One of my professors used to call me a "Mushy-headed college liberal..."

I think of him often.  He too was a liberal - a constitutional law scholar, and a genius, and he would say the words with such gusto and warmth, as if it was ok to just laugh about it

There is, in my neighborhood, an angry angry man.  Not the guy I wrote about earlier.  No, the fellow I am thinking of is just mad about anything akin to being liberal.  He posts angry signs in the back of his truck, swears at the neighbor kids for walking on his lawn, and is just serially unkind and intemperate.  But, he does inspire thought.

So I saw him at the local gas station today with another set of angry signs in the back of his truck.  Angry, smug, borderline racist signs regarding our president, the state of our country, the nature of liberals, and, as usual, his continuing reference to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

So I sat down at this here computer and asked myself, if good old Walt was here, and he really wanted to know what goes on in a liberal's head, what would I tell him.

1) I've been married 19 years to the same woman I fell in love with in college.

2) We have two great kids and, contrary to the conventional thinking about liberals, they were baptized (in a church) and do not have cloven feet or tattoos.

3) I have consistently had a job ever since I was 15 - even through college, grad school, and law school.

4) I firmly believe Jesus was a liberal (yeah, I went there. I looked up the word "liberal" and from the definition it seems pretty clear to me.)

5) I don't own a single pair of sandals, do not drive a hybrid, and I cry during the national anthem.

6) I do not hate America. I do not teach my kids to hate America. I coach little league and teach my kids to swing away and run through the bag.

7) Contrary to what some folks might have you believe, as a liberal I do not even dislike America.  I dislike peas, bad driving, bills, and gossip.

8) The fact is that I love America. There, I said it. I love its people, and its ideas, and its history and traditions. I love its geography and its big footprints. Its moxie. I love the story of the passengers on flight 93 - how they actually voted on whether or not to take matters into their own hands. That is proof positive of American DNA right there. We all have it - liberals and conservatives alike.

9) This mushy-headed college liberal actually approaches any veteran out and about who is wearing some badge of service, and makes a point of shaking his or her hand and saying "thank you." My family and friends think I am crazy. I'm not crazy - just grateful.

10)Walt, as a liberal, I cried on 9/11 too. My personal beliefs are that that day is not some sort of sacrosanct conservative giving tree that exists merely as leverage for extreme conservatives to separate themselves forever from their liberal countrymen (Sarah Palin, I am looking right at you). As my memory serves, among the many tales of heroism and selfless sacrifice coming out of that day, I can't remember a single one where one American refused to help another because he was either liberal or conservative.

11)  It is our sames that are powerful; moving.  You don't much hear the people on tv ranting and raving about those things which unite us.  There is no Hannity, or Coulter, or Olberman screeching on ad infinitum about how parents all love the smell of their kids' hair after a bath, the tenderness of their child's dreams, or the warmth of a good neighbor coming to the rescue. Yet all of us, liberal or conservative, can close our eyes and imagine that.

12) As a liberal, I believe in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  I believe that the Constitution is a living document; and that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.  I believe that we have to defend the rights of individuals or risk cheapening or eroding our rights across the Republic, and I believe "under God" is just fine in the pledge allegiance.

13) Finally, I believe there isn't a person alive who is right about everything, every time. So why on earth would anyone want to join a talking head's cult of personality to become ideologically dependent on the ideas of one person when that one person profits greatly from political division and contempt? (yes Rush Limbaugh, I am looking right at you). I believe we all do much better when we think for ourselves while considering other people.  Think critically, but decide independently.

So thanks for dropping by the blog today.  It is election season - and those who want power, desire the benefit of your franchise, would seek to divide us; to have you fear and loathe your neighbor who might be more liberal or conservative than you.  Wherever you are, I hope this day finds you well, and in the company of neighbors who, despite their political or religious beliefs, would prove themselves to be neighbors worthy of you and your family.

Dennis