Confusion in liberalism

The mistake I=E2=80=99ve seen many on the Left make again and again =E2=80=
=93 and one I=E2=80=99ve made myself =E2=80=93 is that of mistaking the val=
ue for the misuses of the value.

That wrong things get done for beauty does not mean that beauty is bad.=20

That wrong things get done for family does not mean that family is bad.=20

That wrong things get done for money does not mean that money is bad.=20

That wrong things get done for society does not mean that society is bad.=
=20

And that wrong things get done for Western Civilization does not mean that =
Western Civilization is bad.

All of the above can, and should, be done better.

So we have some conservatives claiming that the liberals are evil. They are=
 not evil; they are confused. They are mistaken; however they are mistaken =
sincerely. Once again, they confuse the value for the misuses of the value.
When tele-evangelists lie, that discredits Christianity. When police commit=
 brutality, that discredits the law. When men rape their children and beat =
their wives, that discredits family. The people who turn against such thing=
s don=E2=80=99t do it because they are evil. They turn against such things =
because they see abuses being committed in their names. The abuse tarnishes=
 the value by association.

The solution is therefore to clear up this confusion. Wrong things can be d=
one for anything, whether or not it is good or bad. People will have famili=
es, people will form societies and people will want to make money. This is =
a human reality that must be faced. It is not faced by doing away with such=
 things. It is faced by doing such things in a wise and intelligent manner =
that makes wisdom and intelligence relevant to the affairs of the world and=
 thus improves the world.