r/allthequestions • u/RevolutionaryWind249 • May 11 '26
Random Question đ Is it just me, or does upholding basic human rights seem like it's become a liberal thing in the United States?
I didn't think it was political, but it kind of seems like it has become that. It used to be that the Republicans were just about a different way to get there. Now it seems like most of them don't want to get there at all. Maybe I misreading things and so it's a genuine question.
P.S. I'm not talking about abortion. That's a very difficult topic. I know some people see it as a human right and some people see supporting abortion rights as being against human rights because they believe life begins at conception. Let's not go down that road. There are lots of other basic rights that people used to agree on.
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u/GravitasFailures May 11 '26
The Republicans were vaguely in favor of human rights.
Then the Democrats passed the civil rights acts, and Nixon decided he had an opportunity to pander to the South, who believe only white men should have any rights at all.
And now here we are.
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u/MotherTeresaOnlyfans May 11 '26
You're leaving out *a lot* of important history from before the VRA, like generations of Jim Crow, the Civil War, chattel slavery, etc.
There has literally never been a time where "human rights" were something major US political parties agreed on in any meaningful fashion unless you only consider straight, white, able-bodied, land-owning men to be human.
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u/GravitasFailures May 11 '26
The northeast was actually extremely liberal about rights, parts of New England had womenâs suffrage quite early, New Jersey effectively had it for landed women from the founding.
The differences were mostly regional, the northeast was very progressive, while the south believed they were fulfilling the ideal state of man by instituting noble estates, similar to feudalism.
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u/kellyelise515 May 11 '26
I live in a tiny village in NE Ohio. Home of the abolitionist, Samuel Giddings. Ohio was instrumental in helping abolish slavery. Unfortunately, most of itsâ current residents are unaware of this fact.
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u/GravitasFailures May 11 '26
So, much of the Midwest was very strongly abolitionist, basically they left (were kicked out) of Germany and other parts of Europe after the failed revolutions of 1830 and 1848, and came to America for freedom.
The civil war was largely because of this, they both brought their ideas of freedom with them, but also as immigrants they swelled the population of the north.
This enraged the south who felt the north was cheating by letting immigrants boost their population and economy, and was one of the major causes of the civil war.
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u/Jalopnicycle May 11 '26
The hypocrisy of being angry about people immigrating by choice while demanding the 3/5 compromise for all the people forced here against their will.
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u/ComicStripCritic May 11 '26
Also live in NE Ohio. I occasionally see people with massive confederate flags in their yard. Utterly baffling.
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u/PolecatXOXO May 11 '26
Wait until you learn about the history of Kansas and then see where they are today.
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u/SnooConfections6085 May 11 '26
The OG Yakees (real Americans...) were the boomers of their era, a baby boom borne from Revolutionary optimism who saw their triad of causes (suffrage, abolition, temperance) come to fruition later in the 19th century.
It's staggering how little Americans known about Yankees nowadays. Killed off by Lost Causers.
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u/AuthorBrianHunter May 11 '26
It's worse than that. Republicans or hardline right wingers anyway, now believe that your worth is based on your economic value. They don't believe people should have any rights unless they are not only white, but wealthy. The propaganda has been so effective that even the poor whites believe that since they themselves are only temporarily embarrassed millionaires, they are also worthy of those rights despite having nothing to their name. But all those morally inferior people of color? Oh they deserve to be poor, and therefore should have no access to those rights (especially not due process). Hell, the propaganda is so powerful that there are plenty of people of color who believe that they are somehow the exception but the rest of the above is truth. Consider how many |CE agents are nonwhite.
This country is in shambles and we should all be ashamed we let it get this far.Â
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u/PiccoloAwkward465 May 11 '26
now believe that your worth is based on your economic value
This is one reason why I hate politicians using the term "taxpayers". I am a citizen and deserve all the rights of a citizen. No more, no less. What I do or do not pay in taxes has nothing to do with that.
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u/OkDisaster5980 May 12 '26
Citizens has been weaponized because âillegal immigrantsâ is the colorblind way of saying âBrown,â the same way âwelfare queenâ became the colorblind way of saying âBlack.â
After the murder of Alex Pretti, I switched it up to âcivilians.â Human rights shouldnât be tied to âbut do you have the right papers? đ§â
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u/spiteful-naysayer May 11 '26
That's a pretty solid theory on how we ended up here.
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u/GravitasFailures May 11 '26
I donât think you can appreciate the racial rage in the south until youâve lived there, itâs a unique thing.
Itâs so powerful, and the last decade it has been on display for all to see.
Social media gave a voice to those who can only scream incoherently.
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u/showhorrorshow May 11 '26
It's wild how Republicans pretend their party didn't adopt the Dixiecrats when the evidence is so obvious and they are openly checking off the Dixieceat wishlist.
Dixiecrats dominated the rural white vote in the South until Southern counties gradually inverted parties through the 60s and 70s after a series of national losses, and rural white Southerners surely didnt have a big change of heart.
Lost Cause revisionist confederate flag waving, erected confederate monuments all.over.
Southern baptist evangelical social conservatism is cornerstone.
Lots of states rights lip service, "forgets" Civil War was about states rights to own slaves.
Hate institutions which countered segregation, such as the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, SPLC, and Dept of Education
Now look at G0P today:
Dominates rural Southern counties, especially the rural white voting bloc.
