In the Liberal Tradition

I am typing this post right now because I am completely worthless. I have no job and class doesn't start until Thursday. If I weren't typing this, I'd be driving on HWY 80 right now after a fun filled day of playing Bacci Ball on the beach. But as some of you can guess, I am sitting in Athens right now because one of my brothers in Savannah (Hint; he refers to himself as "Big Daddy") drove me nuts over the weekend.

Earlier today I was reading Southern Appeal, and in doing so I followed some links until I stumbled on a peculiar website, The Acton Institute. For those of you who give a damn, Lord Acton was a 19th century Historian. For one thing, he was a Catholic Lord in England, very unusual. He was considered one of the most learned people of his time. Most notably Acton was invited to participate in the first Vatican Council. He also represented a precinct of Ireland known as Carlow in Parliament as a member of Gladstone's Liberal Party (whose causes included liberties for Catholics in Ireland and for the ultimate independence of Ireland, which wasn't realized until years after their deaths.)

I bring this guy up because this website shows that the meaning of Acton's "Liberalism" is much different from what "Liberalism" means today (I remember Jane Dolan mentioned something about this phenomena back in her government class. ) Acton implies that Liberalism entails supporting a decentralized confederate government (as opposed to a federal government,) religious freedom, economic freedom (capitalism/free trade.) And if you look at the definition of Liberty; "The condition of being free from restriction or control", Acton's meaning of "Liberalism" makes sense. John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, and St. Thomas Aquinas are few of the many scholars that support this view of "Liberalism". All these people also stressed the importance of the Judea Christian influence on our basis of government. This all sounds a lot like what truly "conservative" Americans believe in today.

Ironically, "Liberalism" today signifies unlimited centralized government, socialist welfare, fear of religion, restricted economies, Hillary Clinton's "It takes a village" crap. Crazy huh?

I say contemporary "conservatives" are attempting to conserve the liberties being lost to contemporary "liberals."

And another thing, I'm confused about what the deal is with relativist, button wearing professors at colleges today. How can these people totally ignore what Acton, Locke, Jefferson, and St. Thomas Aquinas' theories have produced?

All Hail Lord Acton!