Liberal, But Not Trendy

I'm a liberal and I've always considered myself to be pretty open minded. Some conservatives think this means that liberal, open minded people always accept anything and everything that comes down the pike uncritically. They have been known to point out that one's mind shouldn't be so open that one's brains fall out.

But it's not necessarily so. To be liberal is not at all the same thing as being trendy. In my own case, I've never been one to jump on bandwagons, to do anything because "everybody's doing it." In fact, I have a strong contrary streak, which many times has made me more determined NOT to do something simply because it's currently trendy.

As a liberal, I've always been open to considering new things, and especially unconventional things. But I've always evaluated things for myself and have never done anything simply because "everybody's doing it". If it doesn't appeal to me, or I don't think there's logical justification for it, I don't do it.

This was a fortunate attitude for me during my adolescence, as I was able to avoid getting involved in the drug scene, smoking, or breaking the law. My newly widowed father was also able to leave me unsupervised without any fear that I'd burn the house down.

But being a liberal, I do not begrudge others the right to be trendy, even when I'd never choose it for myself. If something works well for me, I'll stick with it,with no apology. If it isn't "broke", I don't feel the need to fix it. If somethings new comes along that makes sense to me, I'll go for it, regardless of how many other people, if any, do likewise.