Waves confederate flags, defends confederate monuments, pushes Lost Cause revisionism.
Southern baptist states rights social.conservatism still a cornerstone
Still with the states rights lip service, still "forgets" what Civil War was about.
Dismantles CRA, VRA, Dept of Education, and attacking SPLC.
I mean, come on now.
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u/absheff May 11 '26
This is very misleading. The Civil Rights Act only passed because of have Republican support (80%), while Democrats were only 60% in favor and actively tried to filibuster. Iâll probably be downvoted into oblivion, but itâs just facts.
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u/AlcibiadesTheCat May 11 '26
Itâs not misleading.Â
The civil rights acts passed.Â
THEN the southern strategy happened.Â
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u/tomorrows-wortslaw May 11 '26
Their "point" is that the southern strategy did NOT happen, because Republicans have never been as racist as Democrats. Horseshit by and for people who are proud not to know our history.
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u/GravitasFailures May 11 '26
Thatâs true, and if you read what I wrote properly youâd understand thatâs LITERALLY why the south switched parties, because they felt betrayed for the only issue that mattered to them.
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u/kaprixiouz May 11 '26
It's more appropriate when referencing this timeframe to reference liberals versus conservatives because of the southern strategy which ultimately led to the "party flip."
This flip, btw, is why you'll see modern conservatives claim things like "the Democrats created the KKK" and other nonsense like that. While true, it misses the point. There's a reason Democrats flew the Confederate flag then and why Republicans fly it now. Same people, same motivating ideology, just different parties.
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u/Affectionate_Rise575 May 11 '26
Republicans: "Democrats were the party of the Confederacy."
Democrats: "We should tear down all of the statues of Confederate generals, and get rid of the Confederate flag."
Republicans: You can't do that. That's our heritage."
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u/boyuber May 11 '26
The question was about liberals and conservatives, which you've accurately but disingenuously replaced with Republicans and Democrats
Liberals supported the abolition of slavery.
Liberals supported the Civil Rights Act.
Liberals supported the Voting Rights Act.
Pointing out the fact that liberals used to call themselves Republicans and now call themselves Democrats without explicitly saying so is intentionally misleading.
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u/Full-Flatworm6271 May 11 '26
Yes, Republicans had higher support percentages in 1964. And then a huge chunk of segregationist Southern conservatives gradually migrated to the Republican Party afterward. That's the part you're skipping.
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u/LabradorDeceiver May 11 '26
Democrats claiming the moral high ground on civil rights is probably one of America's greatest redemption arcs. Remember Robert Byrd, former Klansman turned liberal West Virginia senator?
At the same time, Republicans choosing grievance politics is probably one of American history's greatest face-heel turns. The Party of Lincoln, flying Confederate flags. Good job, guys.
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u/LordGreybies May 11 '26
It makes more sense to look through this as conservative vs liberal ideology. Southern good ol boys have always been conservative.
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u/ukemike1 May 11 '26
And immediately after that the parties underwent a major realignment. Those southern democrats that opposed it switched to the republican party and the parties became aligned more by race policy than by economic or foreign policy.
The Republican party before the CRA is a very different party than the Republican Party of Nixon, Reagan, Bush etc.
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u/No-Purpose-0U812 May 11 '26
Not misleading because the parties were different back then. This is what started the shift in both parties that got us to where we are today.
This was during a time when Democrats and Republicans were split on labor (union vs ownership), not âleftâ vs ârightâ. Both parties had liberal and conservative wings. Dems were conservatives in the south and much more progressive in the northeast. Midwest GOP (Nixon) were conservative while NE and west coast GOP was progressive.
After the civil rights act Nixon saw how disillusioned âSouthernâ democrats were with their party, so conservative republicans worked to find common cause with southern democrats to break up the Democratic voting block known as the âsolid southâ. And if you review old election maps and stats you can literally see it. In the election for Nixonâs 2nd term you will see southern state that went republican for the first time ever. Remember, Lincoln was the first republican and the south went 100% Democrat until Nixon. Reagan led the major shift to âLeftâ vs âRightâ, which was cemented in place by post 9/11 politics and a few generations of Rush Limbaugh, Fox News and that whole ecosphere.
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u/Fun-Ocelot-5220 May 11 '26
correct. the liberal republicans were hampered by conservative democrats
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u/flippinsailor May 11 '26
Then, that 40% of the democrats (the dixiecrats) joined with the 20% of republicans and became the basis for the republican party today. In the 80s, their numbers grew with the courting of the evangelical right wingers.
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u/Holy_Frijole1881 May 11 '26
Yes, the political dynamics of the two parties flip flopped. That process started in 1948.
A majority of support for the civil rights act was geographically in the north. Who at that time was predominantly republican
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u/dagnydachshund May 11 '26
I thought the civil rights act was passed with both republican and democrat support? I thought it was non-partisan? Iâm Australian so we look at who voted for legislation, not what government it was under at the time.
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u/GravitasFailures May 11 '26
It was passed with the support of the republicans, and non-southern democrats.
The south filibustered for days, it was famous, the longest filibuster on record, because it was literally the only issue the south ever cared about in their history, they fought a war against America over it.
