To the Editor:

Webster’s dictionary defines the following terms as stated below:

• Conservative: “of or relating to a philosophy of conservatism,” “tending or disposed to maintain existing views, conditions, or institutions.”

• Conservatism: “disposition in politics to preserve what is established,” “a political philosophy based on tradition and social stability, stressing established institutions, and preferring gradual development to abrupt change.”

• Liberal: “of or befitting a man of free birth,” “marked by generosity,” “given or provided in a generous and openhanded way,” “of or constituting a political party advocating or associated with the principles of political liberalism.”

• Liberalism: “a movement in modern Protestantism emphasizing intellectual liberty and the spiritual and ethical content of Christianity,” “a theory in economics emphasizing individual freedom from restraint and usually based on free competition, the self-regulating market,” “a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties.”

According to the definitions above, Jesus Christ was a liberal, George Washington was a liberal, Abraham Lincoln was a liberal, and Martin Luther King was a liberal. If any of the above mentioned were conservatives, we would all be Jews, we would still be subjects of England and a king, we would still have slavery, and there would be no civil rights.

So, if you call yourself an American, a Christian, or a patriot, the next time you here someone call their self a conservative, you should be appalled, be afraid, and be enraged because they are what this nation left behind in 1776, 1861, 1964, and finally in 2008. We can’t continue to be a free country if we are controlled by conservatives who would keep us from the very freedom that our forefathers fought and died for.

Stephen White

Franklin