The Meaning of Words

I know this is atavistic, but it still bugs me that liberal no longer means liberal:

"For me, it always goes back to this: If you put a gun to a Republican's head and say, 'Choose between individuality or equality,' they'll pick individual freedom. A good liberal will pick equality over individual freedom."

That's from this column in the LA Times today (which is interesting in its own right). What I couldn't stop thinking after I read this is that when I think about "Who would I rather have power?", I would rather the party in power scream "Individualism!" than hold a gun to my head and demand "Equality!".

I mean, wouldn't you?