If By Liberal.....

A couple of friends shared this on Facebook and I wanted to repost it here:

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.” ~ John F. Kennedy, 1960

And isn't it sad that so many Americans find these values "offensive" today?
 
I remember a time when liberals and conservatives were  civil. When men like Charles Percy and Everett Dirksen served as Republican senators from Illinois. and conservative voices like William F Buckley were eloquent as opposed to being  bullyish or clownish like the leading spokesmen for the far right is today.