A Cold Wind Blowing for Liberals

It’s not an easy time to be a liberal. Wherever I look, I keep coming across a seemingly endless stream of writers, preachers, commentators and pundits who want to impose their particular philosophy, theology, politics or opinion on the rest of the world.  Being of liberal persuasion, of course, I must accept that this is their choice and I do not want to diminish that choice or their freedom to express it in any way, but frankly, it is depressing.

In the midst of them proclaiming their call to others to toe the line, there is often an implicit (or explicit) criticism of anyone who advocates a more open-minded approach.  It is OK to ‘agree to differ’ in principle, but in practice, attempts are made to bludgeon others into submission by appeals to authority, interpretations of sacred texts, tribal identity or fear. As a Christian, for instance, I find it particularly dismaying to find other Christians highlighting the sufferings of our ‘tribe’ to the exclusion or marginalisation of the sufferings of others.

What wars and atrocities have been perpetrated by individuals advocating and embracing a ‘live and let live’ attitude to life?  I can’t think of many, while a queue quickly forms in my mind of the limitless suffering caused by religious, political and nationalist zealots who have insisted that they, or their tribe, must hold sway.

Nothing, it would appear, escapes the vision of those scanning the horizon for areas to control: what jokes we can tell, what understanding of God we can have, what doubts we can harbour, who we can be intimate with. Even the recent fundraising fad of the ‘ice-bucket’ challenge has attracted the ire of those who would like to tell us how, when and for whom we ought to raise charitable funds. As for having a bit of fun along the way….God forbid!

I must, however, shoulder my liberal burden, set my face against the prevailing winds and accept that everyone who tries to tell me how I ought to live has got a right to do so and, with as much courtesy as I can muster, I shall listen to what they have to say. And then, having weighed their words of counsel, I shall make up my own mind and go my own way

What’s that I hear? Ah yes, a rumble of discontent, muttering that I am simply trying to impose my liberal approach on others in the same way as other try to impose their illiberal approach on me. Not so; I am not telling anyone to be or to do anything. I am merely stating what is on my mind. Go ahead, follow in the footsteps of Hitler, Stalin, the Inquisition and the Ku Klux Clan if you want to; just saying……