--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's a peculiar thing about liberals…" description: "\"It's a peculiar thing about liberals. When it comes to middle-class people who are fully capable of caring for themselves, liberals seek to undermine ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/144/mona-charen-17365_affliction_it-s-a-peculiar-thing-about-liberals-whe_2932298.jpg" --- # It's a peculiar thing about liberals. When it comes to… ![“It's a peculiar thing about liberals. When it comes to middle-class people who are fully capable of caring for themselves, liberals seek to undermine their independence in every way possible. With seductive 'entitlements' like guaranteed retirement, health care, nutrition, education, and jobs…” quote by Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/144/mona-charen-17365_affliction_it-s-a-peculiar-thing-about-liberals-whe_2932298.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/144/mona-charen-17365_affliction_it-s-a-peculiar-thing-about-liberals-whe_2932298.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/144/mona-charen-17365_affliction_it-s-a-peculiar-thing-about-liberals-whe_2932298.jpg) > “It's a peculiar thing about liberals. When it comes to middle-class people who are fully capable of caring for themselves, liberals seek to undermine their independence in every way possible. With seductive 'entitlements' like guaranteed retirement, health care, nutrition, education, and jobs, liberals attempt to lure the middle class into dependence on the state. But when it comes to those who are truly incompetent, those whose mental afflictions render them unable to manage their lives at all, liberals are suddenly transformed into absolutists for personal autonomy.” [Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that liberals paradoxically promote state support for self‑sufficient middle‑class individuals while championing personal freedom for those deemed incapable. **In simple terms:** Liberals support state aid for the independent but champion autonomy for the dependent. Key Takeaway Recognize and question policy inconsistencies. Themes politics social policy liberalism individualism dependence Mood critical analytical skeptical Type political commentary analytical When to use this quote - public policy debates - media analysis - voting decisions - community organizing Key Concepts Welfare state personal autonomy class dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you define “independence” and “competence”? - What evidence supports this dichotomy? A Different Perspective The claim oversimplifies diverse liberal perspectives and ignores nuanced policy goals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affliction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affliction/) [Autonomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Caring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caring/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Dependence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dependence/) [Entitlement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entitlement/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Health care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health-care/) [Incompetent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incompetent/) [Independence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independence/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Liberals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberals/) [Middle class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-class/) [Nutrition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nutrition/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Retirement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retirement/) [Seductive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seductive/) ## Related quotes > [Liberals attempt through judicial activism what they cannot win at the ballot box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/liberals-attempt-through-judicial-activism-what-they-cannot-win-at/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The child welfare system - devised and run by liberal social workers, psychologists, and judges. . .Treats incompetent or abusive parents as its clients,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-charen/the-child-welfare-system-devised-and-run-by-liberal-social-workers/) [Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/) > [Community colleges are great bargains. They avoid the fancy amenities four-year liberal arts colleges need in order to lure the children of the middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/community-colleges-are-great-bargains-they-avoid-the-fancy-amenities/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [“I never thought I’d see the day you retreated from anything, least of all a mere slip of a woman. (Simon) And never did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kinley-macgregor/i-never-thought-i-d-see-the-day-you-retreated-from-anything-least-of/) [Kinley MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kinley-macgregor/) > [I see cities as organisms, as living creatures. To me Madrid is a man and Barcelona is a woman. And it's a woman who's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/i-see-cities-as-organisms-as-living-creatures-to-me-madrid-is-a-man/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Like buried treasures, the outposts of the universe have beckoned to the adventurous from immemorial times. Princes and potentates, political or industrial, equally with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ellery-hale/like-buried-treasures-the-outposts-of-the-universe-have-beckoned-to/) George Ellery Hale > [One cannot resist the lure of Africa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/one-cannot-resist-the-lure-of-africa/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Hark, I hear a robin calling! List, the wind is from the south! And the orchard-bloom is falling Sweet as kisses on the mouth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-maud-montgomery/hark-i-hear-a-robin-calling-list-the-wind-is-from-the-south-and-the/) [Lucy Maud Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-maud-montgomery/) > [The lure of heady profits of the late 1990's spawned abuses and excesses. With strict enforcement and higher ethical standards, we must usher in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-lure-of-heady-profits-of-the-late-1990-s-spawned-abuses-and/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Example is a dangerous lure: where the wasp got through the gnat sticks fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-fontaine/example-is-a-dangerous-lure-where-the-wasp-got-through-the-gnat/) [Jean de La Fontaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-fontaine/) > [By the time I was 10 or 12, I had discovered the lure of the romance genre - and the dusty copy of 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-maclean/by-the-time-i-was-10-or-12-i-had-discovered-the-lure-of-the-romance/) [Sarah MacLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-maclean/) > [The lure in art collecting and its financial rewards, not counting for a moment its aesthetic, cultural and intellectual rewards, is like the trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/the-lure-in-art-collecting-and-its-financial-rewards-not-counting-for/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I read actual physical books and have thus far avoided the electronic lure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-read-actual-physical-books-and-have-thus-far-avoided-the-electronic/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“Weakness is an irresistible lure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/weakness-is-an-irresistible-lure/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [Here I encounter the most popular fallacy of our times. It is not considered sufficient that the law should guarantee to every citizen the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/here-i-encounter-the-most-popular-fallacy-of-our-times-it-is-not/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) ## More by Mona Charen > [If liberals had been in charge of the Arizona memorial, it would probably have featured an exhaustive exhibit about the internment of Japanese Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-charen/if-liberals-had-been-in-charge-of-the-arizona-memorial-it-would/) [Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/) > [To judge by what my children are learning in school, you'd think American history was 75 percent slavery and 25 percent everything else (and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-charen/to-judge-by-what-my-children-are-learning-in-school-you-d-think/) [Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/) > [Any