It's always intrigued and annoyed me when the term "liberal" is used in this manner. I generally assume that, when the term is used, it isn't being used to refer to the political science concept of "liberalism" — I would guess that it is being used in place of something like "leftist" (which is a rather nebulous term in itself). At the very least, I would hope that any person, who is currently enjoying the fruits of relative civility, and prosperity in the western world understands that they are doing so because of liberalism.