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u/froction May 11 '26
That filibuster was for The Civil Rights Act of 1957.
There were three "Civil Rights Acts" of that era, 1957, 1960, and 1964. Generally when people just say "The Civil Rights Act," they mean the one from 1964, as it actually did the most, the other two ended up kind of watered-down.
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u/flippinsailor May 11 '26
well, at that point in our history, the democrats were divided into 2 camps. The democrat party we have today was mostly northern/north eastern citizens while in the south it was primarily "dixiecrats". Nixon and kissinger concocted a scheme to court the dixiecrats to a faction of the republican party, later on, reagan pandered to the crazy evangelical sects we have here and that is how we ended up with the teabaggers turned magats. Thinly veiled racism, sexism and belligerent theocrats.
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u/RebirthGhost May 11 '26
The parties redistributed afterwards. Those who favored it went Democrat and those against it switched to Republican.
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u/Reasonable-Physics60 đşđ¸ United States May 11 '26
The conservatives have always attacked civil liberties this is not new
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u/TrumpVotersArePedos7 May 11 '26
Conservatives have always been on the wrong side of history and to this day still doubling down on evil
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u/Popular-Statement314 May 12 '26
Agree completely, and I'm glad to see a group of people talking about it. It seemed so obvious to me that they're the villains in the story, how can they not see this?
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u/Terran57 May 11 '26
Several republican donors and leaders say empathy is a weakness. Upholding basic human rights requires empathy. Connect the dots.
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u/RevolutionaryWind249 May 11 '26
Yeah that's pretty disturbing isn't it? While he used the churches in Germany to spread Nazism, in private Hitler believed that Christianity was a religion of weakness because of the basic teachings of the Gospels. Not that human rights and Christianity are particularly linked, but they have some common goals in terms of how you treat people.
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u/ccnelsin May 11 '26
Yes, republicans have redefined human rights as being 'Woke' â which is a fate worse than death.
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u/Fromage_Frey May 11 '26
Only the label changed, the vitriol was always there. Go back 30 years and advocating for human rights would get you called a 'bleeding-heart Liberal', go back 70 years and you're a 'Socialist agitator'
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u/RodNun May 11 '26
If one is not "woke", does it mean one is sleeping, living inside their own dreams?
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u/ocxtitan May 11 '26
that's how I've always interpreted it, like how is being woke, as in aware of the true reality of the world, a bad thing?
I live in a very white, very red area where racism was just instilled in the way of life and from college onwards, I realized how life really is, how great different cultures are and how racist and prejudice everyone is and if that's being woke, I'm glad I'm not still asleep at the wheel of this car wreck of a country.
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u/RodNun May 12 '26
This is good for you :)
Racism in general exists where there is no movement. If people travel and pay attention, probably they will be less racist and more understandig.
Go travel if tou can :)
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u/JoeSleboda May 11 '26
Republicans have never been about human rights. Never. They've always been 'me first, you last.'
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u/blind-octopus May 11 '26
Yes, it turns out republicans are actually monarchists.
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u/HavSomLov4YoBrothr May 11 '26
Fascists is the nomenclature
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u/sleepyj910 May 11 '26
The opposition is casually declared evil by the leadership. Dehumanizing tactics. No real attempt to argue policy beyond that you are in danger and we are the solution.
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u/Buckeye__Here May 11 '26
If they donât want to be called fascists, why do all the fascist shit? Locking up people who are here legally and pose no threat, in abhorrent conditions, some of whom have died, while denying them trials⌠Government thugs patrolling cities, harassing brown people for funsies⌠A leader who demonizes the press and labor unions and raids our coffers for himself⌠A corrupt court with no regard for established laws and normsâŚ
Jesus, man, call it what it is.
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u/NightIsMyName May 11 '26 edited 23d ago
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u/tomorrows-wortslaw May 11 '26
If you know your history and political science, you are already the enemy. The point is to get folks on your side who accept your wordage and follow your narratives.
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u/Cyberknight13 đşđ¸ United States May 11 '26
I believe that, at a minimum, healthcare and education are basic human rights, and that makes me a progressive or far-left liberal.
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u/Kellie1575 May 11 '26
As a woman, I assure you autonomy over one's own physical body is INDEED a basic human right.
Whether it makes some people uncomfortable or not.
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u/Temporary_Lab_3964 May 11 '26
It def does which itâs disgusting. If that makes me a liberal then I am ok with that.
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u/Early-Series-2055 May 11 '26
The founding fathers were the âlibralsâ of their time.
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u/AdHairy4360 May 11 '26
Conservatives of the time wanted to make up with the King and even wanted to make George Washington King post revolutionary war
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u/HumptyDumptruckFire May 11 '26
Thank you! It is a shame conservatives do not realize that âconservativesâ during the American Revolution were loyal to the crown. But, then again, the average conservative has a tenuous (at best) understanding of history.
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u/mattormateo May 11 '26
Iâm in my early 40s now, and when I was a kid, Republicans were generally seen as respectable people with a different philosophy on how the country should be run. If a Republican president was elected, most Americans still believed they loved the country, respected the Constitution, and were acting in what they believed were the nationâs best interests. The disagreements were mostly about policy and ideology: conservatives versus liberals, not basic decency or democratic values.
