The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1945-11-02
LOOKING
AAE4D
~ GEORGE S. BENSON
4 PresideAf--Harding college
Searrg. Arkaasas
. Liberalism

Back in Americas colonial days
before the Revolutionary war when
everybody was underprivileged,
there were only three freedoms.
Everybody had a right to work
hard, save as much as he could of
his earnings and use his head as
profitably as possible in business. If
you have a taste for long words you
might call the three freedoms in
dustry, frugality and ingenuity.
Politics in those days were all full
of rich-man VS.. poor-man problems,
same as now. They were, to be
sure, better decorated with pretty
English but the issues were about
the same: What will we have to
work with? If we do well, how
much can we. keep, and how much
will be taken by the government?
Government in those days was the
English king, of course.
Lovers of Freedom
People who thought the king ought
to show more liberality called them
selves liberals. In theory the king
owned the land. In reality he held
tight rein over his subjects. He
taxed them plenty and his subsidized
buying concern paid little enough
for what they produced. A liberal,
in those days, was man who want
ed government to loosen up a bit in
favor of the individual.
Affairs of the people were not
changed very much by the Revolu-
ton. Colonies changed into states
and new issues arose but still there
was an overall government. In this
overall government were people
who had power-lust, or else feared
to trust the common people with
vital decisions. Opposed to these
power-humgry folk were the liberals,
still plugging for personal liberty.
Liberals Won Out
The liberals were right. Time has
proved beyond doubt that people
act better and live better and make
more progress materially and spir-
itually when they have more free
dom. Since the United States be-
came first-class power in record
time, the worlds wealthiest and
happiest people, the word ''liberar'
has been popular here. A liberal,
to us, is one who wants the individu-
al to be free.
Through the same historic peri
DDS America has had reactionaries.
They were the people, in colonial
days, who wanted the king to rule
them. After the Revolution, the
same element wanted an iron-rod
rule in Notwithstanding like
a dictator. Small wonder that re-
dictionaries have always been I'M
popular in America, people who
howl against the system and try to
grab power for themselves.
Try to Swap Labels
Reactionaries in America today
are smart. They have learned one
lesson well: They are very sure of
one thing: they have a bad name.
They know also that the word Glib
erap' is an asset. Accordingly they
have adopted the term liberalism"
and call themselves liberals. This is
the very same political element that
supports more government rules
and loss liberty for individuals.
By she same strategy, this polit-
ical element has begun to call peo-
pie reactionaries who hold precise
ly to the liberal teachings of Thorn
as Jefferson. Don't let anybody tell
you that government control of ev-
erything, and the destruction of in
dividual freedom and opportunity, is
the liberalism that Americans think
so highly of-nor that it is liberal
ism at all. 1t is counterfeit road
sign designed to misdirect Ameri-
can thinking away from the ways of
freedom.