Liberalism

Why has 'liberal' become a perjorative in the US.

1.
1. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.
2. Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.
3. Of, relating to, or characteristic of liberalism.
4. Liberal Of, designating, or characteristic of a political party founded on or associated with principles of social and political liberalism, especially in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States.
2.
1. Tending to give freely; generous: a liberal benefactor.
2. Generous in amount; ample: a liberal serving of potatoes.
3. Not strict or literal; loose or approximate: a liberal translation.
4. Of, relating to, or based on the traditional arts and sciences of a college or university curriculum: a liberal education.
5.
1. Archaic. Permissible or appropriate for a person of free birth; befitting a lady or gentleman.
2. Obsolete. Morally unrestrained; licentious.

n.

1. A person with liberal ideas or opinions.
2. Liberal A member of a Liberal political party.

[Middle English, generous, from Old French, from Latin līberālis, from līber, free.]

In a nation 'conceived in liberty' one might expect that liberal would be a handle to be proud of. Please explain

In Australia, those who vote for the Liberal Party of Australia are voting for a conservative, bigotted, religious and orthodox and hindbound party. Contradictions never cease in the English language.

I presume that the term liberal has come to be associated with middle class home owners with relatively secure lives and better than average education and income. With fewer pressures in life, this group may seem less decisive about certain issues. Groups that have a large amount of pressure will generally have more powerful views on government, whilst liberals are more likely to be accepting or dismissive. In recent years with events like 9/11 and the Iraq invasion, liberals have perhaps been the butt of anger which realistically should be pointed elsewhere. The issues of patriotism, religion etc. require (in the current western world mind) a certain decisiveness which I think liberals have become dis-associated from.

Originally posted by Starrman
I presume that the term liberal has come to be associated with middle class home owners with relatively secure lives and better than average education and income. With fewer pressures in life, this group may seem less decisive about certain issues. Groups that have a large amount of pressure will generally have more powerful views on government, whilst li ...[text shortened]... stern world mind) a certain decisiveness which I think liberals have become dis-associated from.

Originally posted by aardvarkhome
Why has 'liberal' become a perjorative in the US.

1.
1. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.
2. Favoring proposals for re ...[text shortened]... pect that liberal would be a handle to be proud of. Please explain

To me, liberalism is anti-extremism. I guess this comes under the umbrella of "less decisive". I think the fundamental quality of a genuine liberal is to accept that one cannot form opinions of everything and that being decisive on many issues is very suspicious.

The United States is the guardian of capitalism. You could go so far as to say that the US is an extremist capitalist nation (particularly with the current government). By its very nature, liberalism struggles to make inroads in such an environment, in the same way it would in a dictatorship. Facisim and capitalism have a lot in common...