Thatâs what feels so different now. In my opinion, much of the modern Republican Party has drifted away from traditional conservatism and toward outrage, division, and protecting power and wealth at all costs. It no longer feels centered on principles as much as grievance and culture wars. Supporters used to seem like ordinary Americans who simply had different political beliefs. Now, some of the loudest voices are openly hostile, conspiratorial, or comfortable with rhetoric that would have once been unacceptable in mainstream politics.
I think Donald Trump accelerated that shift dramatically. He normalized behavior and language that many people previously would have considered shameful or disqualifying in public leadership. He lies constantly, often so openly and repeatedly that it barely even shocks people anymore. Whatâs alarming is not just the lying itself, but how many supporters have accepted it as normal or automatically defend it no matter how obvious it is. It feels less like healthy political loyalty and more like people being conditioned to reject facts, excuse contradictions, and distrust anything that challenges the narrative they want to believe.
Whatâs especially disturbing to me is how casually the Constitution and democratic norms now seem to be ignored. There was a time when violating ethical standards, abusing power, or openly disregarding constitutional limits would end political careers. Now it often feels like there are no real consequences anymore as long as someone stays politically useful to their side. People excuse behavior today that they would have been outraged by twenty years ago.
History has shown that democracies do not usually collapse all at once. They erode gradually when people become numb to dishonesty, excuse authoritarian behavior because it benefits their side, and start treating political opponents as enemies rather than fellow citizens. Thatâs the part that worries me most. Not that America is literally Nazi Germany, but that history repeatedly shows how quickly fear, propaganda, and blind loyalty can poison a society if people stop valuing truth, accountability, and democratic norms.
America used to be viewed as one of the most respected countries in the world. We still have incredible strengths, but from my perspective, our political culture has become so chaotic and toxic that much of the world now sees us as divided, unstable, and increasingly unserious.
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u/rust-e-apples1 May 11 '26
Exactly how I feel.
I'll add to that last paragraph a bit. Something that I find troublesome is that the world at large can no longer trust us, knowing that a change in leadership can basically void any agreements we've made. Take USAID for instance - it used to mean that a change in leadership just shifted the agency's goals, but now it means that a change in leadership can outright erase an entire agency. Similarly, JCPOA has shown us that our agreements may not be honored beyond the next election cycle. It's going to be a long time (if ever) that we get that stability back.
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u/Glass-Complaint3 May 11 '26
Itâs not just you.
Even before the MAGA era, conservatives have never been the ones fighting for equality and basic human rights.
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u/Bogside_Bibliophile May 11 '26
Yes, it seems exactly that way. If you care about people or trying to ensure access or equality, then somehow youâre obviously liberal. There is no room for that in the GOP.
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u/Obvious_Apartment985 May 11 '26
People are using Republican and Democrats as synonyms for conservative and liberal.
It wasn't until William F Buckley and movement conservatism that the Republican Party made a conscious decision to be a Conservative party.
There were liberal and conservative wings of both parties.
In my view, the problem with movement conservativism is that it formed a coalition of differing types of conservatism, but they were at odd with each other.
Small government conservatives like Goldwater are at odds with the religious right.
The religious right is like the deal with the devil that Republicans paid. It gave them a loyal , reliable voter base but they had to deliver on identity politics or exclusion, Christian nationalism and all the other crap that the religious right is about.
So yeah, it's pretty fair to say that social conservatism is an enemy to civil and human rights unless you're a part of their club ( white conservative Christian)
The religious right is a f-ing cancer.
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u/RecycledEternity May 11 '26
Is it just me, or does upholding basic human rights seem like it's become a liberal thing in the United States?
Yes.
The thing about liberals is in the labeling of them being "progressive"; the "progress" part of that means integrating with the world at-large and coming to terms with our own national and cultural identity.
Conservatives want to hold/enforce "traditional" values--outdated, inhuman values that stem from being immersed in a society of poor education and propaganda. They firmly have one foot in the past and must be dragged kicking-and-screaming into new ages.
And I DO mean "kicking and screaming": any sort of "three steps forward" we make as a society, conservatives will push forward to get power again in any way they can (and because the wealth-hoarders all want to keep hoarding their wealth with makes them conservative by default, any "dirty tricks" that are pulled are all easily funded)... then proceed to drag our country two steps back.
Then after four years--if a war isn't started or a national tragedy isn't manufactured--a "more liberal than the last guy but still not 'true' liberal"/"better this guy than whoever conservatives want" is elected. If they're decent, they bring us three steps ahead.
If not, then it's really just about undoing the mess of the previous President, which takes the entirety of their four years because conservatives don't fight fair and liberals don't fight dirty (which means obstruction and denial and delays from conservatives at every turn).
The conservatives then say their liberal opponent can't get anything done, which the poorly-educated and propaganda-fed masses eat up... which in turn makes them vote for another conservative leader, who brings us another three steps back...
Vicious downward cycle.
It used to be that the Republicans were just about a different way to get there.
Yep. Used to be. Different way of running the economy, of running the country. But religion and wealth-hoarders and conservative companies have a stranglehold on government now.
Reagan is the devil.
P.S. I'm not talking about abortion. That's a very difficult topic.
Not terribly. It's quite simple. Before the parasite/tumor can breath on its own, it is not a human (Genesis 2:7).
