A Death of Liberalism, or a Setback?

In the last week, the left-wing governments in both Norway and Australia have been voted out of power, something that does bother me quite a bit. I have in prior blog entries have made no bones about my liberal, almost socialist views on many issues. My political ideologies are somewhat in line with those of Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, one of my political heroes. And when I see a country

I'm starting to fear that worldwide, people are losing faith in liberalism. And I wouldn't be surprised. Many of these nations are holding their first elections since the Great Recession, and many voters in some countries are tired of the same old way of doing business.

I also believe in a form of politician support amputation, which is (there has to be a better word for "politician support amputation") when a political party persuades a weak candidate to move aside for a stronger candidate. However, there are some years that the party in power will just collapse. Some of those problems might include a slew of incumbents deciding to not run for re-election (and the party holding the seat might have trouble finding a good enough replacement). And America right now is a lost nation: we sold out to the Chinese and we're seeing China's manufacturing affect the world like a tumor. A loss of manufacturing and blue collar jobs that pay well might have some people running towards conservative beliefs. And in general we live in a society that cultivates conservative beliefs, especially with men. I think most people equate liberals with sissies.

Here in the United States, I have an impression that the Democratic Party, which is the liberal party here, is seen as not patriotic unlike the Republican Party, which is our nation's conservative party. And that might harm voter impressions, along with an American mindset that is very anti-taxation. Part of it might just be simple ignorance, but I also think it might be a generational issue too: although youth in the USA might want to support a conservative brand, they themselves don't support the ideology. In fact, nearly three-fourths of millennials (that would be my generation) support marriage equality. And it's not surprising. For us, same-sex relationships aren't new, it's a norm. We're used to them and we accept them. Same thing with birth control, use of public transportation, and other things Americans associate with liberalism. Conservative groups say that millennials are abandoning liberalism. Hogwash. The only reason why Romney did better than McCain did four years ago with the 18-35 age group is not quite Obama's fault. Job creation has been slow, and there are your handful of college students who didn't feel like supporting the President this time around. I bet the lack of support is associated with struggles in regards to job searching among college graduates.

So if you are a politician, and want to be guaranteed a permanent job as a legislator or as an executive, keep this in mind. It's the economy, you idiot!