Special snowflakes and social justice warriors are only a few of the common perceptions of liberals today, mainly by conservatives. Conservatives often think of liberals as being overly sensitive and easily offended, and honestly, they're not wrong. What used to be an ideology of promoting individual liberty and freedom of speech has become an ideology of censorship. However, it does not have to stay that way. That is where the idea of "classical liberalism" comes in.
Classical liberalism promotes freedom of speech and religion and the right to disagree. It means saying "I disagree with you, but I will fight for your right to say your opinion." Classical liberalism celebrates free thinking and individualism instead of censoring unpopular opinions. There has been a growing trend of attempts to stifle free speech. People with more conservative viewpoints have often been threatened when speaking at college campuses, and the word Nazi has been used so much that now it is often used to dismiss people who are not on the far left side of the political spectrum. I never imagined that someone like Milo Yiannapoulos who is both gay and Jewish would be considered the "leader of the alt-right." Throwing the word "Nazi" at people with whom you disagree only trivializes the term and shuts down productive discussion. This is not what liberalism was supposed to be.
Liberalism, at least in the mainstream, has lost its way. Modern liberalism is no longer the ideology of open-mindedness and tolerance. However, it does not have to stay this way. Liberalism can be reclaimed for what it was originally meant to be. Liberalism can move away from saying, "You shouldn't be allowed to say that because I'm offended," to "I disagree with what you have to say, but I will fight for your right to say it." Let's make Liberalism the ideology of free thought instead of thought-policing. There are always going to be opposing opinions, and that is not a bad thing. Many victories for civil rights were accomplished because people disagreed with the status quo. Did the people who fought to abolish slavery in the United States agree with the status quo? No! Their ideas were controversial and revolutionary.
The idea that people should have equal rights regardless of their race, gender, or sexual orientation, the idea of self-governance and individual liberty, the idea that people have the right to follow the religion they choose or no religion at all are all classically liberal ideals. To be clear, it is important to distinguish between liberals and the Democratic party just like it is important to distinguish between conservatives and the Republican party. Classical liberals can be Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, independents, or almost any other political party. Party platforms might have concrete sets of beliefs, but the individuals within these parties are a lot more diverse in their ideologies.
Freedom of speech is crucial to individual liberties. Let's work to make political dialogues one of free thought. Let's work to make liberalism truly liberal again.
