Being liberal once meant being radical and perhaps original. But now it seems to stand for being trendy – at least in Austin at the recent Austin City Limits Music Festival. Granted, it was Austin, and beyond that, it attracted people from Sixth Street in Austin.But still, both edges of the political spectrum can fall into this trap, and you see it all over college campuses, even at good ol’ conservative TCU.

In fact, being “trendy liberals” may contradict what they actually stand for.

At Austin City Limits, I noticed an overwhelming number of young people who were supporting things that seem to be the trend.

Anti-Bush. Anti-war. Anti-religion.

Displayed on bumper stickers, T-shirts and posters.

Bush’s popularity is obviously dropping – but this is nothing new – and trendy liberals apparently don’t recognize this. They just keep sporting the same anti-Bush memorabilia, lacking novelty and not improving the state of our nation.

This mindless opposition of liberals to conservatives and conservatives to liberals has gone beyond civil debate and is dividing the nation.

We have been given the gift of freedom of speech, so people’s views should make a difference.

There were people who attended the Austin City Limits Music Festival who demonstrated character and depth, but most seemed lacking in both freshness and imagination.

Walking around the festival’s boutiques and seeing the bumper stickers on cars, I saw the same political views over and over – just worded in different ways.

Our divided nation is starting to look more like cult followers than individuals.

It’s hard to be idealistic in this day and age, but negativity isn’t going to help anything either.

Just conforming to what others say and do is not a contribution.

If you are going to have radical views – whether liberal or conservative – have radical ideas that inspire, not divide.

Jacquilee Killeen is a senior broadcast journalism major from Lubbock.