialist. Obama and Hillary don't have the honesty or courage to admit what they are.)
But then I thought about it some more, and Isaiah's right. We've lost the meaning of the word "liberal." It's been hijacked by people like Obama and Hillary who take refuge in the term, despite not really reflecting the true, historic definition of "liberal."
What are those historic definitions?
Let's go to the best dictionary of them all – Webster's 1828. It came out before the culture, and literalism, were overrun by "liberalism."
Here are all nine definitions from that renown dictionary – most of them complimentary and accurate:
- Of a free heart; free to give or bestow; not close or contracted; munificent; bountiful; generous; giving largely; as a liberal donor; the liberal founders of a college or hospital. It expresses less than profuse or extravagant.
- Generous; ample; large; as a liberal donation; a liberal allowance.
- Not selfish, narrow on contracted; catholic; enlarged; embracing other interests than one's own; as liberal sentiments or views; a liberal mind; liberal policy.
- General; extensive; embracing literature and the sciences generally; as a liberal education. This phrase is often but not necessarily synonymous with collegiate; as a collegiate education.
- Free; open; candid; as a liberal communication of thoughts.
- Large; profuse; as a liberal discharge of matter by secretions or excretions.
- Free; not literal or strict; as a liberal construction of law.
- Not mean; not low in birth or mind.
- Licentious; free to excess.
Let's look at them one by one and see how they apply to the most notable illiberal politicians in America today – Obama and Hillary.
- Of a free heart; free to give or bestow; not close or contracted; munificent; bountiful; generous; giving largely; as a liberal donor; the liberal founders of a college or hospital. It expresses less than profuse or extravagant. (NO WAY! These two, and most other famous liberals are only generous with other people's money – namely yours and mine. They're not "donors" at all, they're takers – acceptors of largesse from crooks, criminals and smarmy foreign potentates.)
- Generous; ample; large; as a liberal donation; a liberal allowance. (NO WAY! They may be on liberal allowances, but it's only because of their pattern of legalized theft.)
- Not selfish, narrow on contracted; catholic; enlarged; embracing other interests than one's own; as liberal sentiments or views; a liberal mind; liberal policy. (NO WAY! Not selfish? That's a laugh. These people live like emperors with a sense of entitlement. Their only interest is self-interest.)
- General; extensive; embracing literature and the sciences generally; as a liberal education. This phrase is often but not necessarily synonymous with collegiate; as a collegiate education. (NO WAY! Literature? Science? Not unless you think "Rules for Radicals" is literature or that "global warming" is science.)
- Free; open; candid; as a liberal communication of thoughts. (NO WAY! Mr. Teleprompter? Hillary – candid, open? Don't make me laugh.)
- Large; profuse; as a liberal discharge of matter by secretions or excretions. (NO WAY! This applies only to the late Ted Kennedy – and maybe Hillary's butt.)
- Free; not literal or strict; as a liberal construction of law. (NO WAY! They don't even know the meaning of freedom. Look it up in Webster's 1828, if you don't believe me.)
- Not mean; not low in birth or mind. (NO WAY! They are mean, uncaring, uncompassionate, vindictive. And we still don't know about Obama's birth.)
- Licentious; free to excess. (BINGO! On this one they fill the bill to a T. Maybe that's what they mean when they call themselves liberal.)
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