Imagine a world without liberals. Imagine a world without diversity training, gay marriage, abortion on demand, gun control, environmentalists, anti-american war protesters, The United Nations, France, Illegal Aliens, The National Education Association, multiculturalism, National Organization for Women, the New Age Movement, Hippies, Tax increases, body piercing, Hollywood celebrities, Greenpeace, Sierra Club, the American Association of Retired Peoples, Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, San Francisco, Hybrid Automobiles, moveon.org, Earthfirst!, Howard Dean, Hillary Clinton, Democratic National Committee, Planned Parenthood, Rock the Vote, MTV, Ted Kennedy, etc.

What you have just read is the text displayed on a popular T-shirt that sells to people of a certain political ideology. But can you guess which one? Surely it must the liberals. Surely this shirt is presented to display the many beneficial programs and causes, which liberals have stood for over the years that would not be in existence without left wingers. Surely the world spoken of in this T-shirt is a grim one, one without Planned Parenthood around to help teenagers have safe sex and avoid unwanted pregnancies and STD’s, without the American Association of Retired Peoples which supports the elderly all across the country, without hybrid automobiles which save money on fossil fuels and contribute to a healthier environment, without the National Education Association which ensures that every American citizen gets a proper learning experience. Surely this shirt is intended to paint an image of what a horrible world it would be without liberals.

Wrong. Believe it or not, this shirt is a hot seller on Rightwingstuff.com. Apparently conservatives have some grudge against alternative energy, education and old people, not to mention multiculturalism.

Now I understand that liberals and conservatives simply disagree on certain things. Liberals tend to believe that gay people have a biological predisposition to be attracted to members of the same sex while conservatives tend to believe they are making a deliberate and sinful choice. Liberals tend to believe that the United Nations is a helpful tool in making international decisions while conservatives tend to believe that no other country has the right to tell the U.S. what to do.

But can’t we all agree on some things? I fail to see any harm in hybrid automobiles, multiculturalism or women’s rights, unless one is a misogynistic xenophobe who hates the environment.

I was surprised not only that this shirt existed but that it was a top seller. What the hell? Have a majority of conservatives really decided to rally against amnesty international? I knew the country was moving farther and farther to the right, but I didn’t think that meant we were moving farther back in time.

And usually when conservatives restate a liberal viewpoint, they at least find a way to make it sound unappealing. But not in this case. I would wear this T-Shirt, it makes as strong a point for liberals as it does for conservatives.

I thought we had progressed a little bit since the days of segregation and sexism, but this shirt demonstrates that some of us haven’t even progressed since the Stone Age.