Why is being a liberal a good political philosophy?

I mean this question in all seriousness. Don't flame anybody, don't call any body names. I want to see clear, consise, well thought arguments for being a liberal and why you think this is the best political philosophy for a society.Why is being a liberal a good political philosophy?
I think it is important to distinguish between Classical Liberalism (Thomas Jefferson etc) and current day American Liberalism (the Democratic party).





';Classical liberalism (also known as traditional liberalism[1], laissez-faire liberalism[2], and market liberalism[3] or, outside the United States and Britain, sometimes simply liberalism[citation needed]) is a doctrine stressing individual freedom, free markets, and limited government. This includes the importance of human rationality, individual property rights, natural rights, the protection of civil liberties, individual freedom from restraint, equality under the law, constitutional limitation of government, free markets, and a gold standard to place fiscal constraints on government[4] as exemplified in the writings of John Locke, Adam Smith, David Hume, David Ricardo, Voltaire, Montesquieu and others. As such, it is the fusion of economic liberalism with political liberalism of the late 18th and 19th centuries.[2] The ';normative core'; of classical liberalism is the idea that laissez-faire economics will bring about a spontaneous order or invisible hand that benefits the society,[5] though it does not necessarily oppose the state's provision of some basic public goods with what constitutes public goods being seen as very limited.[6] The qualification classical was applied retroactively to distinguish it from more recent, 20th-century conceptions of liberalism and its related movements, such as social liberalism[7] Classical liberals are suspicious of all but the most minimal government[8] and object to the welfare state[9].';





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_l鈥?/a>





Notice how current day American liberals fit this description in no way, shape, or fashion. They hijacked the word ';liberal'; and now they're trying to redefine American ideals as something rooted in a collectivist mentality. (as opposed to freedom of the individual)Why is being a liberal a good political philosophy?
All political parties are hypocrites. There is no ';best'; political philosophy. There is only common sense. People tend to side with parties so they feel like they are part of something.





Think independent. Listen to the issues before you make a decision. Who cares about political party?





Liberals want to make everything legal


Conservatives want to make everything illegal


How about we make some things illegal and some things legal? Let's set a middle ground.
Because it is a moral imperative that people help those in need. It is a moral impetrative that equal justice is secured for all. It is vital that we be good stewards of our world and leave it better for our children. It is clear that a little help goes a long way - especially for children - education, nutrition, safety, and medical care.





Few people would argue with any of that, but Liberals believe that acting on these issues collectively through government is legitimate and correct. Conservatives believe that if it must be done through government then it should not be done at all.





So, liberals have worked to expand rights to women and minorities - people that should have had the same rights as everyone else but didn't. Worked to lift millions out of poverty - not just with hand outs but with education, and better community standards. Liberals worked to provide a dignified retirement for those too old or infirm to earn their own way any longer. Liberals worked to clean up the environment. Pollution was so bad 50-60 years ago that a toxic cloud nearly wiped out an entire town in PA. Liberals worked to make products (especially cars) safer. Every year more miles are driven and fewer people die as a result of auto safety laws.





Liberals believe these reforms were vital to our nation and could not have been accomplished without government. Conservatives stood in the way of all of these reforms - not because they did not think the reforms were needed, (well not all of them anyway) but because they fused to accept the government as legitimate instrument of those reforms.
Someone else wrote this, but I think it fits well here





Why did I vote Democrat?





I voted Democrat because ....


I love the fact that I can now marry whatever I want.


I've decided to marry my horse.





I voted Democrat because....


I believe oil companies' profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are


obscene but the government taxing the same gallon of gas


at 15% isn't.





I voted Democrat because....


I believe the government will do a better job of


spending the money I earn than I would.





I voted Democrat because....


Freedom of speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.





I voted Democrat because....


When we pull out of Iraq I trust that the bad guys will stop what


they're doing because they now think we're good people.





I voted Democrat because....


I'm way too irresponsible to own a gun, and I know that my local


police are all I need to protect me from murderers and thieves.





I voted Democrat because....


I believe that people who can't tell us if it will rain on Friday can


tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away In ten years if


I don't start driving a Prius.





I voted Democrat because....


I'm not concerned about the slaughter of millions of babies so long


as we keep all death row inmates alive.





I voted Democrat because....


I believe that business should not be allowed to make profits for


themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to


the government for redistribution as IT sees fit.





I voted Democrat because....


I believe liberal judges need to rewrite The Constitution every few


days to suit some fringe kooks who would never get their agendas


past the voters.





I voted Democrat because....


My head is so firmly planted up my a ss that it is unlikely that I'll


ever have another point of view.





';A Liberal is a person who will give away everything they don't own.';
What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label ';Liberal?'; If by ';Liberal'; they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then ... we are not that kind of ';Liberal.'; But if by a ';Liberal'; they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a ';Liberal,'; then I'm proud to say I'm a ';Liberal.';
Well I mean it's normally a good idea to give time for differing points of view because nobody is right all the time. I don't really know if that washes with the modern liberals we have elected but that's how it works in theory.
Because you can then do what ever you want without tinking of the consequences. If you got a problem, just throw money at it, someone else's money.
There is not a single reason to be a liberal. It is a total cop out. In 1776 the liberals were the ones who wanted to stay under England. There were just barely enough conservatives to make this Nation happen in spite of the liberals.
Because it believes in treating all humans with decency.





Conservatives believe only some humans should be treated with decency.
A liberal is someone advocates liberalism, the pursuit of freedom. If you're wondering why someone would vote Democrat, that is something different all together.
You don't have to use your brain and the dumb chicks are all over the liberal side of the fence, but many may be lesbians so be careful.
A society of mushrooms, perhaps.
If you believe in equality and freedom, then you're a liberal