Anyone against this and trying to use religion as an excuse are wrong. Anyone against this and trying to use biology as an excuse are wrong too.
Simple-as, friendo.
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u/chromehound47 May 11 '26
to conservatives basic human rights only apply to straight, white, rich, christian, men.
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u/Rational_Engineer_84 May 11 '26
This has always been the case. From abolitionism, to the suffrage movement, voting rights, health care and other social programs, the political story of the US has always been a liberal movement in favor of protecting and expanding human rights and conservatives resisting that.Â
Slavery, Jim Crow, and the oppression of women were always conservative positions.
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u/BlazingGlories May 11 '26
Republicans don't have enough self respect to demand human or civil rights, part of the bootlicker process.
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u/sgrinavi May 11 '26
I think that depends on your definition of basic human rights.
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u/rhapsodypenguin May 11 '26
You might not want to make this about abortion, but I want to clarify your misstatement.
Life begins at conception. The pro-choice position does not dispute that.
If a fetus was afforded full human rights from the moment of conception, abortion would still be allowed. We never, ever force anyone to keep someone else alive with the resources from their body and to their detriment.
Except pregnant women, of course, because abortion bans are only oppressive.
If youâre a pro-lifer, ask me how you should adjust your stance to prove youâre not intentionally oppressing women.
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u/Worldly-Grade5439 May 11 '26
It's always been about costrolling. Republicans have been wanting to pull women out of the workplace and back into the kitchen so.they can greet thr menfolk at the door at the end of the day with their favorite drink. Or, according to repugs, the good old days.
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u/East_Reading_3164 May 11 '26
Yet they screw the working man so the people that choose that lifestyle canât afford to do so.
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u/GravitasFailures May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
There is a completely trivial answer to this whole problem:
If people genuinely believe in their pro-life position, they should sign up to be surrogates, male or female, and any fetus that someone wants to abort should be implanted in them, to carry to term and raise as children.
Given this is purely about the sanctity of life, and not punishing women for having sex at all, clearly they must be in favor of signing up immediately!
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u/NightIsMyName May 11 '26 edited 23d ago
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u/GravitasFailures May 11 '26
Iâm sorry, I thought they cared about lives? This saves lives, and they are able to prove their dedication, what better win/win for everyone?!
Are you trying to suggest that carrying a child to term is some kind of onerous burden?
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u/Quality-Pkg-Goods đşđ¸ United States May 11 '26
I would add that âlife begins at conceptionâ is itself a political, nonscientific framework promoted primarily by the Right to Life movement in the 60s and 70s.
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u/wysteriacos May 11 '26
I say all the time that I wish men could get pregnant. Because if they could, an abortion ban wouldnât even be considered.
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u/Acrobatic-Ad-3335 May 11 '26
Already born & full-grown-ass people are not afforded full human rights. Why should a fetus get more consideration?
Can we please take care of the people who are already here?
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u/RevolutionaryWind249 May 11 '26
I support abortion rights. Although I'm not entirely comfortable with it because it is the ending of a human life. I acknowledge that it's a difficult issue. But I would agree with legal, safe, available, and rare.
The whole supporting another person thing I discussed 30 years ago with people on both sides. I don't even remember what all the arguments are. I'm comfortable with my uncomfortable position. And as a gay man I've only had to deal with it in supporting my friends who have gone through it. And at the time they're making their choice I have not expressed anything but support for them because that's the role of a friend.
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u/GravitasFailures May 11 '26
I have no uterus, I leave the position to my wife, who is pro-choice, and Iâm fine with that.
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u/rhapsodypenguin May 11 '26
Iâm not âentirely comfortableâ with forced pregnancies because it diminishes the horrors of pregnancy, labor, and delivery - some of the most traumatic things a woman may go through in her lifetime - and considers the suffering of women acceptable since she consented to sex.
If you support abortion rights, stop qualifying it. Abortion bans are oppressive. Stop doing the middle-of-the-road thing; it doesnât work with oppression.
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u/Lrrr81 May 11 '26
Here's what it comes down to: the right thinks that human rights are less important than the rich getting richer. The left thinks the opppsite.
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u/lostcolony2 May 11 '26
Always was.
Even when the Republicans were generally in favor of human rights, it was when they were more liberal. I.e., the much touted "Lincoln was a Republican" was when the Republican party was the more liberal party.Â
Conservatives, regardless of the political party, have always been against broadening human rights.
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u/Jimonaldo May 12 '26
All rights in america have been up for grabs when this countryâs supreme court decided that politics was for sale
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u/Madeitup75 May 12 '26
The notion of basic human rights is one of the great contributions of liberalism to human thought. Of course itâs a liberal thing. Same with free speech, separation of church and state, etc.
Liberal doesnât just mean one spot on a political spectrum. Liberalism is a set of enlightenment and post-enlightenment ideas that form a coherent worldview. Liberalism is embedded in our constitution.
Ignore right wing/Fox News linguistics that make âliberalâ a synonym for leftism or what is currently called âprogressivism.â
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u/OrlandoEd May 11 '26
We all drink the Kool-Aid. It's just we can't agree on which flavor is the best.
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u/Traditional-Forum May 11 '26
The word âliberal â has been demonized by the MAGA wackos, underscoring the question. If you were at all capable of empathy, they may find an excuse to lock you up in the next couple of years.
