You Might Be Old If You Recall When Liberals . . .

. . . marched in favor of free speech

. . . were opposed to authoritarian government

. . . favored prosecuting dangerous criminals (rather than putting them back on the streets to promote “social justice”)

. . . recognized that socialist agendas in Cuba, South America, Vermont and elsewhere were not “progressive” for mankind

. . . were suspicious of massive, politically powerful corporate interests (such as pharmaceutical companies)

. . . prioritized the well-being of struggling American citizens (rather than prioritizing strugglers immigrating illegally from every other country)

. . . supported the traditional primary school program of reading and writing (and couldn’t have imagined teaching gender ideology to five-year-olds)

. . . promoted racial equality in the classroom (not racial hostility)

. . . recalled 1933 – 1945 global history well enough to recognize the dangers of all-powerful government

. . . were concerned about the middle class and private-sector workers

. . . defended civil liberties for the left and the right

. . . weren’t so enthusiastic about getting into foreign wars

. . . were best represented by the character and intelligence of Minnesota’s Eugene McCarthy (not the character and intelligence of Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar)

. . . were not mostly college-educated, self-satisfied elites who deplored people with different viewpoints

. . . were liberal in the 19th century manner: open-minded, intellectually curious, and tolerant (rather than liberal in the 21st century manner: closed-minded, dogmatic, and censorious)