I read an article on Right Wing News about liberalism providing cover for people to lead immoral lives. As a self proclaimed liberal and progressive, I take issue with this idea. The article, in sum:

There is something about liberalism that is not nearly as true about conservatism. The further left one goes, the more one finds that the ideology provides moral cover for a life that is not moral. While many people left of center lead fine personal lives, many do not. And left-wing ideals enable a person to do that much more than conservative ideals do.

I fail to see how my wanting to provide equal rights to all, proper justice under the law and a proper social progression in our society shows my lack of morality. If anything, it shows my adherence to morality.

Morality, as defined by Merriam-Webster: “conformity to ideals of right human conduct.” Do we all have different ideals? Certainly. But, I think the real hypocrites are the ones who claim to be moral yet oppose equality. That stance takes a special kind of arrogance.

Moral thought is not an alternative to political thought, rather, they go hand in hand. The left believes in equality for all: marriage equality; gender equality; racial equality. The right publicly and loudly opposes marriage equality while taking a more subtle approach to opposing gender and racial equality. “Conformity to ideals of right human conduct.” Which side of the aisle fits that definition?

The author continues:

Conservative politicians have the same sex drive as liberal politicians, the same marital problems and the same ubiquitous temptations and opportunities. And some will therefore engage in extramarital sex. But every conservative politician knows that should he be caught, his positions on issues not only do not provide moral cover for his conduct, those very positions condemn it.

When President Clinton was dealing with his affair, Republicans jumped all over him as being an immoral man and that is not someone we, as Americans, should want being a leader of our country. Yet, no Republican stood up to Speaker Gingrich and confronted him about his affairs or suggested he was not moral enough to be a leader of our country. On the contrary, Speaker Gingrich was applauded for taking a hard stance against President Clinton saying that he should suffer the consequences of being a bad man who had an affair and lied about it. Why, hello pot!

A group of people who defend their own as people of good character and integrity when charged with the same accusations that they themselves make against others, do not get to call themselves moral. They are, in no uncertain terms, hypocrites.

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Bryan Driscoll

Bryan is the founder of 2 Rights Make a Left. While obtaining his J.D., Bryan researched and wrote extensively on Capital Punishment, an issue that remains close to his heart to this day. He has spent the majority of his adult life involved in politics in some form or another. Bryan spends most of his time reading, writing and discussing all things politics. Bryan loves to travel and, if he had his way, would constantly be jetting off to another destination. The rest of his time is spent following his beloved Bears, Bulls and Cubbies.

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