The word liberal was and used to identify those who were respected and proud of their left-leaning background. Now, the movement of our nation to the right and the ever so harsh attacks from Republicans has painted an ugly picture of the word. Now, whenever people hear the word liberal, they cringe. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, you can not escape feeling alienated or uneasy in some way whenever you hear it. I think Progressive has become the term of choice because its root word progress is something we all hope to achieve in any goal we undertake.

As someone who falls on the line of being between that of a liberal and one of a centrist Democrat, I believe that those further left than I are being treated like some sort of disease. Sure they sometimes go too far, but is that not where we are today with the extreme right? Why should the left be blamed or patronized for the state of our nation when Democrats do not even hold any of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. The blood is on Republican hands now. When will the people finally wake up and realize that the nation needs more attention that the empire it craves? Remember, each party has a time to shine. The Republicans hold the majority for now, but as they ignore the common man and pay tribute to the rich, the masses will rise against them when times are bad. Now that cheap money has been spent for years in lifting the economy to unsustainable heights, we are most certainly due for a hard landing.