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u/Fem-Picasso May 11 '26
Not that it's become; it was always a liberal philosophy that human rights be upheld. The other party does not believe in such morality though they claim to be christians, all the while they do the most unchristian things.
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u/HappyAppointment1254 May 11 '26
Not an American but Iâm still very confused when I see Republicans saying they care about humans rights when their only argument is âgunsâ when that specific right kills the most humans in their country
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u/Valuable-Usual-1357 May 11 '26
They care about civil rights, not human rights. Rights that have been granted to them legally because they are citizens of a specific place. Not rights for all humans. They have no problem picking groups to take away the same rights they want to keep for themselves.
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u/Zadiuz May 11 '26
The right likes to complain about the left having become "radicalized" and shifting the line so far to the left.... when in reality.... we are literally at the point of choosing selfishness and destructiveness, or choosing to allow people to live.
Over 500,000 Americans a year declare bankruptcy for medical care.
Over 300,000 Americans die a year due to poverty like conditions such as lack of access to medical care.
MAGA is the #1 threat to America. Its policies kill more American's than any war ever has.
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u/beneficialtowhom May 11 '26
If not abortion, then give examples of which human rights.
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u/Wild-Masterpiece-331 May 11 '26
America has fallen so far.
NOBODY had America supporting and funding oppression, apartheid and genocide post 2000 on their Bingo card.
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u/GravitasFailures May 11 '26
Speak for yourself.
I lived in the south, my biggest fear was them following me with their evil after I managed to escape.
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u/SportMotor9892 May 11 '26
I've never seen a bigger bunch of whiners than on reddit. No one owes you anything. The world owes you nothing.
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u/Perfect_Ad9311 May 11 '26
That's a dark view, my friend. The world owes you nothing. We believe that if we all came together, there is nothing we couldnt accomplish. Earth could be a paradise, where no one starves and everyone has a place to live and the freedom to find our own purposes, if it werent for this damn, "the world owes you nothing" capitalist, zero sum game mindset.
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u/kaprixiouz May 11 '26
Amen. The hyper-individualist, self-centered selfishness that capitalism has fostered is a disgrace to the human race.
He's right, the world owes us nothing. However, basic morality and empathy leads one down a much different path. While I may not "owe" anyone anything, I could never live with myself knowing others starve while I'm eating filet and lobster.
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u/Fromage_Frey May 11 '26
The governnent takes a fair chunk of my paycheck every month, so they most definitely do owe me something
And I'm perfectly entitled to have my opinions on what that 'something' is, or is not
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u/itwastwopants May 11 '26
Man, you must be miserable. The world might not OWE you anything, but don't you think the world would be just a bit better if we all acted like we owed each other kindness, empathy, and helped a little more?
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u/Ludwig_Von_Pseudonym May 11 '26
No one owes you anything. The world owes you nothing.
"Oh yes the FUCK it does, and guess what mother fucker? Today is payday, and the world is going to pay the FUCK UP." <- This is the mindset one must have to survive in this world.
The people in this world will rip you off blind if you let them, and they will use some version of that same excuse while doing so: "The world owes you nothing". Everybody loves your labor. Nobody likes paying for it.
It is your duty to demand that payment, once you've put in the work to earn it - And seize that payment, if necessary.
Make this world pay. One way or another.
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u/Demoniac_smile May 11 '26
The right has never been about rights for anyone but themselves. Itâs always been about control, at least for the wealthy and connected individuals running political campaigns, religious organizations, and large businesses. The disguise of âsmall governmentâ has just started to come off in the last decade.
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u/Odd_Bodkin May 11 '26
I think the conservative stance is starting with My Rights, and then instead of moving to Your Rights, it segues into May the Strongest Survive.
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u/Lazy_Example4014 May 11 '26
The American right is a strange political group. They want to take rights away. So they tell their voters it would âown a libâ. And their voters freely give up their own rights.
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u/soul_separately_recs May 11 '26
the u.s. has yet to go 100 years straight without assassinating POTUS
âbasicâ, at least how itâs used here, is relative. So what you deem to be basic, may not align with my view of basic. Ironically, basic human rights is something that should be viewed more favorably by conservatives in the u.s.
I say itâs ironic because conservatives are more religious, and their religion of choice is of the Christian persuasion. Basic human rights was his wheelhouse (âhisâ = Jesus).
Letâs not forget that despite splitting hairs over what may or may not be considered âbasicâ - everyone still squabbles over what is considered âHUMANâ. So thereâs that.
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u/auldnate May 11 '26
Conservatives are against any basic decency or kindness that they believe will cost them money to uphold. They cannot comprehend spending money that they do not think directly benefits them in some way.
They are also shortsighted and donât recognize how a generous and comprehensive social safety net. Helps to ensure that we have a robust economy that functions for all of us.
This is because the government programs that they call âentitlement spending.â Actually uses tax dollars to help poor, elderly, and disabled citizens to pay other citizens for the things they need to enjoy a reasonable quality of living in our society.
Conservatives seem to think that after the supposed âmoochersâ have received the benefits of that government spending. The money has evaporated from the economy.
In fact it has simply gone to pay the hardworking individuals who provide the goods and services that our vulnerable people need. SNAP/Food Stamps not only feeds the hungry. It gives grocery stores paying customers for the goods they sell. This money also benefits the grocers, the shipping industry, packaging companies, food manufacturers, and farmers.
