Liberalism anyone??

Liberalism: my how words have changed meaning (really usage) over time. Lets examine how this word was used in the past as compared to today. Surely, John Locke would be confused.
 [Locke's position: each man has a natural right to life, liberty and property and governments must not violate these rights.]
 
 If you change the definition of a word, you can have people fighting against themselves; their own ideas.
 

Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on liberty, consent of the governed and equality before the law. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but they generally support free markets, free trade, limited government, individual rights (including civil rights and human rights), capitalism, democracy, secularism, gender equality, racial equality, internationalism, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of religion.
 

Wait did you read that correct? Free markets, capitalism, freedom of speech, press & religion. Hmm, what word is more fitting today with this line of thought?

What we tend to call "conservatism" is what many other places in the world would call liberalism or neoliberalism.
 

I write this just to point out that labels can be lazy. Understanding a person's position requires much more than a one word label. People in different parts of the country who have have the same adjective attached to them can hold vastly different POVs on a given topic.
 

Bottom line: have some meaty conversations & do not just surfaces adjectives as a means to understand people. IJS