Doug1943
Platinum Member
- Jan 3, 2016
- 1,243
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Of course everyone 'on the Left' has some things in common, just as everyone 'on the Right' does.
But it doesn't help our ability to understand the world, and then operate effectively in it, by lumping everyone on the Left together.
For instance, for a long time, the only major tendency on the Left that was openly against Free Speech (for others) were the Communists. That's why the ACLU wouldn't accept them, or Fascists, as members for several decades, although the ACLU defended the Free Speech of Communists and Fascists.
Then, starting about three to four decades ago, this began to change. The 60's generation (its intellectural layer) emerged from the Vietnam War era with a general distrust of all American basics. They didn't have a coherent ideology, but they were different from their liberal predecessors. And they passed this skepticism on to the next generation, in an amplified form. This included skepticism about 'Free Speech' -- not opposition to the idea, just skepticism about it.
Then came the 90s, and a very spoiled generation -- if you were the child of college-educated parents, you grew up with everything you wanted. You believed you had a right to it. Including the right not to be bothered with ideas you didn't like.
And now we have the new generation of Leftists, whom we see on college campuses, and in the streets as AntiFa, who quite openly want to forcefully suppress conservatives. They attack our marches, they shout us down and break up our meetings on college campuses. They have, effectively, adopted the worldview of the old Communist Party when it comes to free speech.
But not all liberals go along with this. Some are uneasy, but keep quiet, perhaps out of fear of being seen as dupes of the Right, others out of concern for their jobs, others out of a 'No Enemies to the Left' impulse.
Others, however, oppose this attack on free speech. They're 'old-fashioned' in this regard. Here's an example:
www.theatlantic.com
We need to unite with liberals like this to fight against the suppression of Free Speech. Lumping this man in with a screaming AntiFa anarchist is not smart.
And there are other issues where we can make alliances with non-conservatives: Many Blacks like the idea of School Choice -- giving parents the right to send their child to the school of their choice, rather than the dire public schools. They are not necessarily conservatives, but they agree with us on this.
Other parents don't want their children indoctrinated by sexual perverts. We can unite with them to recall the pro-pervert Left from school boards ... as happened in that uber-progressive city, San Francisco.
Other liberals don't like the idea of having their favorite shops looted by ghetto mobs, encouraged in this by lenient Leftist DA's. This is what ended the political career of the son-of-Weatherman DA in San Francisco.
In war, you seek out weak spots in the enemy camp. You encourage neutrals to become allies, and allies of the enemy to become neutrals. We have got to learn to fight smart, and that means understanding all the differences and contradictions among the other side.
One more example: many lesbians are very unhappy at biological males pretending to be women invading their space. You can find long threads on Twitter where dozens and dozens of these women attack the political transgender movement, who want to send biological males into women's prisons. These women are our allies in this instance.
We must 'unite all who can be united' around those issues where we agree. This is just common sense.
But it doesn't help our ability to understand the world, and then operate effectively in it, by lumping everyone on the Left together.
For instance, for a long time, the only major tendency on the Left that was openly against Free Speech (for others) were the Communists. That's why the ACLU wouldn't accept them, or Fascists, as members for several decades, although the ACLU defended the Free Speech of Communists and Fascists.
Then, starting about three to four decades ago, this began to change. The 60's generation (its intellectural layer) emerged from the Vietnam War era with a general distrust of all American basics. They didn't have a coherent ideology, but they were different from their liberal predecessors. And they passed this skepticism on to the next generation, in an amplified form. This included skepticism about 'Free Speech' -- not opposition to the idea, just skepticism about it.
Then came the 90s, and a very spoiled generation -- if you were the child of college-educated parents, you grew up with everything you wanted. You believed you had a right to it. Including the right not to be bothered with ideas you didn't like.
And now we have the new generation of Leftists, whom we see on college campuses, and in the streets as AntiFa, who quite openly want to forcefully suppress conservatives. They attack our marches, they shout us down and break up our meetings on college campuses. They have, effectively, adopted the worldview of the old Communist Party when it comes to free speech.
But not all liberals go along with this. Some are uneasy, but keep quiet, perhaps out of fear of being seen as dupes of the Right, others out of concern for their jobs, others out of a 'No Enemies to the Left' impulse.
Others, however, oppose this attack on free speech. They're 'old-fashioned' in this regard. Here's an example:
A Violent Attack on Free Speech at Middlebury
Liberals must defend the right of conservative students to invite speakers of their choice, even if they find their views abhorrent.
www.theatlantic.com
We need to unite with liberals like this to fight against the suppression of Free Speech. Lumping this man in with a screaming AntiFa anarchist is not smart.
And there are other issues where we can make alliances with non-conservatives: Many Blacks like the idea of School Choice -- giving parents the right to send their child to the school of their choice, rather than the dire public schools. They are not necessarily conservatives, but they agree with us on this.
Other parents don't want their children indoctrinated by sexual perverts. We can unite with them to recall the pro-pervert Left from school boards ... as happened in that uber-progressive city, San Francisco.
Other liberals don't like the idea of having their favorite shops looted by ghetto mobs, encouraged in this by lenient Leftist DA's. This is what ended the political career of the son-of-Weatherman DA in San Francisco.
In war, you seek out weak spots in the enemy camp. You encourage neutrals to become allies, and allies of the enemy to become neutrals. We have got to learn to fight smart, and that means understanding all the differences and contradictions among the other side.
One more example: many lesbians are very unhappy at biological males pretending to be women invading their space. You can find long threads on Twitter where dozens and dozens of these women attack the political transgender movement, who want to send biological males into women's prisons. These women are our allies in this instance.
We must 'unite all who can be united' around those issues where we agree. This is just common sense.