stimulus package amounts to taking money from the pockets of some Americans and placing it in the pockets of others who have better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-charen/any-stimulus-package-amounts-to-taking-money-from-the-pockets-of-some/) [Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/) > [Liberal child welfare experts decided that child abuse was not evidence of a moral or character flaw in the abusing parent. Instead, like poverty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-charen/liberal-child-welfare-experts-decided-that-child-abuse-was-not/) [Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/) > [The proposed liberal solution was always negotiation. Just as they believed in nuclear arms negotiations for their own sake, they believe in a "peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-charen/the-proposed-liberal-solution-was-always-negotiation-just-as-they/) [Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/) > [ \[T\]he sprawl of government into every conceivable realm of life has caused the withering of traditional institutions. Fathers become unnecessary if the government provides… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-charen/t-he-sprawl-of-government-into-every-conceivable-realm-of-life-has/) [Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/) > [Just as the baby boom generation seemed to believe it was the first to discover sex, many of its members also seemed to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-charen/just-as-the-baby-boom-generation-seemed-to-believe-it-was-the-first/) [Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/) > [The child welfare system - devised and run by liberal social workers, psychologists, and judges. . .Treats incompetent or abusive parents as its clients,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-charen/the-child-welfare-system-devised-and-run-by-liberal-social-workers/) [Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/) > [Abused And neglected children have paid the price for liberalism's tendency to sentimentalize the poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-charen/abused-and-neglected-children-have-paid-the-price-for-liberalism-s/) [Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/) > [There was a time when 'fear of God' meant piety, or at least conscience. Today, it more accurately describes the worldview of secular liberals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-charen/there-was-a-time-when-fear-of-god-meant-piety-or-at-least-conscience/) [Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/) > [Liberals and international diplomats (a distinction without a difference) have notorious difficulty understanding how to deal with totalitarian regimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-charen/liberals-and-international-diplomats-a-distinction-without-a/) [Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/) > [Because adoption meets the needs of children so successfully, and because there have long been waiting lists of couples hoping to adopt babies and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-charen/because-adoption-meets-the-needs-of-children-so-successfully-and/) [Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/) > [One might have thought that the Cold War's conclusion would have convinced the Left that appeasement of dictators is not profitable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-charen/one-might-have-thought-that-the-cold-war-s-conclusion-would-have/) [Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/) > [Liberal hostility to the traditional family helped to undermine centuries of accumulated wisdom and experience about what was best for children and adults. Far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-charen/liberal-hostility-to-the-traditional-family-helped-to-undermine/) [Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/) > [Truth telling is the first building block of character -- a quality that seems to be getting rarer and rarer in all-forgiving America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-charen/truth-telling-is-the-first-building-block-of-character-a-quality-that/) [Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/) [Explore all 37 Mona Charen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/) ## More Affliction quotes > [I don't feel insecure about any of this work anymore. Maybe I don't have what I had when I was younger. I'm not really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norton/i-don-t-feel-insecure-about-any-of-this-work-anymore-maybe-i-don-t/) [Edward Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-norton/) > [Every man will have his own criterion in forming his judgment of others. I depend very much on the effect of affliction. I consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cecil/every-man-will-have-his-own-criterion-in-forming-his-judgment-of/) [Richard Cecil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cecil/) > [WHANGDEPOOTENAWAH, n. In the Ojibwa tongue, disaster; an unexpected affliction that strikes hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/whangdepootenawah-n-in-the-ojibwa-tongue-disaster-an-unexpected/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [There is nothing in afflictions which ought to disturb our joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/there-is-nothing-in-afflictions-which-ought-to-disturb-our-joy/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Come, then, affliction, if my Father wills, and be my frowning friend. A friend that frowns is better than a smiling enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/come-then-affliction-if-my-father-wills-and-be-my-frowning-friend-a/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Henceforth, I'll bear Affliction till it do cry out itself, 'Enough, enough, and die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/henceforth-i-ll-bear-affliction-till-it-do-cry-out-itself-enough/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [New materials are one of the great afflictions of contemporary art. Some artists confuse new materials with new ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/new-materials-are-one-of-the-great-afflictions-of-contemporary-art/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Aimee Parkison offers a distinct new voice to contemporary fiction. Her seductive stories explore childhood as a realm of sorrows, and reveal the afflictions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-anshaw/aimee-parkison-offers-a-distinct-new-voice-to-contemporary-fiction/) [Carol Anshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-anshaw/) > [May I strike my heart's keys clearly, and may none fail because of slack, uncertain, or fraying strings. May the tears that stream down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/may-i-strike-my-heart-s-keys-clearly-and-may-none-fail-because-of/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [We are infinitely more than our limitations and afflictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/we-are-infinitely-more-than-our-limitations-and-afflictions/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [God measures out affliction to our need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/god-measures-out-affliction-to-our-need/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) > [Afflictions make the heart more deep, more experimental, more knowing and profound, and so, more able to hold, to contain, and beat more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/afflictions-make-the-heart-more-deep-more-experimental-more-knowing/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [Religion prescribes to every miserable man the means of bettering his condition; nay, it shows him that the bearing of his afflictions as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/religion-prescribes-to-every-miserable-man-the-means-of-bettering-his/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Short-term amnesia is not the worst affliction if you have an Irish flair for the sauce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/short-term-amnesia-is-not-the-worst-affliction-if-you-have-an-irish/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Revolution will free society of its afflictions, while science will free the individual of his.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/revolution-will-free-society-of-its-afflictions-while-science-will/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) [Browse all 598 Affliction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affliction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's a peculiar thing about liberals. 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