7 Answers

Favoring or permitting freedom of action, especially with respect to matters of personal belief or expression.

According to the dictionary: Not limited to authoritian, traditional or established orthadoxy and not bigoted in their attitudes. It also means open to new ideas and respectful of the opinions of others. Sounds good, doesn't it?

New Oxford American Dictionary             

liberal |?lib(?)r?l|

adjective

1 open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values : they have more liberal views toward marriage and divorce than some people.

• favorable to or respectful of individual rights and freedoms : liberal citizenship laws.

• (in a political context) favoring maximum individual liberty in political and social reform : a liberal democratic state.

• ( Liberal) of or characteristic of Liberals or a Liberal Party.

• ( Liberal) (in the UK) of or relating to the Liberal Democrat Party : the Liberal leader.

• Theology regarding many traditional beliefs as dispensable, invalidated by modern thought, or liable to change.

2 [ attrib. ] (of education) concerned mainly with broadening a person's general knowledge and experience, rather than with technical or professional training.

3 (esp. of an interpretation of a law) broadly construed or understood; not strictly literal or exact : they could have given the 1968 Act a more liberal interpretation.

4 given, used, or occurring in generous amounts : liberal amounts of wine had been consumed.

• (of a person) giving generously : Sam was too liberal with the wine.

noun

a person of liberal views.

• ( Liberal) a supporter or member of a Liberal Party.

DERIVATIVES

liberalism |-?liz?m| noun

liberalist |-r?list| noun

liberalistic |?lib(?)r??listik| adjective

liberally adverb

liberalness noun

ORIGIN Middle English : via Old French from Latin liberalis, from liber ‘free (man).’ The original sense was [suitable for a free man,] hence [suitable for a gentleman] (one not tied to a trade), surviving in liberal arts. Another early sense [generous] ( compare with sense 4) gave rise to an obsolete meaning [free from restraint,] leading to sense 1 (late 18th cent.).

In the United States it would be ... " Part of the Immoral Minority" !

I'm okay.  You're okay.  Let's all do whatever we want.  The government should pay for all of it.

Socialists, Marxist. Race baiters. Bad people.

" I ain't paying for it"