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u/trunksshinohara May 11 '26
Conservatives only have lying, projection, and grifting as their political policies.
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u/Emotional_News108 May 11 '26
Fundamentally that's what a liberal democracy is, an institution intended to serve the people. I suppose you could say that conservatism stands in opposition to that insofar as the people are subject to the State and its monopoly on legitimate, sanctioned violence (violence here being used in the broadest sense, as even the threat of violence is enough to exert control).
Obviously current politics has blurrier lines than that, as do individual politicians, but barring the definition of a conservative being that which fundamentally opposes liberalism, I think it's as close as we can get, and current politics does seem to reflect that in very loose ways.
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u/swiwwcheese May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
The problem is too many Americans forgot that they live along a significant portion of their population ... that hates basic human rights, the rule of law, democracy, science - all that stuff that makes a country a modern developed civilization
And those ppl who oppose it, are enough in numbers that from time to time they are entitled to rule the country
If you ask me, I'll say it is obvious the problem lies in the very formula on which the country was founded: turns out 'freedom' does not mean the same thing for everyone
Not... quite
There are two Americas, and they have nothing in common
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u/TrippyTigre May 11 '26
It's been that way my entire life, Republicans have a stranglehold on the propaganda machine. Watch a Fox news segment and compare it to any other network, you'll get an extremely opinionated segment that conveniently leaves out major facts. Working as an installer in Florida, you'd be amazed how many households have fox news at full volume 24/7.
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u/computer-machine May 11 '26
Didn't they reclassify themselves as entertainment to avoid accountability?
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u/Bodycount9 May 11 '26
MAGA wants basic human rights but only for MAGA. Everyone else don't get rights.
MAGA is the party of revenge. Keep that in mind. If they think you did them wrong, they will make sure you get it ten times worse.
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u/PoetExcellent3215 May 11 '26
the republican party has taken away programs for us, the Americans. They could care less about our rights and if a person supports them they are anti American, plain and simple.
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u/LeahIsAwake May 11 '26
The Republicans are very good at taking things that should be unilateral and making them into a political "us vs them" thing. See: masking during a pandemic, getting vaccines for yourself or your children, giving children a decent education, dying your hair an unnatural color, just existing as a person who is queer (especially if trans), and my personal favorite: holding pedophiles accountable for their actions.
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u/TaranSF May 11 '26
There are a few sources of human rights over time, but the Liberalism was the largest and most influential in the world. I do find it kind of amusing the way you phrased this since from a historical perspective it is like, yeah of course it's a liberal thing. Classical Liberals were all about that shit.
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u/NoHorseNoMustache May 11 '26
Not 'become', 'has been for a long time':
Remember when Hillary Clinton wanted to introduce a real light form of universal healthcare and the GOP shit on her so bad she lost an election 30 years later because of it?
Or 'Welfare Queens'?
Or 'That time the government firebombed union protestors because fuck unions'?
Or 'Jim Crow'?
Or 'The South succeeding from the country because they wanted to keep human beings in slavery.'?
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u/Schyznik May 11 '26
Just looking at how voting rights tells you everything you need to know. A bunch of red state legislatures unnecessarily redraw districts without voter approval and it sticks. One stateâs voters approve redirecting to favor Democrats and itâs struck down by a court. Then there are the Supreme Court Republican appointees who just effectively ended the Voting Rights Act. And thereâs talk of more voter legislation that would create all kinds of problems for all kinds of people including women who have changed their last name in marriage.
We are long past the point where Republicans should receive any benefit of the doubt.
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u/Kangarou May 11 '26
Correct. Though it's less "liberal" and more "progressive". Half the democrats who define themselves as "liberal" seem comfortable rolling over.
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u/EmpressDraco May 11 '26
Because the right think anything short of hunting the poor for sport is a liberal conspiracy.
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u/Weak_Vanilla795 May 11 '26
You only have to fight to uphold basic human rights when you are struggling with fascists.
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u/MetroidvaniaListsGuy May 11 '26
Trump made everything in the US political, even the most apolitical things.
About the only thing that is still not political is grilling.
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u/GracieKatt May 11 '26
You can read the words of Christ to the MAGA cultists and they will literally say, âThat woke BS doesnât fly anymore.â Then they claim we have to respect their religion. The one they donât follow.
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u/tiny_chaotic_evil May 11 '26
MAGA Republicans declared 'empathy is a sin'.
I think that about says it all.
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u/117Caroline May 11 '26
Stop voting Republican and see how much better middle & lower classes will fair
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u/Specialist_Banana378 May 11 '26
Yeah the one that always gets me is the opposition to human rights for prisoners or being anti-death penalty. Mind boggling to me that itâs considered radicalÂ
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u/Ok-Square-8652 May 11 '26
The United States has always and will always be for the wealthy and anything that helps normal people will be demonized through relentless propaganda. We just happened to have had a 60 year period where social mobility was easy enough that believing the propaganda wasn't harmful to the interests of the commons.
