<div>Chasuk et. al.</div>
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<div>I am glad you decided to post again. I was hoping you would.</div>
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<div>I like "freethinker," as a description of an orientation to thought or life, better than "liberal." The word "liberal" has been hijacked by those wishing to denigrate and marginalize people who hold certain positions on social/political/religious issues. Though the word could continue to be used and defined in a reasonable manner, it means fighting the negative connotations the word now carries in the universe of political/social "discourse."
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<div>This is one reason I currently call my political orientation "independent." I want maximum flexibility to examine each issue separately, and come to a conclusion not mandated by loyalty to party or rigid ideology, or oversimplified by button pushing labels like "liberal," or "left" or "right wing."
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<div>Ted Moffett<br><br> </div>
<div><span class="gmail_quote">On 9/21/06, <b class="gmail_sendername">Chasuk</b> <<a href="mailto:chasuk@gmail.com">chasuk@gmail.com</a>> wrote:</span>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">I was gone, and now I'm back. Perusing the archives, it seems that<br>the status quo has been preserved. I don't know whether I should be
<br>grateful or sad, but at least I'm returning to a familiar place.<br><br>For those who care, I'm discarding the word "liberal" and replacing it<br>with "freethinker" as it pertains to myself. I know that the word is
<br>antiquated, but it seems to more accurately describe me.<br><br>I like this definition from Wikipedia:<br><br>"Freethought is a philosophical doctrine that holds that beliefs<br>should be formed on the basis of science and logical principles and
<br>not be comprised by authority, tradition or any other dogmatic or<br>otherwise fallacious belief system that restricts logical reasoning."<br><br>Strike the words "or otherwise fallacious." With those words
<br>deleted, I provisionally concur with the freethought doctrine. I'm<br>going to try to avoid trolls, trolling, flaming, and even my own<br>intemperate responses to flamebait. I won't have time to be amazingly<br>prolific, which is almost certainly a good thing.
<br><br>Anyway, friends, acquaintances, sometimes foes, it's good to be a<br>Visionista/Visioneer/Visionite once again. I look forward to our<br>continued dialogue.<br><br>Cheers,<br><br>Chas<br><br>--<br>"Intolerance betrays want of faith in one's cause." -- Mahatma Gandhi
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