"Thanks to the loud, but shallow, shouts of political pundits and the unparalleled reductionism of our modern sound-bite society, many people believe that the word 'liberal' is merely a political term, simply a decision to check the Democratic box on the ballot, as opposed to the Republican one. Liberalism is so much more than that. It's a point of view in one's approach to life itself. It's a term that identifies a way of interacting with the entire world, with all of its inhabitants, human and marsupial, vegetable and corporation, ocean floor and ozone layer. It's a raised...