Cool temps break through summer gloom…

I really do live in the wrong place. I detest the heat, could care less about the beach, and wonder why anyone would enjoy sweating.

Then fall winter and spring happen. North Florida is a pretty amazing place for these few months. We get some real cold fronts that barely make it further south of us and get a few real freezes each year – even if they only last a few hours into the day.

And then amid the cacophony of negative conservative talk radio, latent racism in the South and some not-so latent racism here, the coldness speaks to me. I sit with my windows open on this (for Florida) cold evening, watching CBS Sunday morning which I TiVo every week, and it dawns on me. Not only do I love this place where I live that is Riverside, but I have an admission to come to grips with.

I’m a liberal.

You see – liberal is a term I’ve avoided labeling myself or really anyone. I always believed it was an ugly term, like neo-conservative is to me. But then I realized – hey yeah, I listen to NPR instead of the blathering of cruelty and insufferable desire to make fun of others. I watch PBS, am fascinated by Nova, know science is not antithetical to faith, and believe and know without a doubt that government DOES do good things when used as a tool instead of a blanket. I can’t fathom why people would want to beat others down to gain stature, why someone would hate someone else just for their beliefs, or how anyone who claims faith thinks anything other than God is the right answer. You and your ideas are not God, but are as a result of a gift from God. Stop taking credit for his good. I don’t want to go too far down the rabbit hole, but that doesn’t mean that you just sit back and go “I’m a good person and I do good – that’s gotta be enough.” But I digress…

So – I’m a liberal. Now what? First off – though I disagree vehemently with just about anything neo-conservatives believe in, I respect them as long as they don’t disparage we liberals. I respect their opinion as I hope they do mine – but know that it’s their fault if they don’t respect differences. And as my faith continually reminds me, I love them as one of God’s children too.

One thing I hope everyone could do is find their own way in life. Don’t tote the party line. Don’t repeat the blatherings of politicians. Don’t seek answers without also seeking opposite viewpoints.

If you can’t stand to listen to Obama speak, you’re doing it wrong regardless of how you see his politics or policies. If you can’t stand to listen to liberals like me spout on about our belief in the good inherent in people, then you’re doing it wrong. If you can’t stand to listen to hate, you’re doing it right.

If I’m so terrible for being a liberal in the deep south, then so be it.

Can’t we all just start with respect?

---