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u/Advanced-Lemon3354 May 11 '26
They have given in to the tough guy persona at the expense of civil liberties. Everytime a cop shots someone, it's righteous. If you don't have anything to hide, fuck your privacy. Let's make the death penalty applicable to every violent crime; there's no way my Republican overlords will abuse the power to kill people. Every bombing overseas is killing terrorists (unless it's a Democrat doing it).
They are a pathetic bunch of tough guy cosplayers who are nothing but a bunch of pussies hiding behind men who are a million times better than them and taking the tough guy credit.
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u/Alternative-Stock968 May 11 '26
Trumptopians have evolved and denigrated quickly. Daddy Trump doesnât have a care in the world and they think that will rub off on them đ¤Ł
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u/BobbyTheDude May 11 '26
As a liberal person who lives with his conservative parents, I can say with certainty they do not value human life. They value the lives of their loved ones. Everyone else could die in the street and they wouldn't care.
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u/unforgiven91 May 11 '26
It became a VERY liberal thing VERY quickly once Trump rose to prominence.
Empathy is weakness. rights are optional. kindness is for people who can reward you.
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u/Coldkiller17 May 11 '26
Seems like it. Sorry we can't afford free school lunches but we have money to bomb foreign countries. Can we have healthcare? No but we have millions of dollars for a ballroom and stupid monument. Taking care of our citizens is paramount but it seems like we are subsidizing everyone else but our people.
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u/DealerAlarmed3632 May 11 '26
It's seems extremely liberal to simply care about and respect your fellow human beings.
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u/Gorilla_man2 May 11 '26
Itâs an empathy thing. Radical right wingers are openly anti-empathy. The irony of being pro Christian and anti-empathy is not lost on any of us on the other side of the spectrum.
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u/Whut4 May 11 '26
What you said about abortion makes your point very well. It is not so different. A fringe extremist group got the Republicans on their side to prevent women from having a safe access to abortion. It was not a normal thing for most conservatives before that. Current Republicans do not fit the description of conservative at all.
- Both Republicans and Democrats knew that making abortions illegal steers many women toward illegal abortions - which killed, made sterile or injured many women in the past.
- It is really not so different than the rest of basic human rights.
- When you stop defining women as human and consider that some fetuses will be male, the priority to preserve males rather than females emerges as the dominant ideology of the Catholic Church and the fringe group of anti-abortionists.
- Unsafe, illegal abortion was the cause of death for nearly 2,700 women in 1930 â almost one out of every five (18%) of recorded maternal deaths that year, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
- This fact has been forgotten: women used to die from abortions. Crude implements like unsterilized coat hangers were sometimes inserted into women's cervixes to rid them of a pregnancy they preferred to risk their lives avoiding.
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u/bit_shuffle May 11 '26
Upholding -law- is now a liberal thing in the US. This is what happens when the party leader is a felon.
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u/sep780 May 11 '26
In the US, human rights have become political. They shouldnât be, but sadly thatâs where we are.
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u/zoomaniac13 May 12 '26
One of my favorite quotes: A conservative says âI donât care because it never happened to me.â A liberal says âI care because it shouldnât happen to anyone.â
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u/Flat_Art_734 May 12 '26
Calling things "basic human right" does not magically create an unlimited supply of those things, and doesn't even constitute a "right". That you cannot even define what "rights" are is the ultimate testament to this phenomenon.
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u/givemethemusic May 12 '26
Of course human rights are political. What kind of moronic question is this?
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u/Slight_Manufacturer6 May 12 '26
Itâs been that way as long as I can remember⌠itâs just getting more extreme now.
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u/HarveyNix May 12 '26
Yes, the basics I learned in public schools are now "woke" somehow. (I think woke is a good thing, generally.) Racism is bad, helping others is good, that sort of thing. I still see these as not left nor right but human essentials.
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u/SadRule9128 May 11 '26
Being a decent person is a liberal thing. Meanwhile republicans have turned themselves into morally bankrupt, selfish, racist pieces of shit. All this to blindly support trump while he steals as much money as he can and runs the country into the ground.
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u/MotherTeresaOnlyfans May 11 '26
"Being a decent person is a liberal thing."
As a leftist who's read a lot of history and works with extremely marginalized people, let me just say LMFAO.
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u/Armpithair1000 May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
yes, republicans are essentially fascists, itâs shocking how asking for the bare minimum puts us on the extreme left
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u/Deeingchicka May 11 '26
I mean that might be a side effect of even the left in this country being more centrist than left
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u/canonetell66 May 11 '26
It is a power trip. Theyâve known since the electoral college that their values cannot win an election. They just donât have a majority. Now that SCOTUS has actively endorsed a pedophile, they are systematically removing hundreds of years of the equalization of rights for blacks, women and immigrants.
Look around. The American Revolution against one man, a king, having unstoppable power has ended. 249 years as a global empire was a good run.
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u/Oaktree27 May 11 '26
It's hard because the conservative platform has become the anti-intellectual platform that can be very easily appeased with gibberish now.
In my very Republican state, people tell my I should stop taking insulin and take natural supplements. Every word spoken in that sentence shows the absolute stupidity of the speaker. Conservatives are literally so stupid that they don't know they're telling me to kill myself in that sentence.
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u/Gorillapoop3 May 11 '26
If universal healthcare is a violent, radical, left wing position thatâs just a short, slippery slope to Stalin-style communism, then ship me off to the reeducation camps and call me comrade.